Double-sided tape is handy for sticking a sign to a wall; one side sticks to the sign and the other to the wall. A nice, simple solution. But imagine trying to stick a sign to the wall with one-sided tape. You're going to have a problem: You can only apply the tape to one thing - the wall or the sign.
That's the problem with writing title tags for blog posts. People often make them one-sided. They either write them for the search engines or for their readers. But it's better to write for both.
Make your title tags double-sided and you'll attract both search engines and readers to your blog. So, what is a title tag? Should you even care about them? How do you make them "double-sided, "that is, appealing to both search engines and potential readers?
What is a Title Tag?
Basically, a title tag is a tag inserted in the head section of a web page that is used to tell both search engines and human visitors what the page is about. A title tag is what shows up in your browser window and tells you what the page you are on is about.
For instance, if you look right now up (way up) above the website address where you can close or open this window, to the left it will say " SEO for Blog Posts: Part 3: Double-Sided Title Tags That Stick" and then your browser name. That's the title tag. And when you search on Google for, say, "broccoli soup recipe" in the search results, all the blue lettering in the search results is the title tags for each particular web page.
Why You Should Care About Title Tags in Blog Posts
1. Well-written title tags drive traffic to your blog.
Title tags are still one of the main factors in ranking your web page or blog post. Search engines love well-written title tags with keywords that are on that same web page.
Some people just knock out a quick blog post and the last thing on their minds is the title tag. The good news is that in most blogging platforms adjusting the title tag is as easy as writing the blog post. Spending a few moments writing a decent title tag will pay off in higher search engine rankings and more clicks from users.
2. It's the first thing people see on the search results page in Google.
If you put nothing in for your title tag, it may show up in the search results page as something generic like "http://yourwebsitename.com/blog/post123". And no one will click on it because that means nothing to them. Just like you skip over confusing search results.
3. People who like your blog post will often tell other people about it.
They may send an email to a friend with your blog post title tag in it. Or they may tweet it on Twitter, and their friends may retweet it to other potential readers. In addition, you may (and should) have your blog set up to automatically post to your Twitter, Facebook and other social media accounts. Finally, if people really love your blog they may subscribe to your feed. In all cases guess what will show up first? Your title tag.
How to Make Your Title Tag Double-Sided
Sticky Side 1: Write for Humans
You're writing a title tag first and foremost for real Use your title tags to write eye catching "sticky" titles- lke this guy did!people. Why? Because when people do asearch on Google, check their Twitter feed, or subscribe to your feed it's the first thing they see.
So rule #1: Make that title tag short, sweet, on-topic and catchy in a way that will make some people say, "That sounds cool! I want to read more. "
For example, if you have a gardening blog and you write a post on moles, you could skip writing a title tag and your title would look generic like this: “"http://www.yoursitename.com/blog/moles".
Or you could write a title that says something like this: “Moles: Friendly Visitor or Gardening Disaster?” Which might someone click on? Probably the latter.
Sticky Side 2: Write for Search Engines
Search engines look carefully at the title tag of each web page, as it helps them to determine if the page is relevant to the searcher. What does that mean as far as writing title tags?
If possibl,e have one or two of the main keywords in your title tag. If your blog post is on the new Nike Air Jordans, you will want to have those three keywords worked into a catchy title (for example, “New Nike Air Jordans: Best Ever or More of the Same?”).
Tip: Write your title tag, then go over to the Google Adwords Keyword Tool. Put in a couple of the main words in your title tag and see what it comes up with. You might decide your title tag is fine or you may tweak the phrasing of the title tag a little based on what comes up.
Miscellaneous tips:
Google only allows 66 characters (letters, numbers, punctuation and spaces) in the title tag. So come in under 66 characters or your title will get chopped off.
Do the above and you'll make your blog posts Double-Sided - sticky to both search engines and people.
Stay tuned for Part 4: The "Key" to More Traffic on Your Website
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