Meta Title Mistakes

SEO is not just a career to those in the business; it is literally a part of every trip through the Internet. A search for anything online frequently has me observing the listings and the sites that rank on the first page results. It can be very interesting to investigate these sites to find clues that could possibly become useful in business. After all, the best way to learn how to rank a website is to observe sites that already rank.

One of things I look at, actually we all look at, are the titles in the search listings. The words and phrases that are displayed in the search listings are pulled from the Meta Title tag in the header of all web page documents. It is this simple Meta tag that many website owners never get right. Below I have listed three of the more common mistakes website owners make with this very important Meta element.

1. Your title Meta tag should never be longer than 62 characters. Google will only display the first 62 characters of any title tag no matter how long you make it. This number varies for other search engines but Google will send over 80% of all traffic to the vast majority of all websites so meeting Google's requirements is most important.

2. Your title Meta tag should NEVER say "homepage" or your website name or address. Unless you are trying to sell homepages, the words "homepage" should never describe your website in the title. The same is true with your web address. Putting your web address in the title tag as a website title waste valuable space that could best be used to target a search word or phrase that can send searchers to your website. Besides, Google already knows your web address, if your site has been indexed.

3. Your title tag should include key words that reflect the theme or topic of that page. Obviously this would include key words you hope to rank for. Using this logic, should you find that you are ranking good for a variation of your desired key words you can greatly improve your rankings for that word or phrase by changing your title tag to include that phrase. This can be desirable if that traffic converts on your website or it could simply be a source for extra traffic that does nothing for your website's profitability.

The title tag is like a name plate pinned to your shirt. It immediately tells those who see it who or what you are. It is the first opportunity to get the searcher to click on your listing. Tying a web page's theme to key words that people search for and then putting those words into your title tag is the most efficient way to get new visitors to your site. After all, that is why we are on the net.