A title tag is a small snippet of text, which can be the first few words or a sentence, which appears in the search engine result list.
Titles are also known as Meta tags and head tags. It’s best to include your target keyword in the title and within 60 characters in length.
Always remember to optimize for mobile and you’ll be fine with the rest.
Why Are Title Tags Important?
Title tags play an important role in search engine optimization (SEO).
Search engines use them to determine which web pages are relevant to the keywords people enter into search engines.
The title tag is one of the most important tags to rank well on search engines. The SEO title tag is probably why 3 out of 4 people ignore irrelevant or low-quality content.
They have the power to boost your search engine rankings if done correctly.
They tell Google and other search engines about what a page is about, what topic it covers, and how relevant it is to the searcher’s query.
If a web page does not have a title tag, it is very likely the search engine and in this case, Google will pick something within your content and display them in the SERP.
Title tags are also used by site visitors when they bookmark your site.
The title of the bookmark will be taken from the title of your web page, which means you need to write an interesting one for it to be saved.
How to Write a Good Title Tag?
Now we all know why the titles are important for both users and search engines, it’s time to learn how to write a good title.
Here’s how:
We had listed out 10 quick ways that you can utilize straight away to win some SEO gains and further improve your click-through rate (CTR).
Let’s get started.
1. Questions Have 14.1% Higher CTR Generally
Questions have a 14.1% higher conversion rate than pages without questions according to Buzzsumo.
Why is this?
Well, questions are a very effective way of piquing people’s curiosity.
People look for answers in search engines by using questions.
So naturally, when you generate a question within your title tag, people will be more likely to click because they want to know the answer.
Make your page stand out by having your question appear in the headline.
A question like “How To” has a 28% higher click-through rate.
Pages that follow this formula in their title tag are 28% more likely to get clicked.
Below are some of the examples of how you can utilize the type of the question into your title with targeted keyword along.
– “How To” + Target Keyword
–“How This Useful Tip” + Target Keyword
–“What Ways That Are Useful To” + Target Keyword
2. Keep Title Length Between 15 to 40
A statistics show that these title tag length leads to 8.6% higher in click through rate from the SERP.
There is just that much space on the SERP results.
If your title tag is too long, Google will truncate and cut it off and your title tag will be missing vital information. If your title tag is too short, Google won’t be able to figure out what your page is about.
The sweet spot is 15 to 40 characters according to Moz.
Moz’s data shows that for every additional character, the clickthrough rate drops 8.6%. This is because when you’re looking at search results, you’ll only see a snippet of your title tag.
The more characters in the title tag do not correlate with a better CTR but instead, it received a lower click-through rate according to the study.
When it comes to optimizing your title tags, you want to focus on the keywords that people would be searching for when they want to find what you’re offering.
3. Include Your Keyword in URL
45% increase in ctr when exact query is in URL.
We search by entering our query in the search engine and we are more prompted to click on the return results that contain our search query if they are found on the URL.
If the query is not included in the URL, we might miss out on the targeted results due to the perception that the page might not be relevant as to what we are asking for.
For local SEO, you might want to include your service area so it will be more relatable.
4. Induce Emotion to Your Title
Titles that contained emotions versus ones that didn’t have emotion had 2.5% increase in CTR.
The results show that there is a positive correlation between pages having emotional titles and the CTR the page has.
Emotion is so powerful that it will influence people’s actions.
In the same way, negative or anxiety-inducing words in headlines can have the same higher clicks because people want to find out the source of their angst.
5. Use Active Voice in Your Title
Pages that had used active voice in their title tags had a 10% higher CTR than those who didn’t.
The results show that pages with titles using active voice have a slight 10% higher click-through rate than pages without it.
Active voice is a grammatical term that describes the use of a form of the verb “be” in an English sentence, such as “John was running”.
Active sentences are structured so that the subject performs the action on the object; passive sentences are structured so that the object receives the action.
Here’s an example:
Active: “I wrote an essay about why business needs more red sweaters”.
Passive: “An essay was written by me on why business needs more red sweaters”.
Which of the above sounds more compelling to you?
6. Setup a Goal in Title
People search so they could accomplished something.
Headlines that contain conversion goals had 4.2% increase in CTR.
If the person’s goal is to get traffic to his/her blog, then they will likely click on a headline like “10 Tips to Get More Traffic in Your Blog”.
