One of the first things SEO experts evaluate on websites is the use of title tags. You can tell whether a website it being optimized or not just by looking at the title tags. The title tag is the strongest SEO tag on a website and holds the most power. The title tag should describe the page in a brief, keyword friendly way. Here are a few things to keep in mind when optimizing your title tags:
First word holds the most weight
Place your best keywords first. The value of the keywords listed in your title tags decreased as you add more. The first words holds the most value, the second a little less and so on in descending order. One thing not to do in title tags is list a bunch of keywords. No one wants to read a list of words and search engines will penalize you.
Branding
Most businesses used to have their brand name appear first in title tags, but that’s no longer the case. Since the biggest keyword value is first, it’s best to move your site brand to the end of your title tag. The only exception would be if your brand is more searched than the product or services your offering. For interior, sub level pages you may want to leave out the branding and put more emphasis on target keywords. It is recommended though, to keep your brand name on the homepage.
Use 70 characters max
Like I mentioned above, this isn’t a dumping ground for your keywords. Search engines (and users) don’t like long title tags, not to mention that after so many words the value drops significantly. Keep your title tags to a maximum of 70 characters (including spaces). It’s best to cut out words like “and” or “is” too. These keywords hold no value and take up space.
Be sure your title tag keywords match the webpage copy
This seems like a no brainer, but it’s important enough to emphasize. Title tag keywords should reflect what’s on the webpage. The keywords should tell the search engines what this webpage’s overall content is.
Don’t duplicate your tags on the webpage
Be sure you’re not using the same string in your title tag as in your H1 or H2 header tags. Not only are you losing opportunity to maximize your keyword use, but the search engines will notice your repetitiveness.