SEO title or meta title: what it is and how to optimize it

What is the SEO title or meta title?

The title or meta title tag is one of the fundamental factors in SEOas it offers search engines and users the website name in question.

It is a HTML tag included in the “head” header of the site. When included in the header, this tag is not visible, a priori, on the web page, since it will not show the text that we include in it within the body of our site.

However, the text of the tag will be visible in search engine results: it is neither more nor less than the title we see in search results and, therefore, in the part that causes the most information and impact on the user.

The HTML structure that follows the SEO title or meta title is the following:

html>

(…)

Importance of the meta title or title for SEO

The main objective of the title, like that of the rest of the meta tags, is to make life easier for Google. Our title should be descriptivebecause it is the way that Google knows “what is our page about”. But in order not to be the typical “sell smoke”, we must provide useful information to user; if not, Google will stop wanting to visit us by thinking that we do not contribute anything. And, as you know, if Google ignores you, your “virtual” life will be almost dead. That’s not what you want, is it?

• For the users:

  • in the SERPs: The meta title offers users a quick view of the content of the web in the search results. Therefore, it is essential that our SEO title, in addition to being descriptive, is attractive so that competitors do not eat our toast: we must stand out from the rest, since, in part, ours will depend on it.
  • in the bookmarks: the SEO title is also evident in the name of the browser tab. It can be seen at the top of the browser page, but also when we save the page in “bookmarks”. So, if we don’t want our content to get lost among a million bookmarks, we need to make our title recognizable.

Do you need any more reason to keep reading and learn the tricks to optimize the title and improve your positioning?

Optimize title or meta title for SEO

• Title tag length:

Although there are no strict rules about how long an SEO title should be, currently, Google shows between 65 and 70 characters of the SEO title or meta title (including spaces), so it is recommended to keep the length of SEO titles below 65 characters.

According to data from Moz, Google titles are usually shortened when they exceed 600px, so whether the SEO title is displayed in full or not depends on its width. Some letters do not occupy the same as others (for example an «M» takes up more space than an «I»), some fonts than others or the use of capital letters. The user’s search also influences this, since, when the search coincides with our title, Google will highlight it by using bold, thus increasing the space used -and, on the other hand, reducing the number of characters-.

• Use of keywords in the meta title:

It has always been heard about the importance of the use of keywords, yes, but it must be done with a head. If we just stuff our meta title with keywords, Google will most likely consider us “the insufferable and boastful brother-in-law” and leave us aside. Therefore, it is important that we do not fall into keyword stuffing: avoid using meaningless and unnecessary keyword lists or variations.

• Unique and descriptive content:

Replicating the SEO title for all the pages of your website is convenient, but it is a bad idea. Neither users nor search engines will understand the difference between one page of your site and another.

each page must contain a unique and different meta title the rest. Furthermore, it is important that the title be descriptive, concise and informative. If we want more information, we can use the meta description.

• Use of emojis in the meta title

Having a very descriptive and elaborate SEO title is no longer enough. If we want to win the battle of the click, we must also be extravagant and flashy so as not to go unnoticed among the millions of results. How? A picture is worth a thousand words. Perhaps this saying is excessive for the case, but the truth is that the images and colors of emojis attract the eye of users, which can determine the click. To make use of them, you just have to copy and paste the emojis that you find in your SEO title.

Why is Google changing my SEO optimized title?

You have added the meta title to all your pages but not all the pages show the SEO title that you have proposed, why?

As we have commented, Google makes use of meta tags to create the snippet of the results page. However, although Google almost always heeds this guideline, it also can show a different title than the one proposed if you consider that this way you can display more useful information, even when our meta title complies with the good practices mentioned.

In :

“Google may display different titles in search results to provide the user with the most relevant information for their query. There is a simple reason for this: the title tag as specified by a webmaster is static and fixed regardless of the query. On the contrary, once Google knows the user’s query, in many cases it can provide alternative text for a page that better justifies the relevance of the result. Using that alt text as a title is helpful to the user and can be helpful to the webmaster’s site as well. Users analyze the results looking for their query terms or other signs of relevance, so a title tailored to the query can increase the chances of receiving click-throughs.”

Conclusions

The truth is that, despite this warning, Google almost always takes into account the proposed title. For this reason, as we have seen, the optimization of titles is an essential part of any SEO strategy, since it will provide the search engine with the information we want and will encourage the user to click on our website. And remember: on the Google catwalk, what is striking and, above all, unique also triumphs. Of course, without falling into the ornate.

And do you know any other trick to optimize the title?