Your page or post title is the gateway to better search results. Here are some ideas to get you on track to writing titles that will drive people to click and read your content.
Be Descriptive. This is the first rule of title writing. If your page or post answers a question, or displays information that’s worth reading, be clear and direct about exactly what your page has to offer. Search robots and real people appreciate clarity.
Don’t make your title too long. Another thing that robots and real people agree on is that long titles aren’t all that helpful. Real people lose interest and go away, and Google just cuts your title off after 64 -70 characters.
Move the important words to the front. Sad fact: most folks scan the first two words of your page title to see if it fills their needs. Don’t waste the opportunity to front-load your title with the most important information. Rewrite the title if neccessary. (The title of this post WAS, “5 Ways to Write Better Titles and get Better Web Search Results”)
Find and use a SERP (search engine results page) tool. A quick web search for “SERP tool” will lead you to one of these. Enter your page title and description, and see a preview of a search result. It’s a quick way to check the length of your titles and to get a feel for what a successful search for your information would look like in Google or Bing.
So, for better search results write clear, concise titles that somehow say a lot about your topic in about 10 words. It’s a tall order and a worthwhile challenge. Good luck!
BTW, “Write Better Titles and get Better Web Search Results” 9 words, 53 characters. First two words: Write Better.
SERP tool result for this post.