SEO Titles and Keyword Density
-
Hey guys,
I'm doing some on page SEO for a few clients and I've always wondered about this question. I have read tons of articles on the perfect <title>tag, but they don't often mention this.</p> <p>So my titles, like most others follow this format:</p> <p>Keyword 1 | Keyword 2 - Company</p> <p>So say for example I am trying to rank for 'life insurance' and 'life insurance quote' for 'axa sunlife'.</p> <p>It's my assumption that the title should be:</p> <p>Life Insurance Quote - Axa Sunlife</p> <p>rather than:</p> <p>Life Insurance | Life Insurance Quote - Axa Sunlife</p> <p>Am I right in thinking that putting it twice has no added value, and could in fact have an adverse effect?</p> <p>Thanks,</p> <p>Lewis.</p> <p> </p></title>
-
if you included the plural and singular versions of a keyword in title tag would that be considered a keyword repeat ?
-
Maybe you can read this tutorial : http://www.seomoz.org/learn-seo/title-tag
An advice don't repeat the keywords in the title
-
Hi Lewis,
I've done a couple of tests (nothing scientific - just trying things out and looking for trends) on this in the last few months and have found the following:
- Using the same keyword more than once doesn't seem to have any impact on keyword rankings
- The first keyword in the title element seems to be given priority, assuming that it's matched up with other on page elements (ie. Broad usage throughout the page, alt tags, etc)
The best title tag will most likely have your keyword first, followed by some kind of call to action, and then your site name at the end. This works on a few levels - namely that you're improving your rankings, click throughs and also brand awareness.
Kieran's definitely correct in saying that it should be tied in with the meta description, although I'd disagree that there's no benefit to having the brand at the end of the tag - particularly if you're working with a client who's looking to build, or reinforce, their name.
Remember that it isn't all about getting to the top. By including your call to action you're potentially helping with conversion rate optimisation and by including the brand you're helping build trust over the long term... which is incredibly hard to measure but will surely add hidden benefit and gives you another string to your bow!
As far as keyword density goes, the old ways of looking at it are completely outdated. If you aim to use your keyword 3-4 times in a reasonable sized page whilst also employing the ~ operator on Google to find, and use, related terms you'll be fine.
Hope that's helpful - would be really interested to hear how you get on
Matt
-
Thanks Gianluca
I agree 100% I was thinking of the actual site Title tag when typing this so answering it from that context. Yes Keyword(s) + Hook
-
You are right and not at the same time. Right telling that a redundant use of the keywords is not generating benefits (instead, it can look simply spammy)... not, because the title you are suggesting in not "exciting".
Remember that Titles are the first line of a Search Snippet. Therefore it should have to be crafted wisely:
- In order to focus Search Engines on your page's main keyword;
- In order to push the searchers into clicking your result and no other.
I usually suggest to think to Title as they where the Page Tagline. This also make easier its use into the same content of the page itself, as the HTML Title usually is converted to the H1 Title by many CMS.
Therefore, in your case, a Title could be:
Life Insurance? Ask now a life insurance quote to Axa Sunlife
And the Meta Description would renforce the Title call to action, maybe citing the main competitive advantage of the Axa Sunlife life insurance.
Ciao and I hope this helps
-
In my opinion putting it in twice is not a good idea. I assume that you have done the appropriate keyword research in this area and that the keywords are appropriate. I personally don't even think there is value in adding the AXA Sunlife as AXA is meaningless to the Search engines. It does help when the title is displayed to give some people idea.
I think your title should be along the lines of Main Target Keyword in Body of the Page x 1 to 3 then stop. I would not use multiples. If you have multiple keywords you want to target create an additional page for the keywords.
So
Life Insurance Quotes
Life Insurance Premiums
Life Insurance Special Offers
the Title is of course only the beginning. Get some nice meta description under it as well to if your link with this Title does show then it makes sense. this may be the place to mention AXA or the company so people get some good company name visuals
-
For sure the title tag is one of the most important elements in SEO. Make use of the maximum length of 70 characters. As this title is displayed in SERPs, make sure to integrate a call to action. The mention of the company name is usualy not so important, as long as you are not a brand in the eyes of Google.
