The meta title tag is different from the meta description tags. It refers to the title of a document, which is displayed both in search engine result snippets and in a page’s tab in browsers. Adding a title to the page document is done in the <head>, using the <title> tag.
What is a Meta Title Tag?
The title tag definition: This is an essential element in HTML. This is an important element, both for users and search engines (aka SEO), because it conveys the main topic and purpose of the document/page.
It is used to form and optimize entry titles in Google SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages) and can therefore increase the number of clicks to a web page.
Additionally, the title is displayed in the browser tab and some social networks use it as the title when the page has been shared.
Example of meta title
Here’s an example of what a page’s Meta title tag looks like on Google results pages:
The best practice is generally to provide a clear, concise, and descriptive title of the content of the page, to help Internet users make the best selection on the SERP.
Use the same keywords for your meta title and h1 title tag in your article.
From a more on-site marketing and SEO point of view, the Title SEO tag must contain the words you are targeting, while being impactful enough to encourage your potential visitors to click.
Google’s ranking algorithm places great importance on the value of keywords in the meta title, which is one of the key ranking signals. You will therefore have a good chance of appearing on the first page of query results.
What is the title tag used for in SEO?
A meta title tag in SEO is an HTML tag that is used to specify and optimize the title of the web page. It is important for several reasons:
- It appears first in search engines and in the browser tab. With it, people can get an idea of what to expect when they visit your page.
- The SEO title tag is also used by search engines to evaluate the content of the page. Search engines can better understand the main topic of your website by using descriptive and relevant titles, which can increase the page’s exposure and ranking in search results.
- It is also crucial for the user experience. Users can quickly understand what’s on a page and determine whether or not they want to click on it using a clear, succinct title.
How big should a Title Tag be?
When optimizing your website for search engines, the length of an SEO title is an important factor to consider.
In terms of the length of the SEO title, try to offer a title tag of at least 40-45 characters and a maximum of 65-70 characters. This range includes letters, spaces as well as numbers, which Google displays on search engine results pages.
SEO titles that exceed the number of characters displayed by Google can be shortened or completely rewritten by the search engine. In other words, it may be reduced in query results if it is too long, which could reduce click-through rates.
On the other hand, if your title is too brief, it won’t be able to adequately convey the information on your page or grab the user’s attention.
Given the importance of the SEO title tag in the SERPs, it is important to get it correct to maximize clicks and website traffic.
Title tags are an essential ranking factor. It is therefore necessary to take into account how the title can influence search rankings.
How to write an effective Meta Title?
SEO titles have a high potential to impact click-through rate (CTR) and rankings. This is different from meta descriptions which no longer have relevance for ranking. From an SEO perspective, a good title should only be used once for a website and should contain the following elements:
- The subject or main keyword is used to describe the page semantically.
Also Read: How To Do SEO Keyword Research In 2024?
For large websites with many pages, global optimization can be ideal for outlining content and covering long-tail keywords.
- Highlight the name of the company, brand, or service to target branding effects.
- The relevance of the site to the user or the value the content provides.
This can be a stimulating factor to visit the site and therefore increase the click rate.
1 TITLE SEO tag per page
The function of the title tag is to provide information about the subject of the page on which it appears. Each page of a blog, e-commerce site, or showcase site that consists of multiple pages with logically distinct content must have a unique META TITLE.
What to avoid when creating a Meta Title
Do not use a succession of keywords or too many keywords in your title.
Google considers this to be keyword stuffing and therefore spam, which may result in a manual penalty and loss of ranking.
An irrelevant keyword
For example by writing terms differently, or by using very general keywords that do not describe the content.
Keywords that do not differentiate between other pages and/or having several pages with the same page title.
In this case, Google uses external data sources to generate a page title. And this also risks harming your natural referencing linked to the cannibalization of your pages.
Avoid over-optimization.
The most common mistake, apart from underestimating the importance of the SEO title tag, is to try to over-optimize it, for example by using a lot of keywords or deliberately repeating certain terms.
Whether intentional or not, search engines may view this error as spam or an attempt to influence results. However, the search engine giant fines actions that violate its policy.
Therefore, over-optimization of meta tags can have the opposite consequence than expected and lead to decreased visibility.
The technical limits of a Meta Title
Length limit
Although Google has not set an official length limit for title tags, the best practice is to provide a title of 50-60 characters or less to avoid it being truncated in Google and accompanied by a “…”. This could result in important contextual information not being seen by the Internet user.
It is also worth paying attention to the display of meta titles on mobile devices, as placeholder space may be reduced. Searches on mobile devices outpace searches on desktops, so it’s essential to pay attention to how your site looks on mobile devices.
Emojis
It is possible to add emojis to meta titles to try to make them stand out more, especially for domains that target a younger audience. However, not all emojis are guaranteed to appear in the search engine result snippet, so they should be tested before rolling them out to the entire website.
It’s generally better to add the emojis as an HTML entity rather than copying and pasting icons.
Meaning for Search Engine Optimization
The meta title is essential for search engine optimization. It is considered one of the most important ranking signals and therefore should be chosen wisely.
If any changes are made to the title, they will not be visible immediately and it may take a few days for the title to be visible in the SERPs.
How quickly the new page title is adopted depends, among other things, on how often the website is crawled. To “force” Google to quickly update a meta title, reindexing the page using Google Search Console can help speed up the process.
