Title Tags: First Impressions at the Search Engines

Your Web page titles are crucial to your search engine ranking...but they're also your first opportunity to make the sale. Interestingly, a lot of site owners (and Web surfers) never even notice the Web page title. Or, they mistake a page header for a page title.

A page title appears outside the confines of the Web page in the oddly named "title bar," while headers appear within the page.

Just to be painfully clear, please click on the thumbnail image to the left. On it you'll see the title of flyte's current home page, "Web Design and Internet Marketing for Small Business: flyte new media - Portland, Maine," as well as the page header "You Don't Need a Web Site."

Page titles don't stand alone--headers, content, incoming links and a hundred other elements may affect a Web site's rank--but they are often considered to carry the most weight. They should be rich with words and phrases that your customers are searching for, and descriptive of the content on the page.

When one of your Web pages appears on a results page, Google may pull both astute and bizarre snippets from your page to put on your listing. It might choose a quote that is so compelling that  sirens weep and salesmen turn green at its very reading, driving hordes to your site.

Or, it might not. Bottom line is you have no say in which phrase it picks.

However, you do have control over your page title.

Your page title appears as the link at the top of your listing. If it's poorly written, uninviting, or confusing, you will turn away potential clients. If it's compelling, however, it will help you stand out from the nine competitors who share your results page.

You only have a handful of words...use them wisely: they may be the first thing a client hears about your company.

Rich Brooks
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Comments

[Marilyn]

Great column--interesting points!

[discovery]

I read your post,than I decided to apply on my website,Yes..the result was better than before.
Thank You for your advice.