Searching for the Perfect Title Tag

The title tag is one of the SEO fundamentals that should be familiar to anyone who has only superficially dealt with the topic of search engine optimization. Nevertheless, surprisingly many non-optimized page titles can still be found, including on large commercial websites. Gary Illyes from Google responded to the question about the ranking factor and reiterated that meta titles are still important. This has not changed since 2006. Therefore, the topic should still be taken seriously.

Figure 1: Google's statement on title tags as a ranking factor

As discussions on many SEO websites prove, there are also uncertainties and debates within the SEO community itself about what the optimal SEO title should look like. We summarize the basics for you and provide examples of successful and less optimal page titles for various applications.

The Length of the Title Tag

As a "best practice," a length of up to 65 characters is generally considered ideal. The main reason for this is that Google generally does not display more than 65 characters in search results, sometimes even fewer. There are also examples where Google displays more characters for long search queries, but this is more the exception, and 65 characters or the pixel width is still considered a guideline. In this case, 569 pixels should not be exceeded. For example, the letter “m” is longer in pixel width than the letter “i”.

This ideal is not without challenges: within the 65 characters or 569 pixels, spaces, the brand, and individual information about the page need to be included. Particularly with long product names in online shops or longer article headlines on news sites, the 65 character limit can quickly be exceeded. This does not necessarily have dramatic consequences, as Google indexes about 150 characters, in some cases significantly more. Even if the surplus characters are no longer visible in the search results, they are still evaluated.

So what speaks against long SEO title tags? It is well known that Google attributes greater importance to keywords at the beginning of the page title. A meta title with a large number of keywords runs the risk of diluting the relevance of individual keywords. Moreover, keywords appearing in the 10th, 20th, or 30th position in the page title are hardly considered significant. Anyone dealing with search engine optimization knows that the number of generic keywords a single page can optimize for is very limited. It is rarely sensible to optimize for more than one or two strong keywords. So why inflate the page title with ten more keywords? In this context, the benefit of excessively long SEO title tags should at least be viewed critically.

Also, in view of the growing importance of social media, long title tags are simply impractical, difficult to share on Twitter, look spammy, and are presumably shared less often.

HTML Title Tag in the Source Code: 

The HTML title tag is included in the header section of the page:

<title>
Micro Sparrow X4 E-Scooter for Kids Buy Online | fahrrad.de
</title>

Structure of the Title Tag

As explained above, the most important keyword should ideally appear at the beginning of the title tag, as the position is seen by search engines as a clear signal. From a user’s perspective, it is also advisable to choose the meta title identical to the h1 heading. In the search results, the page title attracts enough attention to create a certain expectation in the user. If the main heading differs significantly from the page title, this can, in the best case, lead to uncertainty or, in the worst case, to the user leaving the page. The brand is found at the end of the title tag on many websites, for good reason: at this position, it is visible and aids branding, yet does not impede the optimization of the title for the most important keywords that are placed at the beginning.

The following are specific application examples and solutions for an optimal structure of the meta title.

Highlighting the Brand in the Title Tag: If the branding effect on a website is particularly important, for example on a company page, it might be advisable not to place the brand at the end. Should the page title for individual pages exceed 65 characters, the brand disappears in the search results. Here, title tags like

[Main Keyword] at [Brand Name] – [Additional Keywords]

are a good solution. In an online shop that places great importance on the brand, the meta title tag could read:

[Product Name] from [Brand] – [Call to Action]

Short brand names have a clear advantage here since they take up few characters in the title tag and leave more room for keywords:

Figure 2: OBI uses the page title as a call to action

SEO Title Tag in an Online Shop: Product pages in an online shop are a kind of special case, as they not only inform but also aim to induce their visitors to make a purchase. For high click-through rates in unpaid search results, it can be worthwhile to include a brief call to action in the title tag. Discounts or special offers can also increase the click rate, provided the raised expectations are indeed found on the respective landing page. The product name should be placed at the beginning of the page title to ensure that the search engine assigns it the highest relevance. The call to action is subsequently placed before or after the brand; for example:

[Product Name] – [Call to Action] at [Brand]

If the brand doesn't play a role, it can be omitted, leaving more characters for a more detailed product name. Figure 3: Mister Spex omits the brand name - the title tag offers significant potential due to its length

Meta Title Tags on Paginated Pages: The issue of pagination of websites is problematic not only for duplicate content reasons in page content. Often, all pages of an article that are spread across multiple URLs have the exact same title tag. The same applies to the result pages of product categories in an online shop. If there is no “view all” page that is offered to the search engine (using the canonical tag) as the preferred page, all paginated pages should be distinguished at least by the page number. A widely used solution is to append the page number to the page title:

[Page Title] – Page X

The first page does not receive this addition. To give the first page the highest relevance to the respective topic, the page number can also be placed at the beginning of the page title. On article pages, it is also advisable to give each paginated page an individual page title formed from the first subheadline of the page. This approach may mean greater effort and the optimization of subheadlines, but it can pay off in practice.

Special Characters in Title Tags

In general, using special characters in meta titles or meta descriptions is not simple. On one hand, the SERPs in search results can be visually boosted and become more noticeable, on the other hand, it can look untidy and affect the readability of the title tag. It is therefore a very fine line.

But are special characters even allowed? What does Google say about this? John Mueller issued a statement on this topic almost a year ago. Figure 4: Google's statement on the use of special characters in meta titles

Google apparently has nothing against using special characters beyond the brand separator, such as “*” or “#”. A user had asked whether there was anything against using special characters other than "-" or "|" in the title and whether characters like "*", "#", or "%" could be used.

In summary, the title tag still plays an important role for Google and should not be ignored. Optimized title tags should also be continuously monitored, for example, to see if Google incorporates the optimized title in the SERPs or if adjustments need to be made.

Do you need professional support with optimizing your website or online shop? We are happy to assist you and oversee all optimization measures as per your request from analysis to implementation of SEO measures. Contact us!