I have written about page titles before, but I really think I need to do it again, and this time, be a little more detailed in how I explain it. Many people missed my "titling" post the first time around, or just did not understand fully.
This article will be about titling the pages on your main website (not your ActiveRain blog). And just to be sure everyone knows, the page title is the thing that shows up in the blue bar at the top of your browser window.
This post should help you move upwards in Google right away; no joke! All you have to do is to really try and understand the common sense in what I will try and convey. Wait for that "Ah ha!"moment- and then go!
As usual, I am not going to try and outsmart Google, but only help Google understand what my site is about, so that Google can deliver quality information to Google's users.
Now really think about that. We all use Google because it does, in fact, deliver quality information to us. So let us help Google to understand our pages better, so Google knows that it can turn to us when it needs to deliver a site regarding Boise real estate, for example.
1. Absolutely, positively lead with your strongest search term- 3 to 5 words. That means that if you want to be known for Mercer County Real Estate, then "Mercer County Real Estate" should be the first four words of your main page title, period. Make your intent crystal clear.
Does this not make perfect sense? Here is a page title with a bad lead-in:
Welcome to Karen George's Website! Your Home for Phoenix Arizona Real Estate.
As a human being, when I look at a couple of sentences, used as a title, I feel the first group of words are the most important and so does Google. Like "Coca-Cola, it's the real thing" or "Burger King, we do it your way." So lead in hard. In the above example, the last four words of the title actually should have been the first four words.
2. In fact, while it's on my mind: Don't put your name in your page title at all. There is no need for your name to be in your main page's title-- absolutely no reason whatsoever. If you want to be sure that people can find you in Google, using your name as a search term, then you can have a "contact me" page and have your name in THAT title. But for heaven's sake, not on your main page. Not when you only have a few words to describe and target your desired market segment.
Your index page-- the main page that people land on when they visit-- is supposed to tell us what your site is all about... You've only got a few words, so use only the most powerful words you can find for your purpose.
Click this link...it will open in a new window. Here is a search for an Arizona Mortgage. AZWM.com is my website. It should be the first result in Google, (unless something has changed since I wrote this). Now please notice my page title starts with my strong phrase-- Arizona Mortgage.
Notice I don't put my name (Karen George) in there at all. If you are worried that people are searching for you and won't be able to find you: Let me put your fears to rest. Here is a search for Karen George Arizona, and I take the first four positions. And, of course, my name isn't in any of the page titles that are shown in the results. If you put your name in your main page title, you are taking two valuable words and throwing them in the toilet.
If your title is 8 words, and two of the words are your first and last names, then 25% of your title (2 of 8 words) does not promote your business at all. What a waste!
Notice that my title (on azwm.com) is only 6 words long-- short and to the point.
So far, we've covered a strong lead-in and taking your name out of the page title.
In the next installment, I will cover two more strong titling points. Wouldn't you love to be number one for Michigan Realtor and then also number one for the 7 or 8 cities in your county also? It can be done. I will show you how. Stay tuned!
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