Do Page Titles, Descriptions, and Keywords Matter?
What do Clients look for?
When clients look for products, they are explicitly looking for words that help them search. You may be looking for supplies for your dogs, home supplies for your house, places to lie, or places to eat at a restaurant. When the Client types in the search engine and presses enter, they are presented with a list of websites to choose from on multiple pages. They can select the first, typically the first choice, but what if they tried that before and got something that did not get them what they were looking for? Well, they decided to be specific about what they were searching for. So, they type in different keywords to find websites that could help them. They then scroll and see particular keywords or phrases to help them search.
They look at page titles(1). The page title looks promising, but can it show me what they want? Then the description(2). What can this website describe to them about what they are looking for? These are the critical importance of what clients or customers are looking for if they want a specific product or information to help them with their needs.
Page Titles
Page Titles, from an SEO perspective, are essential for two reasons:
- Let Google or other search engines know what your website visitors want.
- Crafting a title with a strategy or plan will boost a CTR (click-through rate) and bounce rate. The page title is clickable.
There are key points to ensuring that your page title will show up in search engines when looked up—for example, using the correct word length. The minimum is 50 characters, and the maximum is 70. Any longer and any search engine you use, like Google, will show an eclipse at the end (…).
Use relevant keywords, like primary keywords. Using words like ‘new page,’ ‘home,’ or ‘untitled document’ does not help to have your website searched. Using your brand name also allows when using it for a page title. A great example is using the brand name first and then the necessary keywords. To capture them, use a unique title that is unique to you and helps search engines and visitors distinguish your pages.
Lastly, it is to prevent keyword stuffing. It must make sense to your visitors and customers. Cluttering the page title with keywords will not help with the ranking of your website, but it will only get lost in the sea of other websites competing for visitors. You can test if a page title is good by CTR or click-through rate.
Descriptions
Descriptions are there to provide additional details. A point to remember is that there are also ways to make the page title stick out more. Writing searchable descriptions and engaging with the targeted audience are great ways to connect. Induce some actions by searchers. Descriptions represent opportunities for site owners to ‘promote’ a page title or incorporate a ‘call-to-action’ into their search results. Some even use a ‘call-to-action,’ like “Click to learn/read/discover more’ or ‘click to buy now!’
You would never want to make your description too long or short: 160 characters for desktop and 120 for mobile. T
Continually optimize the room allotted to summarize and promote your content. Keep the description consistent with what your page is about. Never leave out essential keywords. Not too much, but enough to show what your page title is about to showcase to the audience what your page describes. Consistent, and your chances of having your page looked at and indexed are less likely to appear at the top of the search list.
Meta Description and ‘snippets’ are two different terms. ‘Snippets” are common words that you use to describe your page title or product vaguely. A description is more detailed but not too detailed. Always ensure that the description is not duplicated—keyword stuffing, the same as you would use in a page title.
Keywords
Keywords are critical. They are vital in how your website can be seen and shown to the public. A short definition of keywords is ideas and topics that define what your content will be about. Customers and visitors use them in search engines when looking up specific words. The main goal of using a keyword is to rank high on search engines. Many robust market search tools can be used to help identify keywords.
Long-tail keywords are a combination of keywords specific to what you seek. The more detailed the keyword combination, the more likely you will pop up.
Takeaway
Keywords play an essential role when making a web page. And in particular, it should be a core part of any SEO and content writing strategy. Also, it helps with the page titles and descriptions, especially when they stand out. There are many SEO resources and online articles to read and better understand how page titles and descriptions are vital in ranking web pages.
