Constructing the perfect META Title - Ranking vs CTR vs Search Volume
-
Hello Mozzers!
I want to discuss the science behind the perfect META Title in terms of three factors:
1. Ranking
2. CTR
3. Search Volume
Hypothetical scenario: A furniture company "Boogie Beds" wants to optimise their META Title tag for their "Cane Beds" ecommerce webpage.
1. The keywords "Cane Beds' has a search volume of 10,000
2. The keywords " Cane Beds For Sale" has a search volume of 250
3. The keywords "Buy Cane Beds" has a search volume of 25
One of Boogie Beds SEO's suggests a META Title "Buy Cane Beds For Sale Online | Boogie Beds" to target and rank for all three keywords and capture long tail searches.
The other Boogie Bed SEO says no! The META Title should be "Cane Beds For Sale | Boogie Beds" to target the most important two competitive keywords and sacrifice the "Buy" keyword for the other two
Which SEO would you agree more with, considering
1. Ranking ability
2. Click through rates
3. Long tail search volume
4. Keyword dilution
Much appreciated!
MozAddict
-
No, not as long as it doesn't get overused. What Google doesn't want you doing is "Cane Beds | Cane Beds for sale | Buy Cane Beds"
If you are refering to character count, Keep it as compact as possible, while still being readable. Looks like you have already done the research on what is popular and ranking, now you just need to implement in a SEF and user friendly format. Think of it this way; what would you click on if you were looking for a cane bed? If you arent sure, draft a few examples, and show them to someone else for a few opinions.
-
What about keyword dilution. Would adding too many words dilute the strength of your main keyword "Cane Beds"?
-
lol, if only it were a real scenario, id be on it!
-
lol... That is a lot better than mine.
Try it. I bet you get great CTR.
Let us know how it works!
-
I have seen a lot of sites that tie in main keywords closer together not rank as well as ones that use them in a more natural fashion.
We have done our own tests with this, and while it can take a while to find the right combination, the payoff is well worth it. When you construct the title, make sure the content, description and keyword list are all consistent.
On of the formats we have found to be successful for titles is to use the main keyword as the leader, and then be more descriptive in the secondary part of the title.
Example: Cane Beds | Boogie Beds Shopping Online Store
Keep in mind this is only an example, and could be polished better than this. If possible, use subpages to rank for additional terms or keywords rather than packing them all into one page and hoping for the best.
-
hah
Cane Beds: Boogie all night
-
<title>Cane Beds: Sleep like a Rock!
</title> -
Thats a good point Tom. A new site might not be able to outrank a competitor due to PA or DA, but one could try and win more clicks through a compelling Title and description. An offer like free shipping would certainly be more compelling.
-
Hi Andy,
Thank you for your response. There is a fine line between targeting search volume and trying to remain relevant and sacrificing certain keywords for others. With this example, I wanted to see where the fine line lies for different SEO's.
Since the site I am optimising is a new site, there isnt enough data to test the variation. But it would be interesting to test the variations and see how search engines and users respond.
My feeling is that CTR for "Buy Cane Beds For Sale Online" would be lower due to its spammy feel, even if its search volume is higher.
It would be interesting to see the argument of a Mozzer that supports the other case
-
What else do you offer?
Do you do free shipping? Running any discounts?
I'd be much more inclined to click a title tag that says: "Buy Cane Beds - Free UK Shipping | Boogie Beds". Looks like it fits in the Moz Title Tool too.
You definitely want to get your primary keyword in there - it's good for SEO and for users. But after that, make it as compelling as possible that will drive people to click your ad, even if you're #3 instead of #1. Your title tag and meta description are your shop window - make sure you stand out.
-
Hi,
I certainly wouldn't go with the first SEO's recommendation as this is sacrificing usability and a title that reads well, for one that is only there to try and get as many keywords into it as possible.
There comes a point where you have to do a bit of a trade-off, and in this case, you trade a minor phrase "Buy Cane Beds" for a more highly searched one "Cane Beds For Sale".
This just doesn't read well at all... "Buy Cane Beds For Sale Online". Keyword stuffing at its finest.
Edit- Can I also point out that it doesn't really matter that the word "buy" isn't in there, as Google is pretty smart and knows how to apply the word "buy" to someone who is selling something.
If I do a search for the phrase "Buy cane beds", no-one in the top 10 has the word "buy" in their title.
