In our last post about page titles we covered the basics: why titles count, how to organize them and how to optimize them for keywords, branding and style. This time around we’ll make it short and sweet. Here are five rules to follow whenever you set up your web page’s titles:
- Capitalize: Capitalize page titles unless they’re complete sentences or standalone clauses. If you are uncertain as to the applicable rules, visit and bookmark this link.
- Honesty Counts: Your title should present an honest description of your page. Never use popular keywords out of context. Every search engine hates that; they’ll dump you in the “dungeon” of page 10 or worse, down with the utter dregs of the internet. And you’ll deserve it, too.
- Proofread Everything: Make sure your spelling and grammar are impeccable. If language isn’t your strength, find a qualified copywriter or editor to do it for you.
- Use American English: Whether you prefer “color” or “colour,” American English is the de facto international language. Unless you’re marketing to a specific Commonwealth country like Canada, the UK, etc, use American English to catch more title traffic. Most search engines will include variant spellings of common words, but it ‘s not perfect and might affect rankings.
- Use Unique Titles for Every Page: Never duplicate a page title across your site. This confuses searchers and search engines – you’re competing with yourself for the same keywords.
Well-constructed page titles are loved by search engines and users alike. They give you a better ranking from the former and a better response from the latter. We may have, at long last, answered Shakespeare’s ageless question. “What’s in a name?” The answer is a better page ranking, appreciative search engine users, and more traffic on your site.
After all, “A rose by any other name” may smell as sweet, but would it matter if no one could find it, or when they did, they didn’t stop to smell it?
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