Website/Brand Title in Title Tag?

[duongo75]

Hello all

I seem to read differing opinions on this one and not entirely sure which is best. Is it a good idea to include your website title in title tag of your pages (either first or end)? Some say yes for brand confidence so to speak, and some say no as it's no good for SEO.

Any opinions on this one?

Cheers
ML

[mjtaylor]

The first few words in the title tag should be the search keywords you are targeting. You can put your company name after that, but since company names are rarely competitive, it would be foolish, seo-wise, to waste the first few words of the title tag, as it is one of the most important elements of a page to optimize.

[Janna122003]

Originally Posted by duongo75

Hello all

I seem to read differing opinions on this one and not entirely sure which is best. Is it a good idea to include your website title in title tag of your pages (either first or end)? Some say yes for brand confidence so to speak, and some say no as it's no good for SEO.

Any opinions on this one?

Cheers
ML

Yes it's a good idea for sites popularity. You can use this format <keywords phrases website title>

[inertia]

Like MJ says, your company name should be easy to rank for, without having it in your title tag. If you have the right domain name and you've mentioned your company name plenty of times in the site text then you should be fine.

Are we talking about "My Red Packet" here? For a company name this is quite a competitive term and because of this you may find it harder to rank for it. Is "My Red Packet" a strong keyword for you? Try removing it from your title tag and see if you still rank? If you can get away without having it in in the title tag then key phrases would be better.

The only other benefit of having your company name at the start of your title tag is that it is displayed in the windows task bar. When the page is minimized this can be useful for your visitor. Especially if they have lots of open windows. Anyone agree and do they think it makes a difference?

[Big Juice]

The only reason to add the domain in the title would be for vanity sake. Odds are pretty good that you will rank for your domain anyway. If people know your domain name they don't need to do a search for it and if they did need to then you probably rank for your domain anyway.

Me, I might use a site's domain in the title if I need to add some characters to alter the keyword character count.

[craigmn3]

Your title tag should only include what you want people to search... If your brand is a key search term, then include it.

"Microsoft Word" makes perfect sense

"Joe Schmoes Hoes" will rank poorly if you are trying to sell garden implements.

[mccreath]

The title tag is often used as the heading for search results so this should be also taken into account.

Search result headings are a chance for a website to stand out as the website to choose. If the brand name is a selling point then it would make marketing sense to have it appear in these headings.

My general policy is to include more specific words first. Hence the company name would be the last thing on the title.

[bodag]

Like everything else in SEO there isnt a one size fits all solution. To your question about including your brand in your title tag if you have a competitive number of links to your pages, have sufficient content where your keyword terms are referenced, have spider friendly code and site structure I say, go for it. There are countless factors that determine your sites rankings and in this day and age with everyone and their pet optimizing their site stand out from the crowd of keyword stuffed title tags and give your customers/potential customers a brand to recognize.

[ronchalice]

Perhaps the differentiator may be the focus of the website. If the business is strictly web based, keywords first - definitely. The same if the site generates direct sales transactions for goods or services. If you have a brand that sells for the most part in physical locations (grocery stores, music stores), or sells through websites other than your own (e.g. Amazon, iTunes, Barnes&Noble, BestBuy, NewEgg, etc), the branding must be paramount.

[seo4china]

If your domain name is your brand, the title tag and meta description are some critical real estate that can't be wasted on repeating your name in them.

[rickanderson]

Originally Posted by craigmn3

"Joe Schmoes Hoes" will rank poorly if you are trying to sell garden implements.

...but will do quite well for those after hebrew trim with a girlfriend experience. ;

best
rick

[DrTandem1]

MJTaylor hit it right on the head. Visitors rarely even notice the page title. Your branding shoud consist of something more noticeable such as a logo.

[deepsand]

Most here seem to either ignore or be unaware of the various ways in which the Title Tag of each Page is used. While there may be others, such include:

1) The default Name for Bookmarks/Favorites;

2) The Task Name as described by the user's OS;

3) The Window/Tab Name as described by the user's Browser; and,

4) Frequently, the Title line of organic Search Listings.

The Title Tag is intended to be a succinct and apt Page Name.

To simply load up said Tags with keywords is shear folly, unless you simply don't give a damn about your users' experiences.

[mjtaylor]

Originally Posted by deepsand

Most here seem to either ignore or be unaware of the various ways in which the Title Tag of each Page is used. While there may be others, such include:

1) The default Name for Bookmarks/Favorites;

2) The Task Name as described by the user's OS;

3) The Window/Tab Name as described by the user's Browser; and,

4) Frequently, the Title line of organic Search Listings.

The Title Tag is intended to be a succinct and apt Page Name.

To simply load up said Tags with keywords is shear folly, unless you simply don't give a damn about your users' experiences.

All excellent points, deepsand, though the thread asked specifically about SEO issues with the title tag. Nonetheless your points are important ... especially #1.

As to #4, I believe we know that having the exact term in the title that the user has searched *does* make it more likely to be clicked, soit would be appealing to the human visitor to see their search term.

It is very important to consider the human visitor's experience, but we do have to get them there ... which is why I always put SEO on an equal footing with the visitor I hope to attract and keep.

