Skip to content
    Moz logo Menu open Menu close
    • Products
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Pro Home
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Home
      • STAT
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Home
      • Compare SEO Products
      • Moz Data
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis
      • Keyword Explorer
      • Link Explorer
      • Competitive Research
      • MozBar
      • More Free SEO Tools
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO
      • SEO Learning Center
      • Moz Academy
      • SEO Q&A
      • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Digital Marketers
      • Agency Solutions
      • Enterprise Solutions
      • Small Business Solutions
      • The Moz Story
      • New Releases
    • Log in
    • Log out
    • Products
      • Moz Pro

        Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

      • Moz Local

        Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

      • STAT

        SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

      • Moz API

        Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

      • Compare SEO Products

        See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

      • Moz Data

        Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
      Moz Pro

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

      Learn more
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis

        Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

      • Keyword Explorer

        Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

      • Link Explorer

        Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

      • Competitive Research

        Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

      • MozBar

        See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

      • More Free SEO Tools

        Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
      Moz Pro

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

      Learn more
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO

        The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

      • SEO Learning Center

        Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

      • On-Demand Webinars

        Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

      • How-To Guides

        Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

      • Moz Academy

        Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

      • MozCon

        Save on Early Bird tickets and join us in London or New York City

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
      Moz API

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

      Find your plan
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Digital Marketers

        Simplify SEO tasks to save time and grow your traffic.

      • Small Business Solutions

        Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

      • Agency Solutions

        Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

      • Enterprise Solutions

        Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

      • The Moz Story

        Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

      • New Releases

        Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

      Surface actionable competitive intel
      New Feature

      Surface actionable competitive intel

      Learn More
    • Log in
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Dashboard
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Dashboard
      • Moz Academy
    • Avatar
      • Moz Home
      • Notifications
      • Account & Billing
      • Manage Users
      • Community Profile
      • My Q&A
      • My Videos
      • Log Out

    The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. Home
    2. SEO Tactics
    3. Intermediate & Advanced SEO
    4. What are best page titles for sub-folders or sub-directories? Same as website?

    Moz Q&A is closed.

    After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

    What are best page titles for sub-folders or sub-directories? Same as website?

    Intermediate & Advanced SEO
    3
    10
    1507
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
    • vtmoz
      vtmoz last edited by

      Hi all,

      We always mention "brand & keyword" in every page title along with topic in the website, like "Topic | vertigo tiles".

      Let's say there is a sub-directory with hundreds of pages...what will be the best page title practice in mentioning "brand & keyword" across all pages of sub-directory to benefit in-terms if SEO?

      Can we add "vertigo tiles" to all pages of sub-directory? Or we must not give same phrase?

      Thanks,

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • impactzoneco
        impactzoneco @vtmoz last edited by

        VTCRM,

        Good luck!

        -- Jewel

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • vtmoz
          vtmoz @impactzoneco last edited by

          Thanks Jewel,

          So we stick on this and get back to you for any other clarifications.

          impactzoneco 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • impactzoneco
            impactzoneco @vtmoz last edited by

            CTRM,

            I'm glad my response helped you.

            To my eyes, without looking at keyword rankings, etc., the middle one looks like the most natural language version.

            Good luck, and feel free to ping me if I can provide any additional ideas.

            -- Jewel

            vtmoz 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • vtmoz
              vtmoz @ClaytonJ last edited by

              I think it's Okay to go with as I noticed many are practising same from our industry. And I feel like "brand & keyword" is not going to hurt; if so it must be hurting all the pages of website being with same suffix across all page titles. I think Topic name is going to play key role which we possibly do not have duplicate content issues. Our new sub directory is a help guide and I am planning to add "help" and choose one of the below format.

              Topic | help - vertigo tile

              Topic | vertigo tiles help

              Topic | vertigo tiles - help

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • vtmoz
                vtmoz @impactzoneco last edited by

                Hi Jewel,

                Thanks for such descriptive answer which explains a lot. Rather than worrying about getting penalised; I would like to make sure which way of using brand and main keyword across these page titles fetch in SEO. Actually our sub-directory is all about help guides. So I decided to go with our brand name and keyword as per you suggestion with high confidence levels. Again I need to add "help" to this...So I am now in finding out the best natural looking out of below:

                Topic | help - vertigo tile

                Topic | vertigo tiles help

                Topic | vertigo tiles - help

                impactzoneco 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • impactzoneco
                  impactzoneco @vtmoz last edited by

                  Hello VTCRM,

                  This is a tough call. Because it is a branding versus SEO issue. Convention is to put the website's  name on all the pages. However, you are correct to be concerned about duplication and "too much".

