Atlanta Search Engine Optimization - How To Write Proper Title Tags

We recently reviewed over 300 websites; sites that, we think, would like to appear on Page One of Google, etc. All of them were under-optimized. Most lacked basic SEO elements. Many were not optimized at all.

That's kind of exciting for us. We're an Atlanta SEO Company. We won't run out of customers any time soon.

But it's also kind of sad, really, in this day and age, to see so many sites so under-optimized. One of the most common mistakes we saw were title tags incorrectly written. Even our competitors - other SEO services – typically didn't have title tags in the proper format. So I thought I'd talk about that.

Title tags are the words and phrases (the “titles”) that appear in the blue frame at the top of your browser when you're looking at a web page. Many titles weren't customized at all. And of those that were, most had titles like this: Search Engine Optimization - SEO Firm - SEO Company.

This might look fine to you because you see it all the time. But it's not optimized. And we're talking about doing every (legitimate, white-hat) thing possible to get found on Page One, and that takes optimizing everything you can.

The “proper” title – the optimized title – does notuse a “dash” between keywords and phrases. It uses a single vertical line to separate them, like this: Atlanta Search Engine Optimization | SEO Firm Atlanta | SEO In Atlanta.

Another common error is not putting your city in your keyword phrase. This is vital because it's very hard to optimize a site for a nationwide search. But that's what you're doing if you don't put your city in your keyword phrase. Most people search for things in their local area, meaning, most people write their city or town in their search item.

We recommend putting your city in every search phrase, and putting first in the first phrase (if you're putting multiple phrases). For instance, Atlanta Search Engine Optimization | SEO Firm Atlanta | SEO In Atlanta.

These are not tricks. These elements cause your site to rank higher than your competition. (Ranking means your place on the list of search results, what Page you appear on - and Page One is the goal.) These are not magic bullets. However, combined with great content and other key elements, they add up to relevance, and relevance remains the Coin of the Realm when it comes to getting on Page One.

Why Page One? Practically all clicks on Google, etc. happen on Page One. And the vast majority of those are on the organic listings. The organic listings are on the left. They are the sites ranked according to their relevance. The search engines compete to provide the most relevant sites because, if they don't, they know you'll go to a competitor for more relevant results.

And when it comes relevance, Content is King. Optimization is a close second, but your content must cause people to stay and do things on your site. The search engines track that and they consider you relevant, and rank you high, when people stay on your site and do lots on it. That's the proof that your site has what people are looking for. In a word, relevance.