Forum Moderators: phranque
One thing I noticed is that my formatting is inconsistent when it comes to word and phrase spacing. I looked at a lot of title tags on the web and see a lot of variation. So I'm wondering if it's really important, and if so, which is best
Some examples I have seen:
For no particular reason, probably for the ease of reading/appearance, we follow the style you mentioned on number 2.
2. Red Widgets - Widget Reviews
I have also used the following rarely:
Red Widgets : Widget Reviews
Red Widgets: Widget Reviews
The "site name", a colon, then the actual page title -- with no space between the site name and the colon. Then I started to think that without the space the site name was "polluted"... So I started using a hyphen and spaces, (as shown in #2).
I'm going to jump in and ask a related question.
Has anyone tested to see if the order of words / phrases is relevant, e.g.-
a). Red Widgets Inc. - Widget Reviews
vs.
b). Widget Reviews - Red Widgets Inc.
I've been using the latter more recently, thinking every edge you can take helps... if the search term appears first in the title that it might be seen as more relevant.
Anyone test for this ?
as to the rest how about simply type it as you would into a SE, natural like
Look at where the title is used, then look to ways to bring the most useful information to the fore.
The title should reflect the page and content. In most cases, you are wasting precious characters by adding the company name at the beginning (unless it's a branding issue).
Use your keywords, without "keyword stuffing," and focus on natural langauge to compel the site visitor to click through to your site.
widget1, widget2, widget3, etc. will work from an optimization point of view, but it's not very friendly to a human.
Spaces and punctuation count as characters, so don't waste valauble real estate.
So would "Red Widget Reviews" be a better title than any of those in my first example?
Red Widgets-Widget Reviews
Red Widgets - Widget Reviews
Red Widgets¦Widget Reviews
Red Widgets ¦ Widget Reviews
Red Widgets, Widget Reviews
Red Widgets,Widget Reviews
Red Widgets; Widget Reviews
I'd be a bit careful using the examples you provided above. You have a plural and singular version of the primary keyword appearing back to back. Even though there is a hyphen as a separator, from my perspective, they are still too close for comfort. I might suggest something along the lines of...
<title>Red Widgets - Reviews of the Red Widget</title>That's seems a bit more natural to me. And, in the process, I've managed to target some reverse keyword ordering in both directions. :)
I might even go a step further and add...
<title>Red Widgets - Reviews of the Red Widget from ManufacturerName</title>You have all sorts of options available to you. Ordering and/or sequencing of the words in the <title> is going to be of importance. Read it forwards, read it backwards, can you "reorder" and/or "sequence" the words in a more strategic way so that you are targeting a broader set of terms. Also keep in mind that what is on the page should "strictly" reinforce what is contained in the <title> element.
