The Title Tag in 2014
The page title tag (or HTML Title Element) is arguably the most important on-page SEO 
factor. There are two reasons for this.
1) Search engine spiders give a lot of weight to Title Tags for indexing and ranking purposes.
2) The title tag snippet is the first thing a user will see when they scour results on a search engine.
There have been some changes in the way Google reads, displays and alters title tags in the last few years. Below are the key changes, why they are important for online marketing and how we can ensure we are making the most out of this powerful bit of code.
Dynamic Titles in Google SERPS
In 2014, the HTML Title Element you choose for a page may not be what Google chooses to include in the SERP snippet. This is in response to the hummingbird update last year, which focuses around providing SERPS with tag snippets which are more relevant to the individual query.
With a dynamic page title, Google is free to ignore what the title is and will choose the best title for your search snippet, based on what it thinks is the most relevant text to a given search query.
In most cases this produces a better user experience whereby a particular aspect of the content from the page may be used in the title snippet relating to the search term, making the SERP more relevant to the original query. However, this only works if the title tag is relevant in the first place and there is useful, relevant content on the page from which Google can fill in the gaps.
Which flows nicely onto the next point..
Content
The title snippet shown in SERPS is increasingly being constructed based on the content of the page AND the searchers query. This is the perfect opportunity to ensure that the page you want to rank for has the content on it supporting the title tag. If there isn’t any content for Google to provide a better title snippet, then it may revert to your previously written title tag, or (increasingly more often) Google may decide to truncate it or add in bits of relevant info, which makes no sense and are not appealing to the end user therefore hindering click-through-rate.
The title tag should be unique to every page with the keyword phrase at the beginning of the tag and ideally include the brand name.
Length
There is not one SEO company who could tell you what character length you should have for a title tag. ‘Around 50’, ‘no more than 65’ and ‘anywhere between 60 and 70’, are all ballparks floating around even the most reputable sources of SEO advice. Really all we have been told, ever, from Google is..
‘as many characters as you can fit into a block element that’s 512px wide and doesn’t exceed 1 line of text.
The number of characters will of course alter each time. We do tend to not go over 65, as this tends to be the one ballpark that fits the best.
Conclusion
It’s easy to despair at the loss of control of the title tag, but there really is no need too. Title tags that are written for both humans and search engines, that are unique to its own content-rich page, and have a call-to-action, will provide the searcher with a quality title snippet.
To find out more about title snippets, title tags and SEO for dental practices, call Dental Design on 01202 677277.
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