-Andy
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
-
How to Improve Search Ranking from 10 to Top 5
Hi, I was just optimizing a page and have improved it from Page 2 -> Page 1 ; Position 15->10 for now by basic onpage seo edits. I want to understand how I would take it to next level by getting it to Top 5 or Top 3 results. My keyword and page are as follows (all checked in Google India (.in) ) Page - https://nirogam.com/ayurvedic-treatment-home-remedies-chikungunya/
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | pks333
Keyword - ayurvedic treatment for chikungunya What steps can I take to go from 10 - Top 3 or Top 5 results here? I was checking the Rank tracker & moz Grader for this - got all ticks except adding keyword in URL. Would this be recommended of changing the URL after it's ranking so well to just add this keyword in the same?0 -
CcTLDs vs folders
My company is looking at expanding internationally, we have sudomains in the UK and Canada currently. I'm making recommendations on improving SEO and one of the parts that I'm struggling with is the benefits of ccTLDs vs using folders. I know the basic argument about Google recognizing the ccTLDs as being geo specific so they get priority. But I'd like to know HOW much priority they get. We have unique keywords and a pretty strong domain, is having a ccTLDs so much better that'd be worth going that route rather then creating folders within our current domain? Thanks, Jacob
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | jacob.young.cricut0 -
Duplicate/ <title>element too long issues</title>
I have a "duplicate <title>"/"<title> element too long" issue with thousands of pages. In the future I would like to automate these in a way that keeps them from being duplicated AND too long. The solution I came up with was to standardize these monthly posts with a similar, shorter, <title>, but then differentiate by adding the month and the year of the post at the end of each <title>. Hundreds of these come out every week, so it is hard to sit there and come up with a unique <title> every time. With this solution the <title> tags would undoubtedly be short enough, however my primary concern is, would simply adding the month and year at the end of each <title> be enough for Google/Moz to decide it is not a duplicate? How much variation is enough for it not to be deemed a duplicate <title>? </p></title>
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Brian_Dowd0 -
Why I am loosing my ranking?
My website is lonestarperio.com, I am loosing my website ranking, Is SEO agency doing any black hat SEO or doing anything wrong to my website?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | bondhoward1 -
Using Meta Header vs Robots.txt
Hey Mozzers, I am working on a site that has search-friendly parameters for their faceted navigation, however this makes it difficult to identify the parameters in a robots.txt file. I know that using the robots.txt file is highly recommended and powerful, but I am not sure how to do this when facets are using common words such as sizes. For example, a filtered url may look like www.website.com/category/brand/small.html Brand and size are both facets. Brand is a great filter, and size is very relevant for shoppers, but many products include "small" in the url, so it is tough to isolate that filter in the robots.txt. (I hope that makes sense). I am able to identify problematic pages and edit the Meta Head so I can add on any page that is causing these duplicate issues. My question is, is this a good idea? I want bots to crawl the facets, but indexing all of the facets causes duplicate issues. Thoughts?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | evan890 -
How many links would you need to rank up in page rank?
White hat **** Can 20 website with page rank of 3 make your site rank higher?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | spidersite0 -
Search Refinement URLs
My site is using search refinement and I am concerned about the URL adding additional characters when it's refined. My current URL is: http://www.autopartscheaper.com/Air-Conditioning-Heater-Parts-s/10280.htm and when someone chooses their specific year, make, and model then it changes to: http://www.autopartscheaper.com/Air-Conditioning-Heater-Parts-s/10280.htm?searching=Y&Cat=10280&RefineBy_7371=7708. Will this negatively affect SEO for this URL? Will the URL be counted twice? Any help would be great!
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | BrandLabs0 -
Am I keyword stuffing my titles?
I run a site where I answer questions. As I answer each question I choose a title for the page. I have been trying to get good keywords in my titles, but now I am wondering if I have been keyword stuffing them and perhaps I should be more succinct. So, let's say I had a question about a sore back. Here would be the title tag I would use: Why is my back sore? I have spinal pain and need relief and help. | My Main Keyword That's a fictitious example, but the idea is that I would be trying to get the keywords "back", "sore", "spinal", "pain", "relief" "help" and my main website keyword into the title. As I'm writing this I'm seeing the folly in this. I think it would likely be much better to simply have a title of Why is my back sore? So, I have three questions: 1. Is it better to have a succinct title targeting one keyword/keyword phrase than to get lots of keywords in my title? 2. Should I be putting my main keyword after each of my title? Shortly after doing this on 1700+ pages I was #1 for my main keyword. But, I was also doing other things as well to boost my presence for this keyword. 3. If I decide to do more succinct titles, how would you suggest I go about running a test to see which is better? Looking forward to your responses! Thanks!
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | MarieHaynes0