                  I decided to poke around on some big websites, where I know they have usability experts and ought to have the $$$ for high quality SEO. It looks like the convention is have the name in there, either as a repeated tagline, the company name, or as part of the product.

                  Target uses SquareSpace AFAIK, so even with customization, that may be a requirement of the platform, to repeat the tagline. But having used SquareSpace, it is probably their choice, as they have the programmers to change that.

                  I looked at Home Depot, and they do use their name in the product title. I also examined Nike. They use the name integrated into the product name, so not tagged on at the end.

                  My advice, then, would be to follow the convention and add the name to the title.  I think the Google search engine has been programmed will enough to understand the brand name versus spamming.

                  Nike's way of integrating the name into the product is the one that stands out to me as potential SEO buster for spam. However, again, I think search engines ought to be able to pick apart a site or product name from spamming.

                  I think if you stick to convention and do "Topic | vertigo tiles", you'll be all right. As don_quixote pointed out, removing the standard branding name from the title does give you more room for other keywords. I agree with him that you should think through your navigation carefully, as you are doing, and that includes the page names ==> URL/slug names (the overall Information Architecture).

                  To summarize, do I think you'll be penalized for following web convention of the past 20 years and tacking your brand name/website name to the title? No.

                  Then your question will be, do you want to do this?

                  It sounds like you do, but you are hesitant because of fears of a duplication penalty. I don't think you need to worry about that, especially given these big sites are doing it.

                  The other aspect to information retrieval, is the location of one term or phrase near another that creates associations and helps in findability. Associating "product X women's tennis shoes" with "Nike" is a genuine association.

                  I think you'll be fine to add that name to the title, assuming you don't want the real estate for other keywords. IOW, I see no reason why you would be penalized. (And if not, contact me, and I'll help you fix it on my time!)

                  Me? I tend to follow convention in that regard. I'll buck convention in other areas, but you ought to be fine. (If it matters, I started building websites in 1995, I have worked with CMS systems for years, and I have yet to be penalized.)

                  -- Jewel

                  hvYSDC5.png hxNamIE.png Waf25vA.png

                  vtmoz 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • ClaytonJ
                    ClaytonJ last edited by

                    Without going into how to technically achieve the outcome. It may be beneficial to go back one step and consider drawing up a the url structure. Lay out the keyword/s being targeted for the global home page and then the first sub-folders. The url structure, when laid out, with keywords, should provide guidance on the layout of Title's and H1's.  We often take out the company name/brand when required and use the 600 pixels available to optimise the page. This allows more individual title tags for search and customers.  ie Your client will likely rank No 1-3 for their brand and brand labelling inner pages, unless beneficial for the customer experience is unlikely to assist brand ranking...

                    You may only want to index some of the sub directory pages... as well.  rel canonical the juice back to the header page..

                    Anyway I like to go back to the url structure, and find when I get that right everything flows easily from there...

                    So in answer to your question - No I would not recommend you put vertigo tiles on every page of the sub-folder. I would make sure each page has a unique relevant title.. and a closely though not exact matching H1... to the page content. I add I see "black vertigo tiles" as different to "white vertigo tiles"

                    Hope that assists.

                    vtmoz 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • vtmoz
                      vtmoz @impactzoneco last edited by

                      Hi Jewel,

                      Our website is wordpress and yes it auto generates our company name and main keyword to rear of the every page title. This is good because we do have targetiitng keywords and brand on all pages.

                      Our sub-directory is a different CMS. It's been hosted independently with own design. This will be even auto generated. My doubt is whether repeating same "company name and keyword" in all page titles of this sub-directory good or bad? Will this be kind of duplicate look for Google? Or it'll help us in the keyword scenario?

