| |
Title Tag and Meta Description
Tag Optimization Title tag and meta tags are
the author-generated source codes that are positioned in the <Head>
segment of your HTML document. Apart from the title tag, other information
inserted is not visible to the person surfing your web page, but
is visible only to the search engine crawlers. Title and meta description
tags are especially meta tag optimization is an important aspect
of your site optimization process. Careful handling can get you
great ranking Results important as they can be used to influence
the ranking of your site and the way it appears in some search results.
There are several meta tags like meta description tag, meta keywords
tag and more, but out of the existing tags the most important and
popular ones are the title tag and the meta description tag. Though
the title tag does not belong to the meta tag family, yet from the
search engine optimization point of view, the title tag is the most
significant tag on your web site, followed by the meta description
tag.
What is a Title Tag?
The title tag is an HTML code that shows the words that appear in
the title bar at the top of your web browser. These words do not
appear anywhere else on your web page. For instance, the title tag
of this page appears as ‘Search Engine Optimization: Internet branding
company ’ at the top bar of your web browser. This is because these
words were entered into the title tag of the web site’s HTML code.
Usually, the title tag is the first element in the <Head>
area of your site, followed by the meta description and the meta
keywords tags. Before, we discuss the title tag in greater detail
lets see how it looks in your web site’s HTML code:
<Head>
<Title> Search Engine Optimization: Internet branding company</Title>
</Head>
Why is the title tag important from search engine optimization
perspective?
Title tag is an important tag amongst other SEO related options,
as it not only communicates the theme of your web page to the human
visitors but is also considered very important by the search engine
crawlers. Title tag is not a meta tag, but nevertheless it is the
most important of all tags. Almost all crawler based search engines
use the title tag to gather information about your web site. The
search engines use the words or the content of the title tag during
the ranking process to analyze the relevance of your web page. Major
search engines like Google, Yahoo, AOL, AltaVista and AlltheWeb
use your web page’s title tag to evaluate its relevance.
Title tag is the hyperlinked text title that is displayed in the
search engine results page. The users in turn click on this hyperlink
to go to your web site.
The title tag is also used as the text when you ‘bookmark’ a page
or add a certain web page to your ‘favorites’ list in your browser.
A carefully constructed title tag is very important for your page’s
ranking with the search engines. Most experts, however, agree that
the title tag is a significant tool in any search engine optimization
campaign.
Working with title tag
Since the title tag plays a vital role in determining your site’s
ranking, you need to pay a lot of attention to the words that appear
in the title tag and the order in which they appear. You need to
develop a crisply worded title tag that includes your most relevant
keyword phrases and performs the function of announcing the summary
of your web page’s content.
Title Tag and Keywords
Amongst all the places you can use your important keyword phrases,
the usage of keywords in the title tag gives the highest weight.
While using your keyword phrases in the title tag, it is important
to be highly focused. You should use the same keywords not just
in your title tag, but also in your page content and the meta description
tag of your web page. If the keywords you intend using in your title
tag do not appear anywhere else in your page’s content, then avoid
using them in your page title as the weight of the keywords in the
title tag gets diluted.
It is essential to sequence your keyword phrases correctly in your
title tag. The order in which they appear is of great importance.
Having your most important keyword phrase towards the beginning
of the title tag helps display title in bold in the search engines
result pages.
Most search engines are not case sensitive therefore, you can write
your title tag in a way that looks most visually appealing.
Title tag should ideally read like a phrase that makes some grammatical
sense, not just a collection of keywords. This is all the more important
as the title tag usually appears as the text when you ‘bookmark’
or add a page to your ‘favorites’ list. Therefore, it should make
sense when a person reads it later.
What to include in your title tag?
You could put the product or service you are offering in the title
tag, instead of your firm or company name. This is because most
users when searching for, information search for specific products
or services, not company names. Also note that search engines read
about 80-90 characters in your title tag. This is prime real estate
for your important keywords. If you strongly feel like putting your
company or domain name in your title tag, then do so at the end.
Wasting several characters by inserting your site name does you
little good.
In a nutshell, the basic ingredients of a good title tag are:
- It should announce the summary of your web page content.
- It should read like a crisply worded sales pitch that is enticing
enough to make the users click on your entry when it is displayed.
- It should include your most important keyword phrases or search terms.
- The sequencing of the keywords should make logical sense.
- Each page of your website should have different and customized
title tag relevant to the context of that page.
The title and meta description tags are very important
aspects of your search engine optimization campaign. Keyword phrase
research forms the most essential and important aspect of any SEO
initiative. After selecting your most relevant keyword phrases and
writing a keyword rich copy for your web page, you can now work
these important search terms into your title and meta description
tags.
What is Meta Description Tag?
The meta description tag is a part of HTML code that allows you
to give a short and concise summary of your web page content. The
words placed in this meta tag, are often used in the search engines
result pages just below the title tag as a brief description of
your page. In the search engine results pages, after reading the
title, a user usually studies the description of the page and decides
whether she wants to visit your site or not.
Some search engines prefer to ignore your meta description tag and
build the description summary on the basis of the search term. They
usually pick up parts of the text on your page wherever the search
terms appear. The only exceptions are the flash, frame or all image
sites that have no content, and some high importance websites, where
the search term is not found in the text. In such a case, Google
picks up your entire meta description tag and displays it.
Importance of Meta Description Tag
All search engines do not give very high prominence to the meta
description tag and may generate a description on the fly while
listing your web page. However in some search engines a good meta
description tag might help a page to rank higher for your targeted
search terms. This holds true for flash, frame or all image sites
that have no content as well as some high importance websites, where
the search term is not found in the text. In such cases, some search
engines pick up the exact meta description tag and display just
below the title tag. Hence, it is important to write enticing meta
description tag that includes your important keyword phrases and
manages to interest your user, thus making her click on your entry.
Keyword Phrases and Meta Description Tag
Include your most relevant and important keyword phrases in your
page’s meta description tag. As in the case of title tag, focus
on the same keyword phrases as you used in your page’s title tag
and body text. Fewer and highly targeted search phrases can boost
your web page’s relevance in the search engines results. Hence,
stress should be on writing a brief yet informative description
for your web page.
The meta description tag of your web page should not read like a
collection of keywords, but should be written as an informative
and interesting summary of your web page.
The most important keyword phrases should, ideally be placed at
the beginning of your meta description tag, which increases your
chances of better search engine rankings. |
|
RECENT ARTICLES
