Title Tag & Ranking Improvement....
-
Hi
I have a dilema that I could do with some help with please.
I am working on a site and its home page is ranking on the second page of google position 2 (12) for a term such as [Portrait Photographer London]
The title tag I am using for this homepage is "Portrait Photographer | Clients Brand Name" ( which does NOT include the word "photography / photographer")
The reason why I used this term for the home page is eventually I would like to rank in the top 3 (I'm ambitious) for [Portrait Photographer] so I left out the location on the home page as I have an about us page where I have the title tag "Portrait Photographer London | Clients Brand Name" this is currently ranking on page 3 position 3 (33) for a term such as [London Portrait Photographer]
I'm wondering if including the location would help move my client up any? So it would be: "Portrait Photographer London | Clients Brand Name" and the keyword I want move up for is [Portrait Photographer London]
Hope this makes sense
-
What happens if I do duplicate the title tags, Matt?
-
I would definitely alter the about us page to an exact match so that your title tags for the homepage and about us page are not identical/duplicate.
-
Ok Matt.....that sounds perfect.
One more question (i'm sure I typed this but it somehow disappeared)
The about us page is ranking for London Portrait Photographer yet the home page is ranking for Portrait Photographer London would it be sensible to change the title tag of the about us page to London Portrait Photographer so it is an EXACT match?
-
Hi Nicola
I would consider building links to these other pages, such as about us page, to increase their ranking power for a term. your about us page is indexed in order to appear in the serps so if it is ranking for another term then this will still be the case. Changing the title on the homepage will just increase it's relevance for that term and you can have multiple pages satisfying a search, so I would worry. I have several keywords that have multiple pages ranked for the same search - one hasn't replaced the other.
It is difficult to rank one page for too many keywords as it tends to dilute things. When I have been targeting local search results I have always created separate pages purely devoted to that location and then I have created decent content on the page targeting that location/keyword combination. Then I have gone after links for those pages in order to help them ranking more successfully. I know the customers that your client is targeting are different to the ones that will benefit from a how-to guide for instance correct lighting or how to use flash properly. However you are likely to gain links from photography related sites which will improve you link profile and relevance to its niche - photography so this will definitely help you increase your rankings.
When you go after links just make sure you don't over do the anchor text as link profiles are under more scrutiny than ever in a post penguin world. Building decent content and gaining exposure will lead to you beating these other sites for more competitive keywords - I would work hard go down this route especially if they haven't as you will build a site that is an information resource for photography and in turn promote your clients work - you will be on to a winner!
Hope this helps!
-
I like to test new title tags all the time. Matt had a great answer being specific helps. I usually try title tag tests on some lower pages as a safe bet. When you can narrow down the search you generally rank better. For example I sell products that are cooking related so in the title tag I include a popular use term in the tag. Avocados are used in guacamole so I put it in the tag soon I was ranking 2-3 for months. When I took it out the rank slipped to six. Hope I helped and good luck
-
Hi Matt
Thank you for your response.
Ok so firstly I will change my homepage title tag to Portrait Photographer London.
The homepage is much more powerful in terms of PA than the about us page....infact I would say 97% of the clients links point to the homepage and the other 3% to their blog.
The about us page is highly optimised for the keyword [London Portrait Photographer] too do you think if I make the change to the title of the homepage it would be possible for the homepage to replace the about us page in serps? The reason I ask is I think it is more natural for the landing page to be the home page for a search query like [London Portrait Photographer] rather than the about us page and I fear I could lose click thru.
As for [Portrait Photographer] keyword I am not worried at this stage as by default most photography sites have very little if any content whatsoever....most appear to have the rankings they have for two reasons A) there domain age and B) number/strength of links.
I am working with the owner to produce good quality content and hopefully that works.....also her work gets featured on blogs which are dedicated to showcasing photographers work, on the how to we haven't really done any of that...I guess you mean "how to use flash?" or "how to shoot in the sun"? Those kind of how tos? The only concern I would have about doing that is the audience those would be catering to would be different to who she is trying to sell her services too.
But I do know one particular photography although in a different niche who has done that and it has brought them quite a lot of followers and links from other people in the industry trying to build their photography business.
.
-
I have always found the more specific your title tag is the higher the ranking is for that particular term, so it would make sense to include the term London on your homepage title tag with the correct keyword order.
Your homepage will, most likely, carry more authority in terms of links than your about us page as with most websites the most links usually point to the homepage, so making your on-page optimization for the term Portrait Photographer London more concentrated/location specific should lead to a higher ranking for that term than your about us page for starters.
