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Titles
The
page title is one of the most important items for search engine
optimization. By title, I am referring to the HTML title tag, ‹title›,
which is near the top of your source code. A full page title
would look like this (in fact, this is the title of the current
page):
‹title›Web
Tips: HTML Page Titles‹/title›
In a browser, it displays like this:
In search engine results,
the title is the
blue link in the first line of the below graphic:
Many
search engines use title tags to help determine what your page
is about. Also, when a page appears in search engine results,
the title is often the first, linked line in the results (above
the description). This is your best opportunity to get people
interested in your page. So use the title tag to do just that:
Enter the topic of your page, or a short description of your
page. Typically, each page on your site should have a unique
title. If the title tag is too long to be displayed in your browser's
title bar, trim it. A one-word title may not be too short, although
a phrase is typically more effective.
Examples
of bad and good titles
Bad
title: ‹title›IRA</title›
Good title: ‹title›The history of the Irish Republican
Army (IRA)‹/title›
Another good title: ‹title›How to open an Individual
Retirement Account (IRA)‹/title›
Bad
title: ‹title›Your browser must support frames to
use this page‹/title›
Good title: ‹title›Cookie Recipes from Lithuania‹/title›
OK
title: ‹title›Apples</title›
Better title: ‹title›The Apple Industry in Washington
State‹/title›
Do
not:
…repeat a key word in hopes of getting a higher ranking (e.g.
‹title›Apples, apples, apples, APPLES ‹/title›)
…forget to give your page a title (With or without ‹title›
‹/title›), because your page will suffer in the eyes of
both search engines and visitors.
…simply list a bunch of important (key)words in your title
(e.g. ‹title›dogs, poodles, training, blue ribbon‹/title›.
That's a strategy for the now widely abandoned Keywords tag. |
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Dreamweaver
tip: Edit the title by going into Page Properties
(Modify
> Page Properties, Ctrl+J, or Right Click + Page Properties)
Contribute
Tip: Edit the title by going into Format > Page
Properties or Ctrl+J
Have
a Web
question?
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Bob
Hoffmann |
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