Once you start your SEO journey, you'll be inundated with words and phrases that you've probably never heard before. As well as providing you with an SEO Dictionary, I've also delved deeper into some of the foundational SEO Basics in this blog series, which you can read here:
🔥 Keywords
🔥 Alt Texts
🔥 Innerlinks
🔥 Backlinks
Today I'm going to tell you all about SEO Titles and Meta Titles.
What are SEO Titles and Meta Titles?
SEO Titles and Meta Titles are the information that you put on your website that Google will show in the search results.
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The top line is the SEO Title, which is the clickable link that takes a person to your website.
The bottom line is the Meta Title, which is a short explanation of what the page is about, and prompts the person to take that click action.
The Google search results are the only place which this information is shown; it is not actually visible anywhere on your website. This seeming invisibility makes some think that the SEO Titles and Meta Titles are not important, which is the furthest thing from the truth.
Why are SEO Titles and Meta Titles Important?
SEO Titles and Meta Titles are important because they are one of the first places that Google will look to find information on what your website is actually about. Here, it is looking for your keywords - the words or phrases you have chosen to represent that page.
Having interesting and keyword-filled SEO Titles and Meta Titles not only will help Google better understand what your website is about and therefore show it to the right people, but they are also a conversion tool. Once someone sees the list of websites in the search results, it is only the text used in these titles that actually convinces a person to click through to your website.
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How Do I Write Good SEO Titles and Meta Titles?
Writing good SEO Titles and Meta Titles is all about being concise and using your keywords.
SEO Titles are best when they are between 60-65 characters long, and include both the page's keyword and your brand name. For example:
SEO for Small Creative Businesses | Expert Advice | SEO Bitch
This is the SEO Title for the home page of my website. It uses my main keyword up front, with a little more information, and then my brand name.
Meta Titles are best when they are between 150-165 characters long and include your page keywords, brand name, and a call to action (CTA). Here's my homepage Meta Title:
Take control of your online sales with help from the expert in SEO for small creative businesses - SEO Bitch! Learn SEO or get it done for you with expert services.
You can clearly see that my main keyword is there, so is my brand name, and there are two CTAs - 'take control' and 'learn' are both 'doing words' that prompt readers to do something.
Rules for Writing Optimised SEO Titles and Meta Titles
- Stick to the character limit
- Write unique content for every page's titles
- Use unique keywords for every page's titles
- Use a call to action in the meta title
- Put the keyword as close to the start as possible
- Follow Headline Capitalisation Rules for the SEO Title
If you follow these rules, you will for sure have SEO Titles and Meta Titles that adequately tell Google, and Google users, exactly what your website is about and why they should click through.
How Do I Edit SEO Titles and Meta Titles?
Editing SEO Titles and Meta Titles is an easy task, as long as you can find the location of where to put the information. On Shopify, you simply need to scroll to the bottom of the page or product listing to where it says "Search engine listing preview" and click 'Edit website SEO'
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Then, you can write in your Page Title (SEO Title) and the Description (Meta Title). I don't know why they have different names here, they just do. Sometimes Meta Titles are also called Meta Descriptions. Anyway, write them here and do not be fooled by the '320 character' limit for the Meta Title. 150-165 is best!
The way you edit SEO Titles and Meta Titles on other platforms will differ - if your website is built on ShowIT, Wordpress, Squarespace, or Wix, you can send me an email to bee@seo-bitch.com or book a free consultation call and I can walk you through it.
This Sounds Like a Lot of Boring Work!
That's because it is! But like everything in business, doing it right will work wonders - you'll get more traffic from Google, more eyes on your products, and more sales, all by implementing this basic SEO onto your website.
If you need help choosing your keywords, writing your Titles, or with anything else - contact me and we can work together - I'm the expert in SEO for small creative businesses and I love helping brands reach their potential online.
Are you ready?
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