How to Write SEO Title Tags That Stand Out in the SERPs

When you run a search on Google, you’re faced with a wealth of options. But how do you choose which one to click? Nine times out of ten, it’ll be the result with the most compelling title tag (a.k.a the title of the search result). 

Each of these results promises to provide email marketing tips, but the titles present them in different ways. They might seem like a simple ingredient of a webpage, but they can have a huge impact on click-throughs and your ranking in general. 

Here’s everything you need to know about creating engaging page title tags. 

What is an SEO title? 

An SEO title is a tag applied to the HTML code of a webpage to specify what the page is called. In its raw form, it looks like this:

<title>This Is Your SEO Title Tag (And It’s Really Important)</title>

You’ll mostly see this title displayed in the SERPs, on web browser tabs, and on social media when someone shares the page. Its purpose is to let searchers (and social media users) know what they can expect from a webpage. This also indicates to search engines what the page is about so they can rank them accordingly with the most relevant keywords. 

There are two goals you want to achieve with your SEO title tags: 

1. Tell searchers what your page is about
2. Entice searchers to click through to your page 

Why SEO title tags are so important

Aside from letting people know exactly what your page is about so there’s no lingering disappointment when they click through, SEO title tags are important for several other reasons. 

• SEO: we’ll dig into this in more detail later, but the more focused and descriptive your tags are, the more likely they are to rank for your primary keyword
• Stand out: the more clickable and engaging your title tag is, the more likely a searcher is to choose your page over a competitor
• Showcase your brand: title tags can increase brand awareness if you have a consistent format that includes your brand name 

Sidenote: in August 2021, Google announced a change to the way they generate and show SEO title tags. If the search engine doesn’t think your title tag is relevant or descriptive enough, it will generate its own version for you. That being said, most of the time Google will stick with your original tag, but it’s worth bearing in mind that a subpar SEO title might get a makeover.

6 tips for writing SEO optimized title tags

You’re probably very keen to hear how your title tags can elevate your search rankings. In fact, they’re a pretty important part of your optimization efforts since they will often be the first thing people see before they land on your webpage. 

So how do you make the most of them? 

1. One keyword to rule them all

It can be tempting to cram as many keywords as possible into your title tag, but this can have a detrimental effect on your rankings. Instead of trying a scattergun approach, stick to one main keyword and center your SEO title around that. 

For example, if you’re writing a piece about email marketing tips (and that’s your main keyword), don’t fall foul of keyword stuffing and include more than one mention of email marketing. 

• Bad: 13 Email Marketing Tips for to Make Your Email Marketing Better
• Good: 13 Email Marketing Tips that Will Dramatically Increase Engagement

The search engines will know what your page is about with just one keyword. Adding more can make your titles jarring and appear robotic rather than compelling. 

2. Feel free to use long-tail keyword variations

I know we’ve just said you should focus on one keyword, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use long-tail variations of it. Adding in more context can help the search engines (and searchers) understand exactly what they’ll get from your page and why it’s different from the others on the search engine results page. 

Don’t go crazy here, choose just one or two long-tail keywords. For example, if we continue to use the email marketing example above, you might pick “email marketing tips for small businesses” as your long-tail keyword to create a title tag like: 

• 13 Powerful Email Marketing Tips for Small Businesses 
  

This title tag includes both the focus keyword and one long-tail keyword for an added punch. Incorporating long-tail keywords often gives your title more context and it can also help you start ranking quicker. 

3. Get descriptive with your words

Google’s biggest goal is to provide the most relevant results to every single searcher. The more descriptive you can be about your page, the better Google will understand it and be able to serve it to the right people. 

Use your title tag to really dive into what your webpage is about and set reader expectations from the get-go.

4. Keep it short and sweet

You’re probably wondering how long your SEO titles should be. Google has a nasty habit of truncating (or cutting off) SEO title tags that are too long. They’ll simply end abruptly with ellipses. This can leave out vital information about your page and cause searchers to move on to the next result without even giving yours a chance. 

As a general rule, title tags should fall somewhere between 50 and 60 characters (although Google actually measures length in pixels rather than characters, so it’s worth bearing that in mind). 

5. Kick things off with your keyword

There’s no hard and fast data that shows whether the positioning of a keyword in your title tag is a major ranking factor. However, putting the important information (i.e. your keyword) upfront will give searchers an instant idea about what they’ll get from your page. 

6. Give each page its own title 

It can be tempting to copy-paste your title tags for every page, especially if you have a considerable amount of pages on your site. However, giving every page the same title can be confusing for search engines and it provides very little information about what each page is actually about - which, as you can guess, will reduce the click-through rate (CTR). 

