Title tag - shorter = better?
-
Is it true that the shorter the Title tag is the more powerful the keywords in it are?
I know that the main keywords have to be at the beginning of the title but, having more words in your Title could dilute the effectiveness of your main keywords?Ex: Dallas limo service | Private car by SelectLimousine.
Could the fact that I have a second part of my title affect the first part by diluting its value? I would like to rank first for Dallas car service but also for Dallas car service and Dallas limousine service. Is this good practice?
-
Why would SeoMoz not wish to appear on Page 1 of serps as such a position a) would bring new subscribers and b) demonstrate they are not summed up by the idiom; Those who can,do; those who can't, teach
In the past I have met a number of SEO companies who make a play on the 'we're not about our results, we're about your results' Ahem, perhaps you can't match the SEO skills of your competitors?
Anyway back to the topic, I am interested in your understanding of how ranking importance is distributed,that each keyword in a title tag is given its share along the lines of; If the title is one word like "SEO" then that word is given 100 points. If the title is "Search Engine Optimization" then each term would be given about 33 points. As many have suggested the earlier the keyword appears in the tag, the more importance it received and therefore the share for this title might be 45,35,20?
Lets look at an example of a title tag for a eCommerce site
Toshiba 3D LCD TVs | Free Delivery | TH32TT | TH42TT | Tellys.com
As free delivery often help conversions (though of course title tags are not often read by humans) there is worthwhile search volume. Also the two most popular model numbers also receive search volume. (please ignore that this may cause competition with product pages and assume that this is a one page site and/or there will be no duplication or internal conflict). In this case just how much negative effect are these extra keywords inficting? Would it be better to strip back to Toshiba 3D LCD TVS ???
Thanks
-
Presently SEOmoz is not on the first page of Google for "SEO Software" nor "simple seo software". If they wanted to be, I am sure they could optimize pages for these terms and appear on the first page of Google SERPs.
Titles are not purely about ranking. There is the branding factors and how you wish people to think of your company. From a pure ranking perspective for "SEO software", you are correct the term "simplified" should be removed. I would bet Rand prioritized presenting his company slogan in the title above having the page rank well.
-
It would be interesting to see some answers from Seomoz; their Title says: SEO Software. Simplified. | SEOmoz. Why would they dilute the first part of their Title? I do not think that "simplified" is one of their key terms.
-
Is that the case even if [the title is] below 64 chars?
Yes. I think you may be confusing Google's title display limit (about 70 chars) with this question. How many characters Google will display is not related to the weighting for each word in the title.
I just went back and re-watched all the Matt Cutts videos where the title was discussed. It was never confirmed by Matt that adding extra keywords to title tags causes the dilution. Even so, I am still convinced that is the case and will act on that understanding.
I base my opinion on a few patents from Google that I have reviewed, other articles, and my logical understanding of how Google works.
The below video discusses titles and Matt describes how Google recognizes when Title tags or Meta description tags contain the same information throughout the site. I have to believe Google recognizes the site name appended to the end of a title tag as a common practice and adjusts accordingly.
In summary, I maintain my understanding the title tag itself is given a certain weight. Let's say 100 "points". If the title is one word like "SEO" then that word is given 100 points. If the title is "Search Engine Optimization" then each term would be given about 33 points. This is the way I see the weight of title tags being distributed, in a similar way to a page's PR is distributed to the links on a page. If anyone agrees or disagrees with this thinking I would enjoy hearing other opinions.
-
Is that the case even if below 64 chars? If so, there are very many of us who think anything up to 64 is fine and have added unnecessary keywords or other text. eg a very common approach is for a product page title Cheap Blue Widget | Widgetsrus.com Online. You are suggesting anything past the pipe is reducing power of title tag? As most domain names will already rank bvery well placing them in title tag would therefore be bad practice?
-
Is it true that the shorter the Title tag is the more powerful the keywords in it are?
Yes
If that wasn't the case, then it would encourage site owners to create longer titles with every possible key word and phrase. Title: Dallas Limo Service | Dallas Limousine Service | Dallas Limos | etc. etc.
As you ad additional key words to your title you are adding relevancy to your page for those search results, but less relevancy then any page which only targets one key phrase. A page which focuses a single topic is considered a more relevant result then a page who's focus is divided amongst multiple topics.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
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.
Related Questions
-
Do WooCommerce product tags effect SEO?
I'm just curious if I need these product tags and if they impact in any way at all SEO? - whether that be positively or negatively. on1iRin
On-Page Optimization | | xdunningx0 -
Product Tags
So Opencart allows the use of product tags (please note, this are NOT meta tags) which I believe are used for when customers want to search for a product using the search function. So one of my tags could be ''star wars socks'', and when a customer types this into the search it brings up every product containing the tag for socks. This is all good and well, however, these tags appear on the product page itself, right below the Manufacturer/Brand, and above the price. Will Google look kindly on this or could it be considered as keyword stuffing? Or will Google know they're for search and ignore them? I just need to know whether or not removing them entirely will be a good or bad idea.
On-Page Optimization | | moon-boots0 -
Is it OK to shorten your brand name in your title tags
If your title tag is over 55 characters, is it generally OK or good practice to abbreviate your brand name (at the end of the title tag) for the sake of the other keywords in the tag?
On-Page Optimization | | AliMac261 -
Link in H1 tag?
Hi guys, We're working through a redesign of our product page and are considering the following: http://screencast.com/t/NBSsDGA9vgS3 Currently the product name (including the brand name - Arc'teryx) in this case is included in the H1 and none of the title is linked. You can see this here: http://www.evo.com/synthetic-jackets/arcteryx-atom-lt-hoodie-womens.aspx The firm we're working with is proposing keeping the entire title in the H1 but linking the brand name to the entire brand assortment. My concern is that the brand name is a critical part of the product title and should be text (not a link). Any suggestions? Thanks!
On-Page Optimization | | evoNick
Will0 -
Meta tags - removal
A couple of months ago, I did something that has caused me great angst. My website unique visitors was on a steady growth path for about 3 years. I swapped out my SEO plugin, from all-in-one, to Yoast. I then removed all of my meta tags. My site has about 2000 unique posts. After doing that my unique visitors has been on a steady decline of me loosing traffic at a rate of 5 to 10% of my visits. Any thoughts on the best remediation plan I should use. I put back in the meta tags, but wasn't sure of the SEO plugin switch caused the issue.
On-Page Optimization | | copykatrecipes0 -
Fewer keywords in title tag?
Hello, I have a title tag that includes three keywords and has a total of 59 characters. The third keyword is not very important. If I eliminated the third keyword, leaving the first two (for a total of 48 characters), would the ranking value of the first two keywords increase? Does including the third keyword dilute the value of the first two? Thank you!
On-Page Optimization | | nyc-seo0 -
Do I need a robots meta tag on the homepage of my site?
Is it recommended to include on the homepage of your site site? I would like Google to index and follow my site. I am using WordPress and noticed my homepage is not including this meta tag, therefore wondering if I should include it?
On-Page Optimization | | asc760 -
Change 10yrs old home title tag seo safe?
Howdy everyone! Wish you the best for 2012! We have a client who is ranked #1 for keyword "blue widgets". Their site's homepage title has the keyword "blue widgets" in it and has been the same for 10yrs+. Recently they have added other types of widgets to their offering. Is it safe to change their title by adding more keywords to it? For example: "blue widgets | green widgets | brand x widgets". May our client lose their ranking if we change their title? Thanks in advance for your help!
On-Page Optimization | | gerardoH0