Title tag best practices when domain and brand are the same
-
I know the old standard for title tag optimization is to use your brand name in the title for a multitude of reasons, all of which are indisputable The most important reason being any strength and awareness can aid in click-thru. But does this hold true for exact match domains? Considering the way a search result is displayed, any awareness and strength derived from using the brand in the title is automatically included in the search result of an exact match domain without having to sacrifice valuable characters in the title. The organic value (or value beyond simply seeing the brand displayed and nothing else) can't have that much of an impact, can it?
For Example, given the result attached, is it worth it to repeat dog.com in the title if it is already showing in the result?
-
Hey guys,
My suggestion was based on an assumption that this is a title tag for a home page.
Dog Supplies | Food, Bed, Toys and Treats for Dogs | Buy Online
Main keyword for this page is "dog supplies" however the homepage also mentions what type of supplies are sold on the site so it makes sense to include them in the title tag instead of leaving it out because those are your secondary keywords. Then, as you stated the category pages should target the type of supply in this case dog food:
<title>Dog Food | Biscuits, Bones, Treats and MORE for Dogs</title>
Listed above is the secondary keyword, and tertiary keywords. Also the plural because "food for dogs" is different than "dog food"
Again simply putting <title>Dog Food | Dogs.com</title> i think is selling yourself a little short, because the title tag is extremely important to SEO as long as you have room after putting the main keyword first you should utilize that space for SEO (better chance to rank for "dog biscuits" "dog bones" and "dog treats" due to better optimization, and also for better CTR. A person looking for dog food may be like "oh this place seems to sell more than just basic dog food, or oh cool i need biscuits too i can get them all here"
That's a whole other topic though, writing and experimenting with different messaging in title tags to increase CTR through persuasive copy to make yourself stand out among the competition.
-
Both Malachi and Irving share valid points. I will agree with both of them in concept but suggest a different implementation.
The reasoning definitely holds for exact match domains. When users want SEO information most will search Google for "SEO" without thinking of "SEO.com". It is very important to brand your site at every opportunity, and the title tag is one of the most influential opportunities available to a site owner.
In the example shared, irving is right the title seems spammy. It also is targeting too many keywords. Five keywords is simply too many. One is ideal, but you can stretch to two depending on the competitiveness of the keyword. My page title recommendation is: Dog Supplies | Dogs.com
Dog Food, Dog Toys, Dog Bedding, Dog Treats would each be separate categories and/or pages within the site, and each would have the appropriate title such as Dog Food | Dogs.com.
These titles show a clear focus for your page and brands your site, all in a pleasing, non-spammy manner.
-
I can completely understand your opinion on the spam issue. I think in the particular case it wouldnt be regarded as spam (i may be wrong) Your solution is great as well. and the additional plural is great.
-
I disagree. 4 instances of DOG in the title tag and 4 instances of DOG in the meta description is way too spammy.
I would have two instances in the title tag and two in the meta tag at most.
Dog Supplies | Food, Bed, Toys and Treats for Dogs | Buy Online
Featuring a large selection of dog supplies, we carry every major brand of food, bed, toys and treats for dogs of all sizes and breeds.
don't forget using the plural
-
I think you provided a great example on describing your question. For this particular case, i think they did it absolutely correct. if the domain and branding are the same, use the domain.com and then use descriptors of the top content you want to focus on within the website. From there link or use high value assets to promote the content within the brand.
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
-
Title Tags & Meta descriptions do not update
Hi, I have a question about the title tags and meta descriptions of my domain b-buildingbusiness.com. I've updated them about 5 days ago but the new versions don't show in the search engines. However it does show when you check with the facebook developers tool https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/sharing/?q=http%3A%2F%2Fb-buildingbusiness.com%2F . Does anyone have an idea why they're not updated in the search engines and how I can resolve this? Best, Rik
On-Page Optimization | | bbuildingbusiness0 -
What does Google consider a "Duplicate Title Tag?"
Do the title tags have to be exactly the same, or can they have some of the same keywords but different context? Hypothetical example: Home Page = Raising a Kitten, Tips & Tricks for a Healthy Cat Sub-Page = How to Cat-Proof your Home when Raising a Kitten Since both title tags has "raising a kitten," "cat" and "tips" would this be considered a "Duplicate Title Tag" even though the pages have completely different content in them? Thanks in advance!
