The Title Tag and SEO

The number one weapon in your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) arsenal is the Title Tag. This is an html tag which resides in the “head” portion of your web page. You can see the title tag in action by looking at the very top of your web browser. Here’s a visual example of the title tag for Deep Healing Acupuncture: title tag = Deep Healing Acupuncture, East Bay, Emeryville, Geraldine Shute, Pain Relief
Example of Title Tag
Example of Title Tag – click to enlarge
Another reason the title tag is important is that it also shows up in search engine search results pages as the title of the entry. Here’s an example of how that looks:
Title tag in google search result
Title tag in google search result – click to enlarge
Notice the title tag appears in blue as a link in the search result. According to a April 2007 seomoz.com survey, who know a thing or two about SEO, “placing the targeted search term or phrase in the title tag of the web page’s HTML header” was the most important search engine ranking factor. Anyone know what the most common title tag is? If you guess “untitled” you are correct!