credit: http://www.wordle.net
Can a carefully crafted, keyword-rich blog post title draw increased search traffic? The SEO experts say yes. Andy Beal of SEOTools has an excellent video and concise advice on how to write page titles that Google will gobble up. Lots that he says can apply to blog post titles, too. This is another post in my Blog SEO series. I’m summarizing the advice of pros referenced below, teaching myself about all this and sharing it with you, my fellow bloggers.
Google-Friendly Page Titles
I find these recommendations from Beal useful for writing blog post titles:
- Use important keyword phrases early in the title so the topic is clear quickly.
- Be conscious that Google will display only the first 60-70 characters of your title, so make them count.
- Sometimes add a descriptive modifier before your main keyword, so that is less likely to be filtered out of search results,
- Draft a title that is different than other bloggers writing on the same topic for the same keyword.
- Remember, “Good titles evoke an emotional response, ask a question, promise something.”
- Write a readable sentence, “a clear compelling offer,” not just a list of keywords.
- Focus the title on the page contents and the searcher’s intent, not your brand.
Now that you’ve got the gist, click the link and watch Andy Beal’s video. Peg’s Character Counting Tip In order to check the character length of my post titles, I open Word and paste my tentative title into a blank document. Then I use its “word count” feature to count the characters (including spaces.) In Word version 2007, it’s under the Review tab. In 2003, I seem to recall it was on the main title bar. This way, I make sure my keyword-studded title is under the 60-70 characters that Google will display.
Other Posts in the Blog SEO Series
See also related posts with advise from SEO pros on how to increase search engine traffic to your blog.
SEO Your Blog with Keywords: Blog SEO Series
Modify Blog Post Title Tags for Increased Search Traffic: Blog SEO Series
Meta Description Tags for More Search Traffic? Blog SEO Series
Blog Post Titles — Shall I Edit the Permalink? Blog SEO Series
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