                      Thanks

                      impactzoneco 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                      • impactzoneco
                        impactzoneco last edited by

                        What website platform/CMS are you using? Does it auto-generate your website name to either the front or rear of the page title? For example, as WordPress does? Or, is this something you can suppress, which I believe SquareSpace allows (but don't quote me on that).

                        vtmoz 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • 1 / 1
                        • First post
                          Last post

                        Got a burning SEO question?

                        Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


                        Start my free trial


                        Browse Questions

                        Explore more categories

                        • Moz Tools

                          Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

                        • SEO Tactics

                          Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

                        • Community

                          Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

                        • Digital Marketing

                          Chat about tactics outside of SEO

                        • Research & Trends

                          Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

                        • Support

                          Connect on product support and feature requests.

                        • See all categories

                        Related Questions

                        • Vitzz

                          Is it ok to repeat a (focus) keyword used on a previous page, on a new page?

                          I am cataloguing the pages on our website in terms of which focus keyword has been used with the page. I've noticed that some pages repeated the same keyword / term. I've heard that it's not really good practice, as it's like telling google conflicting information, as the pages with the same keywords will be competing against each other. Is this correct information? If so, is the alternative to use various long-winded keywords instead? If not, meaning it's ok to repeat the keyword on different pages, is there a maximum recommended number of times that we want to repeat the word? Still new-ish to SEO, so any help is much appreciated! V.

                          Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Vitzz
                          1
                        • Wavelength_International

                          Should I apply Canonical Links from my Landing Pages to Core Website Pages?

                          I am working on an SEO project for the website: https://wave.com.au/ There are some core website pages, which we want to target for organic traffic, like this one: https://wave.com.au/doctors/medical-specialties/anaesthetist-jobs/ Then we have basically have another version that is set up as a landing page and used for CPC campaigns. https://wave.com.au/anaesthetists/ Essentially, my question is should I apply canonical links from the landing page versions to the core website pages (especially if I know they are only utilising them for CPC campaigns) so as to push link equity/juice across? Here is the GA data from January 1 - April 30, 2019 (Behavior > Site Content > All Pages😞

                          Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Wavelength_International
                          0
                        • Wizkids964

                          Company Name in Home Page Title? If and Where?

                          My guess is you want to do the  {title} | {company name} format as I would suspect Google gives slightly more weight to the words at the beginning of the title?   (This is assuming your company name isn't a generic word or you are specifically trying to rank your home page for your company name when it isn't ranking well already) But what about cases where you have like 5 or 6 keywords that are really important and used in the title gives you like 50 characters and your company name pushed it up to like 65 increasing the chance Google will use some other source to list the name of your home page in the search results? Obviously one can experiment, but wondering what the general consensus is - long keyword title, or longer title with company name?  The company name can be included in the meta description and the domain name of the url displayed also gives the indication to the company.  But maybe the algo "respects" long itles that have company name more than ones without as then it looks more like a keyword stuffing title?  So many factors to consider.  Yes - on page SEO isn't just about the title, but for this thread I'm just talking home page title.

                          Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Wizkids964
                          1
                        • vtmoz

                          Redirecting homepage to internal page (2nd Tier page)

                          We are planning to experiment redirecting our homepage to one of the 2nd tier page. I mean....example.com to example.com/page. We need this page to rank well, but it doesn't have much internal links or external back-links, so we opt for this redirect. Advantage with this page is, it has "keyword" we want to rank for in URL. "page" in example.com/page. Will this help or hurt us in SEO? I think we are missing keyword in our root domain, so interested to highlight this page. Thanks, Satish

                          Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | vtmoz
                          0
                        • vinodh-spintadigital

                          Does having a different sub domain for your Landing Page and Blog affect your overall SEO benefits and Ranking?

                          We have a domain www.spintadigital.com that is hosted with dreamhost and we also have a seperate subdomain blog.spintadigital.com which is hosted in the Ghost platform and we are also using Unbounce landing pages with the sub domain get.spintadigital.com. I wanted to know whether having subdomain like this would affect the traffic metric and ineffect affect the SEO and Rankings of our site.  I think it does not affect the increase in domain authority, but in places like similar web i get different traffic metrics for the different domains.  As far as i can see in many of the metrics these are considered as seperate websites.  We are currently concentrating more on our blogs and wanted to make sure that it does help in the overall domain. We do not have the bandwidth to promote three different websites, and hence need the community's help to understand what is the best option to take this forward.

