Any rule of thumb about how long your Title should be?

1. 82

   mary615posted 12 years ago

   I know how important it is to give your Title meaning, but how long is too long?  On some of mine that I include photos and instructions, if I say that in the Title, it gets pretty long, but I want people to know that info.

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   Uninvited Writerposted 12 years ago

   From an SEO perspective I have heard that Google only pays attention to the first 60 characters.

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      mary615posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

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         Cardisaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         60 characters is what Google says. They only crawl the first 60 anyway so more than that is a waste.

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3. 92

   habeeposted 12 years ago

   Mornin', Mary and UW!

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4. 80

   Uninvited Writerposted 12 years ago

   Good morning, Habee. How are you today?

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      habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Great! My daughter, 3 of the grands, and I are about to go out of town for some Christmas shopping. How have you been?

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         mary615posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Hi habee, are you going into the BIG city of Atlanta to shop?? I see  you have a new Hub.  Have to check it out.  Have fun!

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            habeeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Nope, Mary. We went to the big city of Albany! lol. Toys R Us, Old Navy, shoe stores, a department store, and out to lunch. When we got back to our town, we went grocery shopping. I'm whipped!
            
            UW, best of luck in your job search!

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5. 80

   Uninvited Writerposted 12 years ago

   I'm okay. Still looking for a full-time job. Writing every day and trying to make that my full-time job

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6. 79

   QuestionMasterposted 12 years ago

   Long enough to get your keywords in while still making sense to the viewer.

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   TinaAtHomeposted 12 years ago

   I was advised 8 words and 5 key words.

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8. 80

   Time Spiralposted 12 years ago

   I have not seen a correct answer here yet, so I will tell it to you.
   
   No, there is no 'rule of thumb' as to the length of the title in the SEO perspective that you're talking about.
   
   The idea that Google only looks at 60 characters is absurd, and incorrect.
   
   The entire SEO market is so completely full of sh%@ and dirty practices, and BS, that I'd be extremely careful taking too much of anything they say into consideration. I'm not saying there is no merit in the field, obviously there is, but it's a dirty, dirty, filthy industry.
   
   Your title should only do one thing: Set an extremely clear and succinct expectation for the reader. That's it.
   
   I take the organic approach to SEO. Write stellar content and it will naturally be optimized for the web. Focusing too much on stuffing keywords into H tags should always be an after thought.

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      mary615posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for much for the "correct" answer.

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      Uninvited Writerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      No need to be insulting... as I said... I have heard that. I didn't know we had such an expert here..
      
      But yes, the title should tell the person exactly what they want to know about your article. I also stay away from keyword stuffing and just let it happen naturally.

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         Kurant82posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         LOL, Touche (That one was for you :]) Universal Writer, haha Time Spiral I am sorry we are not as advanced intellectually as you may be. For the love of god I am so sick of people saying SEO this and SEO that. The awnser is simple you should keep your titles short and sweet, and to the point so it is easier for search engines to place your topic in order for people to find it. This will make sure your topic shows up and in search results more often.  You should try this in order to attract greater traffic. Hopefully Time Spiral does not insult my own mental copacity after reading my awnser. :] no hard feelings Time Spiral.

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9. 80

   ngurecoposted 12 years ago

   Should the length of the title really matter? We are seeing a full photo of your hub on the search engine. Neat and curious photos will most likely make them come.
   
   As seen on Google front page.
   

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      mary615posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      thanks for showing me this, ngureco, I should check my Hubs more often to see how (or if) they show on Google.
      
      Hey folks, I didn't mean to start an arugument here.

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         Uninvited Writerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Don't worry... I'm over it now

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         1. 82

            mary615posted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Good

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10. 71

    Cagsilposted 12 years ago

    To whom it may concern?
    
    Please use Google search and pick any topic you would like to search for. When YOU look at the search engine results, then LOOK at the results with knowing this...
    
    If your title is TOO long, then Google will only display a 60-65 character title. The REST of your title will END in ..........? Your searcher will only have a vague idea of what your hub is about. It might not be enough of an idea, that they click to read.
    
    If your title is under 60 characters, then Google will display your entire title.
    
    You only need to do a search to prove what I said true or not. From an SEO perspective, your URL and TITLE should have keyword richness.

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    mother knows bestposted 12 years ago

    Children, children can't we all just get along here! ;P lol Sorry I couldn't resist....

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12. 80

    Time Spiralposted 12 years ago

    Yeah, my goodness. Why is everyone jumping all over me here?!
    
    It is true that in one search engine result page, google's, only a certain amount of your title is shown, but google knows your entire page, so the entire title is determined in the search algorithm. but the aesthetics of the way your title looks in a search engine result page is only one consideration and is not more important than the content of your title.
    
    And yes I am an expert but that does not mean my suggestions are infallible. Don't get so defensive. It is very unnecessary.
    
    Follow the guidelines in my original response and you will have effective titles.
    
    My overall point is very simple. SEO should be an after thought, not an impetus. Your title should be succinct and designed for the human viewer.

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       QuestionMasterposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Is it just me or did you contradict yourself in that post?
       
       "But google knows your entire page, so the entire title is determined in the search algorithm."
       
       "Your title should be succinct and designed for the human viewer."
       
       So wait, do you want us to write for Google or human viewers?

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       thisisoliposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I am also an SEO Expert, not tooting my own horn but I have been doing this for years and I have a track record with both small businesses and large corporations.
       
       I can say right here and right now that SEO is about more than just serps, it is about aesthetics too.  A well formated search listing is much more likely to be clicked than a page which has a title longer than 60 words, especailly if the keywords drop off the end of the title. 
       
       Search engine optimization is just that, you are not just optimizing for the position of your result, you are trying to maximize the CTR too. A bad looking page title can drop CTR by over 70% (shown in testing).
       
       While the actual length of the title tag has inconclusive results on both sides of the argument, one thing is for certain, keywords should be as close to the beginning of the Title tag as possible. The further your keywords are from teh begining of the tag teh less impact they have.  It has also been shown that broader title tags are much less effective than niche title tags, which means longer title tags can have a negative effect on SERPs.
       
       This means that longer title tags are not only generally irrelevant, but the truncation also looks unprofessional, gives a lower CTR, and worst of all it means that social media sharing looks messy, so you have a lower social media engagement.
       
       The title should be designed for the user, as you said, which is why a ~60 character limit is a good idea, it provides a good user experience. Just because Google crawls over 60 characters doesn't mean it is a good idea to have more than 60 characters.

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    rebekahELLEposted 12 years ago

    I saw this the other day on Searchengineland - a short excerpt from Dexter with a snarky seo comment and a couple of industry videos on SEO. 
    
    http://searchengineland.com/why-do-holl … ame-102041

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