Articles
Article #19

Web Page Titles Need Effective Keywords for Search Engine Success
by Bob Seybold

We all know great headlines when we see them. They may be shocking (The Chicago Tribune 1948 election mistake: “Dewey Defeats Truman”), straight to the point (The New York Daily News reporting the denial of a federal bailout in 1975: “Ford To City: Drop Dead”), or simply clever (The New York Post on a 1983 local murder: “Headless Body In Topless Bar”). Headlines do their job by summarizing a story and attracting reader attention, usually in just a handful of words.

That’s a lesson that can be applied to titles for your product or service web pages. A well-written title or headline can make your page stand out in search engine listings. But the title needs to attract more than just eyeballs; it also needs to reach the Googlebots and other search engine spiders looking for key information to classify your page for web searches.

The title is the first thing that these automated systems read when they visit your web page, so you need a title that’s rich with keywords which clearly describe the topic and subject matter. A clever “play on words” headline won’t work for a search engine unless it includes terms that fit for your target audience.

Looking for the right words? Start with the most powerful benefit that your product or service offers. And be specific; a general headline won’t attract much interest. There should always be a unique benefit mentioned in the headline. And remember that most search engines only read the first 80 characters of your page title, so keep it brief.

Google offers a free online Keyword Tool to help you identify more keywords. It’s a part of the Google AdWords program, and you don’t have to purchase a Google ad in order to use it. After completing your search for suggested keywords, just scroll to the bottom of the page and download the list as a text file or an Excel-compatible .csv file. You’ll need a free Google account to access this service, but you may already have one if you use other Google services, such as Gmail.

Always use web page titles to promote the most powerful benefits of your product or service with descriptive keywords in compact phrases that will help search engines classify your content and draw more page views. Your headlines may not make history, but they could usher in a new era of increased sales.

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