Question About Titles

1. 91

   Natalie Frankposted 5 years ago

   Does it hurt you SEO-wise to add a extra phrase to your title after the one with your keyword in it?  In other wods, if your three word title with the keyword in it is a good one in terms of SEO but you don't think it gives enough info for the reader so you add something to it does that weaken the three word title in any way?  Thanks!

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   1. 97

      DrMark1961posted 5 years agoin reply to this

      No, it does not hurt your search engine rankings but can do a lot to improve your click rate. For instance, I have an article about Tough and Badass Dog Names. Those are the keywords for the search engine to find. I added a long hyphen (forgot what that is called) and added "Outlaws and Gangstas", not for the search engine, for the readers.
      This is a good strategy to use when you can think of another phrase that will increase the readers interest.

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   2. 83

      samanthacubbisonposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Hiya,
      
      This Quora post addresses the SEO title issue: https://www.quora.com/Does-Google-penal … h-ranking.
      
      Basically, you're fine, but here are some things to consider when titling your work for the best possible results:
      
      - Avoid keyword stuffing
      - Titles should be descriptive and concise
      - Avoid repeated or boilerplate titles
      - Use powerful adjectives
      
      Finally, ask yourself why someone should click on your article rather than someone else's. Is your title demonstrating the pressing and useful information in your article?
      
      Best of luck to you!

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2. 95

   alexadryposted 5 years ago

   Hi Natalie! Interesting question. I am not entirely sure about the effect on SEO, but I can say that sometimes titles that are catchy can attract readers when looking through their Google query results. For instance, I have seen some titles scream "pick me!" These titles were astutely crafted to pique the reader's interest so they would bypass other results at the top of the query results just out of curiosity. For instance, the other day I noticed one website add the words "A biological mystery solved" while another added "Finally the truth revealed" next to the title.

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3. 89

   lobobrandonposted 5 years ago

   I'm surprised you're asking this as you've written a hub about it: https://owlcation.com/humanities/How-to … -You-Views and the tips there are pretty good. In addition to your hub, check out https://backlinko.com/actionable-seo-tips#powerups and the points Samantha has made. Also, the advise by DrMark to add stuff for readers and not just Google.
   
   I personally like to use Brackets and numbers letting people know exactly what they get while at the same time making the article stand out with these elements:
   
   Is a Tomato a Fruit or a Vegetable (Views of 6 Industries)
   Watering Tomatoes: When, How Often & How Much - 5 Pro Tips
   
   Try and make sure that you have a title tag that is not too long. It's best that you do not allow Google to truncate your title, it's not always done very gracefully. Use this tool for guidance on the title length: https://seomofo.com/snippet-optimizer.html

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4. 95

   Gregory DeVictorposted 5 years ago

   Natalie, I originally titled one of my American nostalgia articles “Yada, Yada, Yada: Fun Facts & Trivia About the Year 1997.” Yes, I received incredible traffic from Google with that title.
   
   Then I decided to shorten the title to “Fun Facts & Trivia About the Year 1997.” Well, my Google traffic suddenly dropped by 90% with the adjusted title. I guess that the original title caught people’s attention.
   
   I just changed the title back to what it originally was. I will wait and see what happens.

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   1. 97

      DrMark1961posted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Years ago we were taught that the best title would be "Trivia about 1997" but as you have seen from your traffic, that is not correct. I think the first title is interesting and it makes me want to click on it. The second one does not.
      By the way, is Gregory deVictor a pen name? Are you really Albert DiBartolomeo, another Philly writer?

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      1. 95

         Gregory DeVictorposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, Gregory DeVictor is my real name. However, I think that the name was shortened years ago from something like DeVictorio. My only connection to Philly is that I went to grad school there and also taught public school there for years.

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