On-Page Optimization | | Scratch_MM0 -
Can I use Same Keyword for Multi pages Title Tags?
Hello All, I am working on client website and currently they are targeting One Keywords for multi pages. As I have search with Allintitle: Search query and Google display around 37 pages of website which carry same keyword in "Title Tags". I have told to client to change the "Title Tags" but they want that keyword for all relevant pages. So I want to know is that harm in Search Engine Ranking? Note: They have not done the link building activities for multi pages with same Keyword, they are using only in "Title Tags" only
On-Page Optimization | | jemindesai0 -
How bad is it going over 70 character for title tag length?
I know less than 70 is recommended. I am about to run a script to create some title tags and a few will be between 71-74. Is going just the few characters over ok until I can get in there and manually do them?
On-Page Optimization | | EcommerceSite0 -
What is the best way to handle e-commerce Product title names?
Hello, I'm having a little bit of a conundrum, and I'm hoping someone will be able to help! We have an ecommerce site, and were trying to figure out what is the most SEO friendly way to handle product titles. With our ecommerce software, it currently sets the Product title as the H1 tag (which could be changed if needed). In addition, the product title is what is used as anchor text for any built in links that the ecommerce software builds from the category pages, etc (just like any other ecommerce site). Here's where I'm stuck. I'm trying to determine if it makes sense to use the specific keyword we are aiming for as the product title, or to put variations of the title that would be more descriptive. Here is an example: We have a Wizard of Oz Dorothy Deluxe Girls Shoes. According to all accounts, the best keyword to attack for this would be "dorothy shoes". However, it loses the more accurate description of "Wizard of Oz Dorothy Deluxe Girl Shoes". But, my thinking is that the H1 tag and anchor text would make more sense to use the term "Dorothy Shoes". The title tag could go something like this: "Wizard of Oz Dorothy Deluxe Girls Shoes | Dorothy Shoes" In a situation like this, what do you think would be the "best" way to handle the title tag, product name, H1 tag, and anchor text? I'm sure there will be many different opinions, so I would like to hear what you think is best - and why.
On-Page Optimization | | clickshipcommerce0 -
Title, other html tags not showing on onpage reports
Either something is seriously wrong with my website or seomoz is not analyzing my site correctly. When I view the source code for my site (www.myfavoritetoys.com) I clearly see elements such as page title, h1 tags etc. However, on the onpage reports seomoz says these elements are missing. I am not seeing any meaningful data in the reports because it isn't analyzing correctly. Please help!
On-Page Optimization | | mortickles0 -
Comments on Title Tag
New to this and I'm working on a title tag. I was wondering if any one had opinions/input on if this looks good/bad/ugly. I replaced the actual name of the client with "Ranch Name" Guest Ranch Dude Ranch Wyoming Jackson Hole Activities RANCH NAME Thanks!
On-Page Optimization | | dbaxa-2613380 -
Best SEO structure for blog
What is the best SEO page/link structure for a blog with, say 100 posts that grows at a rate of 4 per month? Each post is 500+ words with charts/graphics; they're not simple one paragraph postings. Rather than use a CMS I have a hand crafted HTML/CSS blog (for tighter integration with the parent site, some dynamic data effects, and in general to have total control). I have a sidebar with headlines from all prior posts, and my blog home page is a 1 line summary of each article. I feel that after 100 articles the sidebar and home page have too many links on them. What is the optimal way to split them up? They are all covering the same niche topic that my site is about. I thought of making the side bar and home page only have the most recent 25 postings, and then create an archive directory for older posts. But categorizing by time doesn't really help someone looking for a specific topic. I could tag each entry with 2-3 keywords and then make the sidebar a sorted list of tags. Clicking on a tag would then show an intermediate index of all articles that have that tag, and then you could click on an article title to read the whole article. Or is there some other strategy that is optimal for SEO and the indexing robots? Is it bad to have a blog that is too heirarchical (where articles are 3 levels down from the root domain) or too flat (if there are 100s of entries)? Thanks for any thoughts or pointers.
On-Page Optimization | | scanlin0