As far as ranking top 3 for Portrait Photographer I have found that making my titles and other on page factors more specific that with time and hard work I have eventually ranked for the less specific. For this I would concentrate on building great content and making sure it gains exposure using methods such as social media, then there is no reason why with time, hard work and dedication you can't make it so. Do you already produce how-to guides for photography - this could be through written and video guides? I would use this to build you clients reputation as an authority online. Sharing some of your clients expertise is a good thing and will lead to gained exposure without it being at the detriment to their business if done correctly!How is your social media going - are you building up a good following and does you client interact with authority figures in your niche so you can gain exposure for your site and content created?
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
What defines what words in a title are considered Keywords?
Hi, sorry if this is a silly question. I'm curious how keywords are defined. Is every word in a title a possible keyword? If I have a keyword titled "Linear Shower Drain | 40" Long", does it take the whole thing as a keyword? Is just "Linear Shower Drain" the keyword? Would "Shower Drain" pop up as a keyword, since its nested in the title? Thank you in advance for your answers!
Keyword Research | | ezable0 -
Two major pages ranking for the same keyword phrase
Hola all, So I'm having an issue where I have two important pages (homepage and page that lists products) that seemingly take turns ranking for an important keyword phrase. One day the homepage is in the top 20, one day the other, one day neither. And it's gone on like this for a couple of months. Both are optimized for keyword phrases that contain a shorter keyword phrase. So for example, let's say the homepage is optimized for: "Get paid to take polls" and the other page is optimized for "Earn cash for paid polls and more." Both contain: "paid polls." Is there cannibalization happening here? Should I completely remove "paid polls" from one keyword phrase? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Roman
Keyword Research | | Dynata_panel_marketing0 -
Keyword ranking stuck in neutral... Suggestions needed
Hi everyone. I wanted to make a post in hopes of getting some opinions on my next course of action when it comes to SEO. I have worked for my current company for 3 years and raised their keyword ranking from 39% to 55% (according to MOZ's keyword tracker). I did this mostly through improving on-page SEO for each keyword. I think the on-page SEO is as good as it can get? Just so you guys know there are 101 keywords they want to rank for nationally. We currently rank for 56. My current company has really starting to ask me more about the percentage we are at and they of course want it to grow (or show consistent growth) as time passes. Since May 2014 it seems to have fluctuated each week from 50% to 58%. Some other info: We are well known in our industry We post on social media almost every day We are at event trade shows We are a global company We have tons of ads in industry magazines etc. We have industry news sites write about us and link to us We are consistent with press releases (a few a month) With that being said, where should I go from here to get those number to grow? As I mentioned, my company is starting to look at these numbers more.
Keyword Research | | trumpfinc0 -
Topic pages - Word count & other insights
Hello everyone, It's my first time asking a question here, so I hope I follow the rules. Let me know if my question is not properly asked, formatted etc. Question: What's the min # of words we should have on topic page (related links)? Also, let me know if you have any additional advice with regards to topic pages strategy. Thanks!
Keyword Research | | Velvetmonkey
Sophie0 -
How to determine if you have same site pages competing for rankings?
One of my client's sells career assessment tests / personality tests. The site includes a shop with detailed product pages for the tests and also has lengthy informational pages describing the science behind the different tests, etc as they are pretty indepth and hard to understand for someone who is new to them. The site also includes a blog that has 500 or more posts, all career related... some of them referencing products. My concern is: We'd like the product or information pages to rank for SERPs. Some of the blog posts are ranking instead for their top target keywords. My question is: Is there an easy way to determine which pages on a site are competing for the same keyword? And what is the best way to correct this issue and ensure the correct page gets targeted? I was thinking adding a noindex to the pages would be the best way. Advice is greatly appreciated!
Keyword Research | | dogstarweb0 -
Ranking for broad search terms
Hello, ive been getting some good organic traffic lately, i always run the live real time analytics and have noticed that the site is ranking for very broad terms and not specific exact keywords that i have the pages optimized for. Is there a reason for this? thx
Keyword Research | | TP_Marketing0 -
Should i change title tags?
I want to change all of the title tags on my website by adding a couple of more keywords (not keyword stuffing) but our previous media company chose words that were not aas relevant as ones I found. However I was warned this is a bad idea, it will make traffic drop and if it works we will only see about 5% increase to pages. Please advise. Should I change them and hwo should I do it? One by one slowly while changing content to match or all at once?
Keyword Research | | slipnot0 -
2 almost identical key-phrases with opposite ranking trajectories
I recently checked rank-tracking of a client's search-phrases. In Google UK variations of 2 almost identical search phrases dropped 30 places for one of these and jumped 30 places for the other. The only difference between the 2 phrases being the site's location (city) was placed first in phrase A and last in Phrase B. There were no technical or content changes on-site- How can this be?
Keyword Research | | vibelingo0