Quick Tip: Webpage Browser Titles and Descriptions
An easy 15 minute Do-It-Yourself SEO booster
The optimization of a website is an ongoing, ever-changing task. And let’s be honest, it can be a relatively boring one at that. However, the benefits of a properly optimized website are undeniable, chief among them being increased traffic and that, alone, should be reason enough to pique your interest. Commonly the reason most real estate do-it-yourself optimized websites fail to achieve a high organic search ranking is due to poor planning and implementation. Plain and simple, it is easier to envision and considerably more appealing to think of the big picture – the end goal of a website delivering thousands of visits and dozens of qualified leads per month – than to take stock of all the small, compounding elements needed to form a successful, high volume, lead-generating website.
Although I have touched on this topic briefly before, it is time to take a deeper look at two of the easier do-it-yourself optimization aspects: Browser Titles and Descriptions. Unfamiliar with SEO lingo? Not a problem – allow me to explain.
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Browser Titles are customizable lines of text that appear as the title at the top of each page, and also as the page title on search results. Tip: Browser titles should be a captivating, one-liner related to the page’s topic. Include your main keyword phrase if possible. |
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In real estate, establishing your brand is important, and usually that means including your name on everything, but that doesn’t have to be the case with your browser titles. You don’t always need to include your name. Instead, consider using a sentence that describes the services you offer, or the benefits of your website. For example, if the page focuses on listings in Leslieville, an appropriate browser title could be: Leslieville Home Finder – Helping You Buy or Sell Today! Or, Have a House to Sell? Looking for a Home to Buy? Give the Leslieville Home Finder a Try!
Remember the browser title should directly relate to the topic of any given page. For example, if the topic is new condominium developments in downtown Toronto, consider using phrases like: VIP Registration and News on the Newest Downtown Toronto Condo Developments, Or, Toronto’s Downtown Condo Market – Get All the Latest Facts and Findings. Your name, title and phone number won’t be nearly as effective for searches in this case.
Tip: To be universally friendly with all search engines, keep each browser title to a maximum of 12 words or 69 characters (including spaces), and avoid repeating words.
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Descriptions, often called “Meta Decriptions”, are typically 2-3 sentences long, are used to compliment the browser title, elaborate what the page is about, and are found directly below the browser title on search engine results. Similar to the browser title, a Description that is SEO-boosting should consist of an engaging, accurate and succinct summary of the page. |
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Don’t go overboard with your descriptions. Aim for between 5 and 22 words in order to be properly indexed by search engines. As you can see from the above examples, depending on sentence length, typically only 1 to 2 lines, approximately 150-161 characters, will appear before the remaining description is truncated.
Browser Title and Description Limits by Search Engine:
- Google shows 69 Characters (Including Spaces) for Page Title.
Google shows 156 Characters (Including Spaces) for Meta Description.
- Yahoo shows up to 72 Characters (Including Spaces) for a Page Title or up to 75 characters for a PDF.
Yahoo shows up to 161 Characters (Including Spaces) for Meta Description.
- Bing shows 69 Characters (Including Spaces) for a Page Title.
Bing shows up to 150 Characters (Including Spaces) for Meta Description.
Global Optimization vs. Single Page Optimization:
What’s the difference? Think of Global Optimization is an all-for-one, one-for-all deal. There is one browser title and one description, each that apply to every page on the website; helpful as an SEO starting point. However, thereafter it is important to direct your focus to optimizing the single pages that makeup the website. This is done through Single Page Optimization, which allows you to override the information entered in the Global Optimization fields on any given page. This is important because the description and browser title should be unique to each page, otherwise you won’t be maximizing the SEO-friendliness of your website.
Final thought... If you apply these methods to your own website, it will not only help the site be crawled by search engines more easily, but will also help with how the pages are indexed, tying them to more appropriate search queries. Don’t panic when you realize that a standard Real Web Solutions website contains over 57 pages. There’s no need to rush to update each page immediately; take some time, allowing the creative juices to percolate, write up a handful of browser titles and descriptions and then update those pages. Rinse and repeat each week until all the necessary pages are properly optimized.
Authored By: Bryan Coughlin, Client Relations