Title tag: blue / red widgets guide vs. blue and red widgets guide

[caribguy]

I found these but would like some more insights:

Choosing the best title? - [webmasterworld.com...]
Hyphens within the page title? - [webmasterworld.com...]

My blue widgets and red widgets guide ranks much higher for red widgets than for blue ones. In fact, the site ranks rather well for burgundy widgets too. Also good results for "blue" but not in combination with widgets.

All other things being equal, which of these titles should I use to let Google understand that my widgets guide includes both colors of widgets? I want to avoid using "blue widgets and red widgets guide" since G truncates the displayed title when it shows up in search results...

Competing sites use any of the following:

- red / blue widgets guide
- red/blue widgets compendium
- red widgets and blue widgets guide
- best red & blue widget guide
- complete blue-widget / red-widget guide
- etc..

I'm seeing a lot of variation in titles used: keyword forms: singular / plural, spacing, hyphenation

[tedster]

I don't think there's much difference between WHICH seperator or stop word you use, if you want to rank for "red and blue". But if you want to rank well for "red blue" then you need to find a way not to use ANY separation.

[caribguy]

Hi Tedster,

I wish I could rank high for those single keywords :) Currently around 50 for "blue", so maybe that's not too far-fetched.

My title now is "blue / red widgets - [page topic] - superlative widgetry guide

The idea is to rank top 3 for blue widgets and top 3 for red widgets.

I'm getting real close for "red widgets" (w/o quotes). However the site is around 70/30 dedicated to blue widgets (this fluctuates and should eventually even out). Interestingly, my rank for burgundy widgets and pink widgets is good too, and so is "colorful widgets"

Is there anything I can do with the title tag to improve my ranking for "blue widgets"

[tedster]

You said you currrently use "blue / red widgets" - so there is no direct proximity for words "blue" and "widgets". If the title you used were "red / blue widgets" you might rank better for "blue widgets" but worse for "red widgets".

But be cautious with site-wide changes to title tags, or indeed even small but very frequent tweaking to any existing title tags. See this discussion: Adjusted order of title tags - rankings tanked [webmasterworld.com]

[caribguy]

I understand the potential problems, and posted my firsthand experience in that thread. Would probably look into optimizing the title on new pages only at first...

Maybe my situation is somewhat unique? To clarify: red/blue widgets is a geographical distinction, just like "Minneapolis/St. Paul" but in a different region and with more variation - hence my note on pink and burgundy widgets ranking well too: those are variations on "St. Paul"

Ted, thanks for your help so far - maybe others can chime in?