Cheers, MJ

[deepsand]

Originally Posted by mjtaylor

All excellent points, deepsand, though the thread asked specifically about SEO issues with the title tag. Nonetheless your points are important ... especially #1.

As to #4, I believe we know that having the exact term in the title that the user has searched *does* make it more likely to be clicked, soit would be appealing to the human visitor to see their search term.

It is very important to consider the human visitor's experience, but we do have to get them there ... which is why I always put SEO on an equal footing with the visitor I hope to attract and keep.

Cheers, MJ

If one considers " SEO on an equal footing with the visitor," then your point is well taken.

However, I hew to the school of thought which holds the visitor is "equally or more important than SEO. Therefore, if the needs of both the user and SEO prove incompatible, the former are met at the expense of the latter. As regards the Title Tag, meeting both needs is generally not mutually exclusive.

Additionally, building brand recognition is, despite claims here to the contrary, an SEO factor worthy of consideration, particularly for those whose brand name and domain name are different.

[ValuedAffiliates]

doesn't really matter in my opinion, as long as you have your keywords in the title

[PaulMycroft]

I would say that as you only have between 50 and 60 characters to play with for your title tag (before the dreaded ... in Google cuts it short), why waste those characters with something that could be placed in the meta description tag or the H1 and first paragraph of your body copy.

For example:

TITLE: Quality Blue Widgets | San Diego Consulting Services (52 characters)
META DESCRIPTION: ABC Company of San Diego specialize in providing high-quality blue widgets to the building industry. They also provide consulting services that can help your business.
H1 TAG: Quality Blue Widgets
FIRST PARAGRAPH: ABC Company of San Diego specialize in providing high-quality blue widgets to the building industry as well as providing consulting services that can help your business.

Hope that helps.

[DrTandem1]

As for bookmarking, most will change the name to something that makes sense for them, if the title tag doesn't. However, if the title tag uses the preferred keyword term(s) that relates to its content, the visitor more than likely won't have to change it.

For instance, if the title tag is "XYZ.com" and name "XYZ" doesn't directly relate to the content, it will be more difficult to remember it in a long list of bookmarks. If XYZ.com makes decorative throw pillows, a title tag of, "Decorative Throw Pillows" will be perfect for SEO and for the visitor's bookmarks.

Placing a domain name in the title tag, even if it relates directly to the content, such as "DecorativeThrowPillows.com," is not as visitor-friendly. It can be difficult to read and does little for SEO.

This relates directly to designing for the visitor rather than the SE. A brief descriptive title for a page is more visitor-fiendly and SE-friendly by default.

[deepsand]

Originally Posted by ValuedAffiliates

doesn't really matter in my opinion, as long as you have your keywords in the title

To repeat, that is not the intended purpose of the Title.

[deepsand]

Originally Posted by DrTandem1

As for bookmarking, most will change the name to something that makes sense for them, if the title tag doesn't. However, if the title tag uses the preferred keyword term(s) that relates to its content, the visitor more than likely won't have to change it.

From decades of experience with users, I can attest to the fact that it is the rare user indeed who gives more than scant consideration to properly naming and organizing any saved files, Bookmarks/Favorites included. Given a default file name & storage location, most every user will blindly accept such

Originally Posted by DrTandem1

For instance, if the title tag is "XYZ.com" and name "XYZ" doesn't directly relate to the content, it will be more difficult to remember it in a long list of bookmarks. If XYZ.com makes decorative throw pillows, a title tag of, "Decorative Throw Pillows" will be perfect for SEO and for the visitor's bookmarks.

Given said user behavior, your advice to think carefully about the contents of the Title Tag is even more important than you may realize.

Originally Posted by DrTandem1

Placing a domain name in the title tag, even if it relates directly to the content, such as "DecorativeThrowPillows.com," is not as visitor-friendly. It can be difficult to read and does little for SEO.

In reality, whether or not this is so depends on the contents of the particular page on question, whether or not the domain name constitutes a brand name, and, if so, whether or not branding of the page in question is of import. For example, "Hound Dog Tours," "Penn State Ticket Man" & "Happy Valley Tickets" are brands, all registered, as well as being domain names owned and used. Of course, not all sites are so lucky as to be able to obtain domain names equivalent to their brands.

Originally Posted by DrTandem1

This relates directly to designing for the visitor rather than the SE. A brief descriptive title for a page is more visitor-fiendly and SE-friendly by default.

This is a truth that bears repeating, as many seem to have either never understood or forgotten that HTML, etal., are designed for the purpose of presenting information to the end user, not for the needs of SEs. And, as presentation languages change, the SEs will follow.

A final observation re. the selection of a Title Tag would be that one should analyze ones site log, to determine which pages are being bookmarked. This will serve to identify those pages most deserving of Title Tags tailored to meeting the needs of the users in a manner that best serves the desires of the site owner/operator.

[~DaRk-EyE~]

Originally Posted by duongo75

Hello all

Is it a good idea to include your website title in title tag of your pages (either first or end)? Some say yes for brand confidence so to speak, and some say no as it's no good for SEO.

This can help a lot especially if your main targeted keywords are included in your website title...
Title tag is so important because it serves as the description of the whole article or story in your site...
I've also noticed that SE's gives so much weight on it...