For the keyword density: take a look at your competitors. Stuffing is dangerous!
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
-
Does using keywords in the top level domain make any difference to SEO rankingsq
i am setting up a new company and I need to register a domain name, is there any advantage to using the full name of the company in the domain name? I know it used to be important but does it still make a difference? If possible I would like to just use say the first letter of each of the 3 words instead what will amount to 23 letters but of it makes a difference then 23 letters it will have to be. Thanks
On-Page Optimization | | Ast98581 -
Does the link title attribute benefit seo?
Hello, Anyone could tell me the benefit SEO of link title attribute. Is **Link Title **ranking factor? Thanks
On-Page Optimization | | JohnHuynh0 -
Positioning the keyword in two pages
Hi there! I've decided to use four criteria (keywords) for my website. The "problem" is that I have to use the same keyword (criteria) in two different pages. Is there a problem If I do this? On the other side, there are two sections of the web that (I assume) must have title and description tag as well as a keyword/criteria (Contact and Registration)....any advice?¿should they have a ttile and a description?¿Should they have a keyword associated? Thanks in advance for the answer.
On-Page Optimization | | juanmiguelcr0 -
Title tags in duplicate pages
hi there, we have a new ecommerce platform which has just been deployed, and I've been asked to tidy up the onpage SEO. we have employed canonicals across the category and product pages and we now have a nice set of unique product pages my question is - do we need to create the title tags in all of the duplicate non-canonical pages eg www.mysite.com/niceproduct.html (canonical) www.mysite.com/acategory/niceproduct.html (duplicate) Can we leave the duplicate title tag empty and not worry about it, or should we put in a duplicate of the canonical title tag hope the question makes sense! thanks in advance for all help
On-Page Optimization | | k3nn3dy30 -
SEO and Pagination on search results
Hi Our new site is still in beta mode, and I just wanted to check from an SEO perspective that on search results and on the pagination at the bottom of the page, is there anything we need to do so its compatible with the search engines and not have duplicate content issues etc I have implemented search friendly URL's, but I would welcome any other issues or suggestions you have that will help improve the sites SEO performance The URL of a search results page is http://www.cheapfindergames.com/category-arcade-and-platform
On-Page Optimization | | ocelot0 -
Recommendation of second target keyword
Hi there, Our company is selling airline tickets and more products within the travelling market like car rental, hotels and holidays. Now we are busy to improve our google ranking because the market of airplaine tickets is hard with many competitors. At this moment we are optimizing our offer pages. Our Strategy: 2 Keyword focus on that specific page
On-Page Optimization | | vliegticketsnl
1. Vliegtickets + Destination
2. Vliegticket, ticket or tickets + Destination Both keywords will be in the title tag. Example: vliegtickets + destination - brandname - vliegticket, ticket or tickets + destination h1 = Vliegtickets + Destination
h2 = Vliegticket, ticket or tickets + Destination Now we know that there is a big search volume on the keywords "goedkope vliegtickets" and we do not focus on these words on the offer pages of a destination. Goedkope vliegtickets could be translate like cheap airplane tickets. At the homepage of our offers we are focussing on goedkope vliegtickets, is it wise to continue doing that at the other pages also, instead of vliegticket, ticket, tickets + destination. Will goedkope vliegtickets + destination make the keyword combination vliegtickets + destination more strong and could it improve our google ranking? Or should we keep it like we do now, because vliegticket, ticket or tickets + destination is familiar to vliegtickets + destination? Hope to hear your opinion so we could decide what to do with our onpage strategy. Next thing to do than is linkbuilding. Thank you in advance.0 -
German SEO
Just a quickie, Does anybody know of any strong German SEO agencies? Many Thanks Sean
On-Page Optimization | | Yozzer0 -
Keyword Cannibalization
How harmful can be a keyword cannibalization? And what is the solution to this problem?
On-Page Optimization | | Alexsmenaru0