Or as what we had done with the title of this post “10 Ways to Increase CTR with a Better Title Tag”.
Accomplishing goal is important for a person to have more conversions.
Having a clear goal in your title will make people having an idea of what they’ll get if they click on the link.
7. Evoke Curiosity
“Curiosity killed the cat” they said.
And that’s why curiosity evokes great CTA (call to action).
If the person has a curiosity, they will likely click on your link.
Curiosity is one thing that helps in building the bridge between a person and your website.
Especially when they had never heard about you.
Evoking curiosity increased CTR by 5.9% on average.
People want to know more about the subject they are about to read and click.
Throw them the hook but never overdo it.
It’s not about the number of words that you use, but it’s about how you engage your audience with the correct intent.
8. Be Professional and Trustworthy
Titles that resembled education and professionalism had 10.4% more clicks than other headlines.
If the title resembles an educational format, it will make your reader have an idea that they’ll be taught something valuable if they click.
It brings confidence and authority to your content which they’ll be willing to give it a shot.
No salesy click bait.
With that, they’ll be more likely to click on your link.
The professional format is great for those people who are working in the industry or within their profession niche.
This brings out the professional side of you and your website. It helps build your trust by giving more value to your readers.
9. Use Number
Numbers are used often in headlines because they play an important role when it comes to CTR.
The data shows that headlines with numbers had 2% higher click-through rates than without numbers. Using numbers will tell them what are they going to get if they click on your link.
We can also use this principle in the headline:
“How to Start a Blog in 10 Steps” is more relevant than “10 Steps to Start a Blog”.
In an overview, users who land on the title above will likely get the impression that if they follow the 10 steps provided in your content, they’ll most likely get starting to blog in no time.
Will any number do the tricks?
No. According to this, small and odd number work best.
The clear objective in the title with numbering will attract the correct audience that you are targeting as well providing the search engine the exact intent of your content.
10. People Like “The Best”
“The Best” Is 23% More Effective.
Another popular formula is to refer to your product or service in the title tag as “the best.” The data shows that pages with the following formula have a 23% higher CTR:
-Product or Service + “The Best”
For example: “The Best Productivity Tips For Busy People”
People will go after the most popular products on the market.
The same concept goes for your website.
If you can tell people that your site is the best product they can find, then they will be more likely to click on it and make a purchase.
With social proofing of your best product, you will be able to gain the trust of your possible consumer.
Conclusion
I hope these steps are helpful. Perform the A/B test to find out what work for you!
Always remember that a title tag is only part of the larger content marketing strategy.
You should also have a strong, cohesive, and comprehensive strategy in place for your marketing and website.
Getting a good title is not enough; you need to make sure that it fits with the rest of your website content but it’s certainly a good start and an easy win to begin with.
“A title tag should be interesting, useful, and informative.”
JustRank
The title is the first thing a user sees and reads when visiting your site and has the most direct influence on whether or not a user will click on it.
A title that attracts potential customers to click through is incredibly important because you only have one shot at getting them to read more about what you’re offering.
Title tags improve SEO and CTR, but what are the best titles to use?
When it comes to title tags, a longer title tag isn’t always better.
You want to make sure that you pick a title that’s descriptive and concise that will tell your audience exactly what you’re trying to say or address within boundaries.
To determine this we had created the SERP Snippet Preview Tool that used keyword density, volume, and average word count that prioritized titles over metadata.
The results of this were better engagement and click-through rate in search engine traffic as we’ve shown.
Bonus Tip: Put Years in Title
Titles with years generate 4.9% higher CTR.
People need up-to-date information.
Titles with years are more relatable.
This is an example of a title with year: “The 10 Most Important Productivity Tips I learned in 2016”.
Would you click on the above when we are living in the year 2021?
The tips or content might not be useful or relevant anymore.
Title with years can also encourage and remind you to update your old content to be more relevant and stay in the trend.
Put Learning Into Practice
Grab our actionable local SEO checklist (with progress tracking) to gain an upper hand over your competitor now for FREE!
Resources:
- https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/appearance/good-titles-snippets
- https://www.portent.com/blog/seo/how-to-write-a-great-title-tag-and-why-they-are-important.htm
- https://backlinko.com/google-ctr-stats