                          Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | vinodh-spintadigital
                          0
                        • CostumeD

                          On 1 of our sites we have our Company name in the H1 on our other site we have the page title in our H1 - does anyone have any advise about the best information to have in the H1, H2 and Page Tile

                          We have 2 sites that have been set up slightly differently. On 1 site we have the Company name in the H1 and the product name in the page title and H2. On the other site we have the Product name in the H1 and no H2. Does anyone have any advise about the best information to have in the H1 and H2

                          Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | CostumeD
                          0
                        • soralsokal

                          Ranking Page - Category vs. Blog Post - What is best for CTR?

                          Hi, I am not sure wether I shall rank with a category page, or create a new post. Let me explain... If I google for 'Basic SEO' I see an article from Rand with Authorship markup. That's cool so I can go straight to this result because I know there might be some good insight. BUT: 'Basic SEO' is also an category at MOZ an it is not ranking. On the other hand, if I google for 'advanced SEO' then the MOZ category for 'advanced SEO' is ranking. But there is no authorship image, so users are much less likely to click on that result. Now, I want to rank for a very important keyword for me (content keyword, not transactional). Therefor, I have a category called 'yoga exercises'. But shall I rather create an post about them only to increase CTR due to Google Authorship? I read in Google guidelines that Authorship on homepage an category pages are not appreciated. Hope you have some insights that can help me out.

                          Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | soralsokal
                          0
                        • Alex-Harford

                          Do 404 pages pass link juice? And best practices...

                          Last year Google said bad links to 404 pages wouldn't hurt your site. Could that still be the case in light of recent Google updates to try and combat spammy links and negative SEO? Can links to 404 pages benefit a website and pass link juice? I'd assume at the very least that any link juice will pass through links FROM the 404 page? Many websites have great 404 pages that get linked to: http://www.opensiteexplorer.org/links?site=http%3A%2F%2Fretardzone.com%2F404 - that was the first of four I checked from the "60 Really Cool...404 Pages" that actually returned the 404 HTTP Status! So apologies if you find the word 'retard' offensive. According to Open Site Explorer it has a decent Page Authority and number of backlinks - but it doesn't show in Google's SERPs. I'd never do it, but if you have a particularly well-linked to 404 page, is there an argument for giving it 200 OK Status? Finally, what are the best practices regarding 404s and address bar links? For example, if
                          www.examplesite.com/3rwdfs returns a 404 error, should I make that redirect to
                          www.examplesite.com/404 or leave it as is? Redirecting to www.examplesite.com/404 might not be user-friendly as people won't be able to correct the URL in the address bar. But if I have a great  404 page that people link to, I don't want links going to loads of random pages do I? Is either way considered best practice? If I did a 301 redirect I guess it would send the wrong signal to the crawlers? Should I use a 302 redirect, or even a 304 Not Modified redirect?

                          Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Alex-Harford
                          1

                        Get started with Moz Pro!

                        Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                        Start my free trial
                        Products
                        • Moz Pro
                        • Moz Local
                        • Moz API
                        • Moz Data
                        • STAT
                        • Product Updates
                        Moz Solutions
                        • SMB Solutions
                        • Agency Solutions
                        • Enterprise Solutions
                        Free SEO Tools
                        • Domain Authority Checker
                        • Link Explorer
                        • Keyword Explorer
                        • Competitive Research
                        • Brand Authority Checker
                        • Local Citation Checker
                        • MozBar Extension
                        • MozCast
                        Resources
                        • Blog
                        • SEO Learning Center
                        • Help Hub
                        • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                        • How-to Guides
                        • Moz Academy
                        • API Docs
                        About Moz
                        • About
                        • Team
                        • Careers
                        • Contact
                        Why Moz
                        • Case Studies
                        • Testimonials
                        Get Involved
                        • Become an Affiliate
                        • MozCon
                        • Webinars
                        • Practical Marketer Series
                        • MozPod
                        Connect with us

                        Contact the Help team

                        Join our newsletter
                        Moz logo
                        © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                        • Accessibility
                        • Terms of Use
                        • Privacy

                        Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.