The Art of the Perfect Title Tag

Working with a variety of B2B businesses, this question is bound to arise when we discuss their online B2B Marketing Strategy as it pertains to SEO (search engine optimization)..."what is the perfect title tag?" As I steal a line from one of my favorite business professors, Professor Ian McCarthy, "It Depends!".

Let's back up for a second. I don't want to assume you, yes you, my esteemed reader necessarily is aware of the nuisances of what a title tag is. Too often I live in the depths of the Search Marketing Ecosphere, rarely coming up for air to speak actual English, as opposed to acronyms and obscure online marketing vocabulary (e.g. SEM, PPC, Meta Data, H tags, etc.). Pardon my oversight.

What the Heck is a 'Title Tag'?

So, what is a title tag and why does it matter to you? Good question my comrade. A title tag is the "headline" or first statement that appears in a search engine result. When I entered the query "The Art of the Perfect Title Tag" in Google or Bing or Firefox - pick your flavor of browser, it doesn't matter -- one of the results that the search engine returned was the example below.

In this example, the title tag would be "The Art of the Perfect Title Tag | Maven Collective Marketing". This is the first line most people will read when evaluating whether your displayed results in the search engine is relevant or irrelevant for the person's search query, whether this be a paid search results or an unpaid, organic search result.

Why "It Depends!"

This isn't my irritating, evasive way of refusing to answer this seemingly simple question, "what is the perfect title tag really?". Unfortunately, it really does depend. It depends on a number of variables:

• The page you are describing (e.g. Homepage vs Services vs Blog vs About)
• The audience you are speaking to (i.e. your end customer / target personas)
• The geography you are targeting (i.e. local vs international vs multi-lingual)
• The list goes on and on...

Having said that, there are a number of best practices / tested-tips you can follow when constructing your titles tag that have proven to be effective for us and for our happy clients over time.

1. First, Speak Directly to Your Customers

Sadly, yes I must say this -- write your title tags to speak directly to your customers, prospects, target personas, suspects...whatever you want to call them or classify them. One of the most common mistakes I see businesses make is to write their title tags solely for search engines, to cater to the algorithms not the actual people you want to reach. Doh!

Don't just stick a keyword and your brand name in your title tag, write the title as if people will actually read it...because people will and actually do read them. Your prospective customers will be reviewing your title tags and meta descriptions to evaluate whether you are providing the information, services, solutions, etc. they are looking for. Just remember, while search engines review each title tag for relevancy, actual people are reading these title tags to answer questions and find solutions. For goodness sake, write title tags as if people are reading them. A brief synopsis of this point...WRITE TO YOUR AUDIENCE FIRST.

2. Keyword Research is Laborsome & Worth Your Time

If you are like many of our clients, you avoid keyword research like you avoid your dentist (my apologies to all the dentists in my family). You know it is time consuming, endless and not the most entertaining way use your creative marketing juice, but the truth is...it matters. Keyword research is the only way you confidently know, without a doubt, whether there is a market for what you targeting (i.e. prospects are searching for what you are selling / promoting).

I cannot stress this point enough. Keyword research is essential to your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy and practice. There are various tools you can use for keyword search, both FREE and paid tools, such as:

• Google Keyword Planner
• Bing Keyword Research
• Moz Keyword Explorer
• WordTracker Keyword Tool
• UberSuggest Keyword Tool

The list goes on and on...find one you like and use it.

Regardless of the keyword research tool you select, what is most important is you evaluate whether there is demand (i.e. people searching for online) for the keywords you are targeting. Once you have proven there is demand - use the keywords. Put them in your title tag, naturally, don't force it.

...to be continued...visit https://mavencollectivemarketing.com/art-perfect-title-tag/ to continue reading this post.

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About the Author: Erica Hakonson, Maven Collective Marketing

Erica Hakonson, Founder of Maven Collective Marketing, has spend more than a decade in B2B Marketing working with companies such as the Microsoft Corporation, Salesworks Systems, Intranet Connections and many more. A self-proclaimed Digital Marketing nerd and junky, she helps B2B software companies and B2B businesses to disrupt and hone their marketing practice to connect people-to-people rather than business-to-business.

When unplugged from the Digital World, Erica spends her time brewing beer, running in mountains with her crazy Vizsla and exploring the vast north of the 49th parallel with her husband and kids. Erica's latest endeavor is to complete an Ultra Marathon without losing all her toenails.