Search Engine Optimization and Web Usability Considerations in Creating Title Tags

The perfect title will balance all four purposes described above and will meet the technical guidelines explored below:

1. All titles should be typed in Title Case (or Proper Case). This is the most often overlooked error we've found when using the web. An excellent resource for learning title case capitalization rules is Writer's Block - Writing Tips - Capitalization in Titles. By the way, your headers should be using Title Case as well.

There are exceptions to the Title Case or Proper Case rule. In the case of FAQ pages, it is allowable to use the original question as the title to the page. In that case, title case is not necessary.

2. For nonfiction or reference websites, titles should be written to clearly indicate what is available on the page.

3. Every page must have a unique title. Do not put the same title on every page of your website. (See purpose 3 above.)

4. The title must be able to stand on its own and clearly communicate the contents of the page to the reader. You must give the reader context. A title like "Home" or "About Us" when displayed in search results or bookmarks tells the reader nothing about the contents of the page. Remember, the reader is simply seeing a list of titles. When a visitor bookmarks your site or adds your site to their favorites menu, the title of your page becomes the title of their bookmark. Think about your own bookmarks. How many times have you had to edit the titles so that you would know what your bookmark contained? Jacob Nielsen provides some good illustrative examples of strong and weak titles as well as general tips in his article, Microcontent: Headlines and Subject Lines (Alertbox Setp. 1998).

5. Home page titles present unique requirements. The home page introduces your organization and is almost always your best contender in a search engine optimization contest. Home page titles should clearly indicate what is available on the page, AND for the purpose of web credibility they should clearly indicate what organization is represented on the page. In other words, you need to include the name of your organization in the title tag of your home page! Not doing so can significantly lower your Web credibility.