Title Tags character length?

[FunkyBears]

I've always been led to believe that around 80 characters is the optimum ammount for Title Tags. Yet on checking some sites that have excellent positions some have over 200 characters in their titles. What would you recommend?

 

[david64]

I don't think there is an optimum for ranking. However, one thing that is obvious if you test is that Google doesn't give as much credence to words nearer the end of long title tags.

Probably the best idea is to expand your title and use Google Analytics or other software to see if it makes any difference.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Google uses density semantic relevance, and prominence in the title tag. The 80 character thing is an old thing with regard truncation by browsers, and by search engines in the SERP's.

Density - not so important now as semantic relevance has kicked in. but a density can harm rather than help.

Semantic Relevance - Bike/Bicycle pretty much the same thing. Wedding dress/bridal dress pretty much the same thing. so try to get semantic words in there.

Prominence - Really important for users and search engines. and this is where the title length thing kicks in. Get the important stuff up front at the start of the title where people can see it in the SERP's. try not to truncate a word if you can help it. You can have long titles, but you need to apply the first 2 things above to ensure you focus attention on your main target phrases.

 

[MASSEY]

I seem to recall fisicx mentioning if your title is longer than what is displayed in the serps it does not get read (by search engies) .

You disagree with that owg?

 

I seem to recall fisicx mentioning if your title is longer than what is displayed in the serps it does not get read (by search engies) .

You disagree with that owg?

Shaun at Hobo tested this :

http://www.hobo-web.co.uk/seo-blog/...-put-50-words-in-your-title-tag-well-read-it/

Its all a bit of a balancing act as to get a high ranking one needs to keep the title fairly short.

But once you have established your position its generally wise to extent the amount of keywords in the title to catch a much wider range of search terms.IMHO

Earl

 

[MASSEY]

Shaun at Hobo tested this :

http://www.hobo-web.co.uk/seo-blog/...-put-50-words-in-your-title-tag-well-read-it/

Its all a bit of a balancing act as to get a high ranking one needs to keep the title fairly short.

But once you have established your position its generally wise to extent the amount of keywords in the title to catch a much wider range of search terms.IMHO

Earl

Woah, interesting stuff.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

I seem to recall fisicx mentioning if your title is longer than what is displayed in the serps it does not get read (by search engies) .

You disagree with that owg?

Yes, pretty much, seeing as I already posted i disagree with that myth .

 

[nitro23456]

Google will truncate anything over 70 characters (not 80) and 150 for your description. This is for display purposes only.

You can still rank from larger titles, but the first couple of words should be your most important.

 

[tony84]

Yes, pretty much, seeing as I already posted i disagree with that myth .

I would agree with this.

Google webmaster resources says test your site using a browser like lynx (a text browser) as thats how the spiders see your site.

Based on that, the spiders see everything on your site....not just what is displayed on ie/ff.

 

[Probafix]

Google will display up to 66 characters of a title tag,
cropping to complete words. For example, the following title
is exactly 91 characters, so Google leaves off the last two
words in the title when displaying the website in its search
results:
91-Character Title Tag: Title Tag Limit & Title Tag Character
Limit for Google SEO 101 Search Engine Optimization

 

[FunkyBears]

So are there any benefits for SEO in having a long title tag?

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Yes thre are, you make sure you are using the correct prominence with your most important at the front, and less important at the rear.

 

[Codefixer]

Having a longer title enables you to target more long tail phrases.

This may come in handy if you site/page is new and you know you won't rank for a while for your main keywords.

 

[fisicx]

I seem to recall fisicx mentioning if your title is longer than what is displayed in the serps it does not get read (by search engies) .

If I did say that then it must have been a grumpy day 'cos as already explained it taint so.

On the other hand just writing a huuuge page title stuffed with every keyword you can think of isn't going to help either.

A well written page title (see OWG's post) and description combination can pull in clicks even if you rank lower than the competition.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

If I did say that then it must have been a grumpy day 'cos as already explained it taint so.

On the other hand just writing a huuuge page title stuffed with every keyword you can think of isn't going to help either.

A well written page title (see OWG's post) and description combination can pull in clicks even if you rank lower than the competition.

And THAT is the nail on the head. I have always said that people must grasp that the title serves two masters.
1. The search engines
2. The human

Now while it is true that most of SEO serves these two masters, nowhere is is more the case than in the title. Your title needs to get you ranking, but it also needs to shout 'CLICK ME CLICK ME' when displayed (along with the snippet) in a SERP.

 

[MASSEY]

it must have been a grumpy day then. I always remember suff i read on here ;-)

 

Now while it is true that most of SEO serves these two masters, nowhere is is more the case than in the title. Your title needs to get you ranking, but it also needs to shout 'CLICK ME CLICK ME' when displayed (along with the snippet) in a SERP.

Going to slightly disagree here.

Titles should be for telling the world what you sell or do.

The meta tag description is more usefull for shouting CLICK ME as one can put any old outrageous claims and stuff in there without impacting ones rankings to much.IMHO

Earl

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Going to slightly disagree here.

Titles should be for telling the world what you sell or do.

The meta tag description is more usefull for shouting CLICK ME as one can put any old outrageous claims and stuff in there without impacting ones rankings to much.IMHO

Earl

I have always found you slightly disagreeable

The title is what stabnds out, maybe I should have siad shout 'LOOK AT ME' rather than click me, but what I meant was that your title has to attract the attention of the reader as well as help you rank.

Descriptions whole different shooting match, a thread on its ownb in fact.

 

I have always found you slightly disagreeable

The title is what stabnds out, maybe I should have siad shout 'LOOK AT ME' rather than click me, but what I meant was that your title has to attract the attention of the reader as well as help you rank.

Descriptions whole different shooting match, a thread on its ownb in fact.

I am still disagreeable

Title tell the world and the search engines about your product.

as do most other sensible sites you are in competition with.

Description tells the world "EVERYTHING ON THIS SITE IS FREE INCLUDING SEX"

So Bleeding .PICK ME or YOU IS a HALF WIT.:|

Earl

 

[fisicx]

Description tells the world "EVERYTHING ON THIS SITE IS FREE INCLUDING SEX"

Please provide more details of the free sex. I'm not that fussy but not to keen on giving you a cuddle.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

As achmed said, If I am in heaven then these here (the audience) must be the promised virgins... Damn I should have paid more attention to scripture detail, many of them are men