by: TC Thorn
There's such a thing as taking search engine optimization too far. I'm not talking about black hat versus white hat, things that might get you banned versus staying pristine. I'm talking about keyword stuffing in the title. As far as search engine optimization goes, there's nothing wrong with it. You might very well make it to #1 with a title like "Widgets, Black Widgets, Home Widgets, Cheap Widgets."
But who's going to click on that?
Oh, I'm sure some people will. But I'm betting the guy who's at #3 with "Widget Information" is going to get more visitors.
Sometimes we webmasters spend so much time trying to second-guess the search engines that we forget potential visitors, people, are the ones we really need to impress. Yes, it's important to get onto that first page of search engine results, but once you're there, think of ways to entice people with your titles.
I'm not saying to get rid of keywords in your titles altogether; instead, take your main keyword and work your title around it.
So, what makes a good title?
First off, get rid of the mass of keywords separated by commas. If people were looking for synonyms, they'd grab a thesaurus rather than popping onto Google. Instead, put yourself in the shoes of the person looking for information on widgets. If you were the one doing the looking, what kind of title would attract you?
You really can't go wrong with Keyword Information or some variation of that title. After all, that's what most people are looking for, information. However, that can be a bit dry.
You may want to consider employing what writers call a hook. This is something that grabs your attention and makes you want to continue reading in order to satisfy your curiosity. Journalists employ this method all the time to increase newspaper sales.
Some examples might be:
Widgets, Bad for Your Health?
Are Widgets Safe for Your Children?
Widgets Increase Sales... If Used Correctly
Be creative. Whatever you do, make sure your titles are cohesive. Think like your visitors, not like the search engines. Lure the visitor into clicking on your site instead of the nine other sites listed on the search engine results page. You might just be surprised at the increase in traffic you receive.