Local SEO tips: Title tags

Title tags – what are they all about?!

Utilising title tags is a technique used under the umbrella of Search Engine Optimisation.

The best way to think of title tags is as an index in a book; the reader is looking for a specific topic, let’s say, tracking SEO results, the book index shows the page number then the reader flicks to the page and finds the necessary information, common sense, title tags work in the same kind of concept with an important added factor: title tags not only tell the reader what the page is about but also Google.

When someone performs a search on Google or other search engines title tags are displayed in the free (organic) area on the search engines.

Let’s have a look at title tags in action. Typing into Google limo hire chobham gives us this results page:

As you can see from the screen grab above the first 3 results (in yellow) are paid for adverts the 4th result being the first free organic search result. The title tag for the AA limos page that Google served me is Limo Hire Chobham | AA limos Surrey’s Premier Limo Hire. There are a number of factors which determine why Google has put AA limos at the top of the free list, ultimately Google is providing me with a list of websites that they believe will solve my search query thus Google believe AA limos are more likely to solve my search query.

So from doing this search on Google we can ascertain that

1. Title tags are the first thing that draws searchers attention & should be treated as free advertising space ( especially if they are relevant to the search as Google will make them bold).
2. Title tags are an element of SEO which can encourage Google to list your website near the top for relevant search terms e.g. limo hire chobham.

Now let’s see how we added the title tags

Being a client, AA Limos have access to a vast array of free and premium WordPress plugins we make available. WordPress plugins makes our’s and our clients’ lives easier. There are many WordPress plugins out there, the one we prefer to use is called Infinite SEO a great premium plugin that makes adding title tags to individual pages and blog posts a doddle as you can see below:

Using this plugin all you need to simple do is type in up to the recommended 65 characters and then click update. It gives a handy preview of what’s it likely to look like on the search engines. If your website is not built on WordPress you can manually add title tags using Html:

So that is it, a quick introduction in title tags, why they are important and how to edit them simply using WordPress.

To summarise:

• Title tags are an important element to Search Engine Optimisation
• Your title tags are not only an advert for users on search engines but also tell the search engines what the page is about (encouraging them to list your website/page high.)
• Title tags should include relevant keywords that your customers are looking for online – your service, products etc.
• Editing and adding title tags to your web pages on WordPress is simple when using a premium or free SEO plugin e.g. Infinite SEO

Any questions or comments? Drop them below or send us a message and we’ll be happy to help out!