SEO CheckList

It’s all over the internet — on the web master forums, on every SEO advice web site, on every SEO newsletter you get. The title tag is one of the most important on-site search engine optimization factors. One can never stress its significance enough. I’ve been asked by newbies one too many times on their importance and effective methods of usage. To save myself time and headache, I’m writing it all down for future reference. This post would serve as the first installment for this week’s topic.

2 Reasons Why Title Tags are Important:

1. Search engines rely on keywords for a web site’s indexing. Including relevant keywords in your title tag boosts your web site’s chances into ranking higher in the Search Engine Ranking Pages (SERPs). There are, of course, many who don’t agree to its potency in boosting a web site’s ranking. However, most would agree that using bad or poorly searched keywords in the title tag or not using title tags at all could devastate a web site’s ranking.

2. It increases click-through. Search engines (The big G, at the very least), displays the first 60-90 or so characters of your title in the SERPs. Which means that if you used highly relevant keywords on your title tag, people tend to click on the link to your web site’s link. And if you’re exactly what they’re looking for, then you got yourself a new visitor. Great content turns one-time visitors to regulars but that’s a story for another time.

Speaking for myself though, using appropriate title tags for my web site propelled it from the fifth page to the first in its niche. Of course not everyone shares my sentiments. To see different opinions on title tags and their efficacy, check out this study conducted by SEOmoz.org.