Each page on your site should have its own unique title tag that tells Google and searches what it’s about and what they can expect.

Stand out in searches: SEO title tag best practices

Now that your SEO titles are prepped for the search engines, it’s time to start actually writing them. Here are some best practices to bear in mind when you start drafting to make sure you’re putting your best foot forward. 

1. Steer clear of capitals

Tempted to write your SEO meta title in all caps? Don’t. It might make it stand out, but it’ll be standing out for all the wrong reasons. Instead, opt for sentence case or title case.

• Capitals (bad): 13 EMAIL MARKETING TIPS TO IMPROVE OPEN RATES
• Sentence case (good): 13 email marketing tips to improve open rates
• Title case (good): 13 Email Marketing Tips to Improve Open Rates 

2. Be human 

You might be trying to impress Google, but Google’s trying to impress its users - who are, in fact, human. Don’t shoehorn a ton of keywords into your titles in an attempt to influence your ranking. Instead, write as if you were speaking to your audience - what would they want to know about your page?

3. Highlight any quick wins 

Searchers are often looking for an answer to their question or search query right away. If you can offer a speedy solution or a quick win in your title tag, do it. For example, using the words “quick” or “simple” can increase click-throughs, but you can take it one step further and highlight how quickly a reader can solve a problem. To do this, use words and phrases like “in X minutes”, “in one day”, “today”, and “now”. 

4. Mention your well-known brand

Not every brand is a household name, but if you’re pretty well-known in your industry there’s absolutely no harm in calling out your brand in your SEO title tag. This will instill credibility and cement brand awareness while also ensuring you become a go-to resource in your industry. 

5. Include numbers where possible

List posts are big. People love them because they offer information in an easily-scannable format that has a familiar structure. If your page includes a list in any shape or form, always include a number in your title tag.

6. Leverage power words 

Searchers are mere mortals who have feelings and emotions. Using power (or emotion-driven) words in your SEO title tags can give them the nudge they need to click through to your webpage. 

Some sample power words include: 

• Amazing
• Sensational
• Remarkable 
• Revolutionary
• Magic
• Miracle
• Startling

Note the difference between these two examples: 

1. 13 Revolutionary Email Marketing Tips to Use Right Now 
2. 13 Email Marketing Tips You Can Use Right Now 

7. Break up titles with punctuation 

You only have a small amount of space to play around with when it comes to your SEO title tags, but you can always use punctuation to make them more appealing. Try using parentheses or brackets to break up the title and add extra information and context about your page. 

Check out these examples: 

• 13 Revolutionary Email Marketing Tips (That Actually Work)
• How to Set Up Shoppable Campaigns (And Drive More Sales)
• What is a CRM (and Why It’s So Important)

How to generate SEO titles with Jasper 

Title generation is one of many ways you can leverage AI for SEO. Don’t know where to start? Jasper has a selection of SEO title tag templates, each of which is geared to a different type of page. 

It’s particularly helpful when you need to create SEO title tags in bulk (which can be a nightmare if you’ve got multiple pages to edit during an SEO audit). 

SEO title generator for blog posts

Simply enter your company name, the title of your blog post, and what it’s about and Jasper will generate a selection of title tags and your meta descriptions. 

SEO title generator for your homepage

Plug in a bit about your company and your target keyword and Jasper will do all the hard work for you. 

SEO title generator for product pages

Write a little bit about the product and Jasper will create a selection of title tags that incorporate that information. 

SEO title generator for services

Let Jasper know what service you’re promoting and the powerful AI content generator will come up with a number of potential tags for you.

Get inspired with these great title tag examples

1. CoSchedule 

Best practices covered: 

• List format with a high number
• Focus keyword
• Power word
• Added context to show what readers will get

2. WordStream

Best practices covered: 

• List format
• Focus keyword
• An added sense of curiosity

4. Practically Functional

Best practices covered: 

• Brand name
• Human wording 
• Highlights a quick win

5. Make Web Better

Best practices covered: 

• Focus keyword
• Punctuation 

6. Innity

Best practices covered: 

• Focus keyword
• Brand name 
• Added context for curiosity 

7. Adam Enfroy 

Best practices covered: 

• Focus keyword
• Punctuation
• List format 
• Added context so searchers know what to expect 

Make your SEO title tags stand out in Google search results

Now you know exactly what goes into an effective SEO title tag, you can start working on yours. Remember to focus on one main keyword (but feel free to leverage a couple of long-tail versions) and write for humans, not Google. Doing so will help boost your rankings and give searchers a good idea about what they can expect from your web pages.

Want to get a little more technical? Try our FAQ schema markup generator.

Sign up for Jasper and create title tags that stand out.