For your business, securing one of the top spots on search engine result pages (SERPs) is paramount.
A study from Advanced Web Rankings shows that 67 percent of all clicks on the SERPs go to the first five listings. On average, 95 percent of web traffic comes from the first page of search results, so the remaining five percent of traffic is accounted for by the remaining pages.
It is an undeniable fact that a higher ranking equals more organic traffic to your site. Traffic that is high is more likely to generate quality leads and conversions.
Business websites can get the most views and traffic by optimizing their websites for search engines (SEO). You can accomplish this through various means, including link building, keyword research, and meta tags, which are HTML codes behind your website. Meta tags enable Google to interpret your website content in a more accurate manner. These data are used to determine your page’s ranking in search results as well as to display your page’s title and snippet in search results.
In this article, we will explore how Google’s latest update to meta tags could affect your rankings and how you can stay there:
SEO Marketers Were Shocked by Google’s Update
Google released an update on August 25, 2021, that tweaked its algorithm for generating website titles and descriptions of web pages appearing on search engine results pages. It used to be that website owners had total control over what appeared in the Google page titles, simply by adding meta tags to the HTML code of their websites. As a result, this update gives Google the option to disregard HTML tags in the page title if they do not accurately reflect the page’s content. Instead, Google looks at the headers and content on the page to create the new title.
Several websites suffered significant declines in their click-through rates (CTR), which resulted in a decrease in organic traffic. According to WordStream, its click-through rate dropped by as much as 37 percent after Google changed the title of one of its long-standing top pages, disregarding the website titles that have been in place for several years.
What is the purpose of changing the way titles are rendered on Google?
The Google title update was prompted by their systems determining that title HTML tags are frequently not used correctly. Title tags for Google should describe what a page is about, but most people fail to do so.
There are some pages with empty titles. There are some websites that use the same title for every page regardless of the content. Google explained in a statement that some pages do not have any title elements. According to Google’s Search Advocate John Mueller, the rewrites on title links did not affect search rankings, however, you should not stop optimizing your Google page titles.
It may be time to change your SEO strategies if your HTML title tags have been adjusted. In the marketing world, there are companies that offer SEO title tag optimization services as part of helping you navigate this update.
In order to maintain your position on the Google SERPs, you should optimize your meta tags. To achieve this, be sure to include quality meta tags in all areas of SEO in order to be in control of your Google SERPs.
Title Links: An Introduction
Besides introducing the title link term, this Google title update introduced the phrase “title link.” According to Google’s Advanced SEO guide, a title link is the title of a search result that links to a website.
Introducing Title Links
With the change, Google is distinguishing this term from the HTML title element of a page.
How do you implement title tag SEO optimization strategies based on the recent update?
In this article, we will explain how to write title tags and meta descriptions in light of the recent Google update.
In What Way Do Title Tags Work?
Using the title tag, you can give a website a title. The title tags determine how the search results are displayed, or what users first see in the search results.
The titles of search results provide users with a quick glance at the contents. As primary sources of information, these links are used by people to decide whether to click through or scroll. Therefore, identifying the right title tags is critical to increasing click-through rates.
To improve your website’s ranking in Google search results, follow these best practices:
- Each page must have a unique title: In order to help search engines determine which webpages are relevant to a search query, all your website pages should have unique title HTML tags. It is best to avoid repetitive text in the titles of your Google pages as this makes it impossible for search engines to distinguish between them.
- Be brief and descriptive: It is recommended that website title tags be between 50 and 60 characters long. Using verbose text in your title elements will result in truncated versions of them when they are displayed as title links. Therefore, use clear descriptions when creating SEO title tags.
- Brand your title tags: Incorporate your brand name into the HTML title tags whenever possible. Start by adding more information about your offerings to your site’s homepage.
- Avoid stuffing keywords: Adding the right keywords to your Google title tags can improve your SEO significantly. Just be careful not to overdo it. When Google detects that you’re simply adding variations of a keyword to your tags, it may change your title links.
You can hire a digital marketing agency that offers web design and SEO content services to help you create Google title tags. If you use WordPress on your site, these professionals can help you optimize your title tags for Google’s title update to generate high-quality leads from your site.
Writing Title Tags: Common Mistakes To Avoid
A title link is generated based on an automated process that evaluates both the page’s content and its title HTML tag. As a result, any issues relating to modified title links are due to human error when writing title tags and meta descriptions.
When writing WordPress title tags, you need to avoid the following mistakes:
- A title tag that is half-empty: Part of the title text is missing.
- Out-of-date titles: The same page is used year after year, but the HTML elements aren’t updated.
- Inaccurate titles: The HTML title elements do not accurately reflect the content of the page.
- Boilerplate texts repeated in titles: Boilerplate texts are repeated in title elements.
Why Do We Need Snippets?
Google snippets serve as a summary and preview of a search result. In its search engine, Google uses several methods to generate relevant snippets based on the search term entered by the user. In addition to the meta description, Google uses the content of the page to produce these descriptions.
Google says that meta descriptions can be up to 160 characters long, but snippets are pushed back to 155–160 characters in search results.
Follow these best practices in writing meta descriptions to solidify your top position in Google SERPs:
- Each page needs a description: Ensure your web page descriptions accurately describe the content on your pages. In the same way as title tags, this will help Google determine the most relevant results.
- Include the following information: You do not have to write the snippet in a sentence format. As an example, Google suggests posting the author, publication date, and byline information within news and blog postings, since these are very relevant details that aren’t displayed otherwise in snippets. For product pages, it is recommended to include the price, age, and manufacturer, since the details are often scattered throughout the page, causing Google to have difficulty picking them up.
- Develop descriptions: The use of the software is encouraged for large, database-driven websites. Creating meta descriptions for such large websites is a daunting and near impossible process. It is important to keep in mind that programmatic generation can lead to repetitive and hard-to-read snippets. As a result, it is still necessary to ensure that the descriptions are human-readable and diverse.
- Write quality descriptions: You can boost your search engine ranking with high-quality descriptions, and Google doesn’t recommend including keywords in the description. Putting long strings of keywords in place of a regular meta description is less likely to be displayed since they don’t offer a clear picture of the page’s content.
Working with SEO experts who know how to write title tags that work with Google’s recent update will ensure your site generates the appropriate title links and snippets. With their help, you’ll maintain your website’s position on the first page of Google SERPs and won’t miss out on leads.
Keep your SERPs visible and clickable
In order to ensure your SEO title tag strategies remain effective, whether your website has been affected by Google’s modifications or not, you need to optimize your HTML elements.
Follow these best practices for writing title tags and meta descriptions to gain control of your presence on Google SERPs. Your website will be visited and trafficked more, ultimately boosting lead generation and conversions.
Mac J Web’s digital marketing experts are available to help you with your new title tag SEO optimization strategies. Our Las Vegas SEO content services help your business achieve better rankings on the search engine results page and keep its position as algorithm changes are introduced.
Get in touch with an expert by calling 858 598-4909 or filling out this form.
