Don't just put your slogan in the title tag
when you formulate the copy of your website. The
formulation of the title tag is the most
important single aspect when you fine-tune your
website:
1. It is what people first read when the
listing of your site turns up in Google and other
search engines.
2. It is the single element of your website that the search engines pay the highest emphasis on.
If you look up the source code, the title is what
is between these tags: title and /title in the hard brackets. You can get the length of your title tag checked here:
http://www.scrubtheweb.com/cgi-bin/webtools/meta-check.cgi
A typical slogan isn't stuffed with important
keywords. My slogan for my stock photography
business is "Stock photos from most of the World"
and I am quite happy with that. It is honest and
catchy which I like. But it isn't a good title
for my website of A-Z Fotos: www.azfotos.com .
Let us analyze that as an example.
The first two words of the slogan would be fine
as the title tag because 'stock photos' are among the main
keywords for A-Z Fotos. They are also fine
because they are put in front of the title tag.
Don't forget this so-called 'keyword prominence'
in title tags.
They also function well when
people are browsing down the listing after the
search button has been activated, because people
tend to look for exactly the word they wrote in
the search box.
But the words 'from most of the' is absolutely
useless. It is the kind of words that the search
engines simply ignore because they are too
common. The last word 'World' isn't any better.
Nobody would search for the 'World'. - To say it
mildly, it is too broad!
The alternative to your slogan is to formulate a
title which includes your most important keywords
for the specific webpage in such a way that it is
attractive when the surfer browses down the
search result.
For Google the title shouldn't be longer than 62
characters. Include your brand name if it
includes keywords. Otherwise avoid it in the
title unless it is very well known. As always be
careful to choose relevant keywords and
combinations of words that are often searched
after.
I always check at
http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/
for the relevance of the keywords I have in mind.
Be aware that many keywords are to some extent
seasonal. Overture offers the frequency of
searches in US of last month.
Searches in UK can be checked at
http://inventory.uk.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/
Remember to make the title tag even more specific
for your subpages, i.e. the pages after the home
page (index-page).
Avoid having more than one
page with the same title.
Get help from Soren Breiting to find ideas for your online marketing at http://www.ALLeMarketingTips.com and receive the latest really useful tips at http://www.StockPhotoNews.com (about pictures and marketing). Soren has written more than 20 printed books, and countless articles in journals and magazines about his special fields of interest. He is widely published on the web, too. Enjoy Soren's wonderful stock photos at: http://www.azFOTOS.com