How to write effective title tags for SEO

So you’re working on your on-page optimization and after all your keyword research and competition analysis, you’ve found yourself with a short list of keywords you want to target. Backlink Betty is hard at work at the desk next to you, hammering away and building links to your website. Now all you have to do is tidy up your HTML Title Tags.

Here are 5 things to keep in mind to make your Title Tags awesome

1. Keep the number of characters in under 65. When your site is displaying in search engines, it’s best that your page title doesn’t get truncated and finish with “…”. Out of the restraints from Google/Yahoo/Bing, the magic number of 65 letters is the smallest – so by catering to the tightest restrictions, we can make sure we’re visible everywhere.
2. Try not to repeat words. If your website was selling Widget items, a spammy title would be “Widget Books – Widget DVDs – Widget Pants”. We could clean this up to maintain the same keyphrases but look much better to a visitor by writing it as “Widgets – Books, DVDs, Pants”. The less annoying text is to read, the better your click-through rate will be. The quality of our revised title tag is much higher than the former.
3. Place your main keywords at the beginning of your title tag. Quite simply, like in the previous example, it will be more effective for search engines and better for your users.
4. Be enticing! Use words like “Discount” or “Free Shipping” where applicable. Once you make it to the first page of a result page, make people want to visit your site more than others!
5. Use your site name at the end of your title tag. Once users find your site, make sure they can easily come back. Placing your name in title adds to the recall value and helps your brand awareness. You already have the visitor- don’t lose them!

How have you written your title tags? Let us know in the comments.