The <TITLE> tag of your Web page is arguably the most important HTML tag or element. All the search engines consider the keywords in this tag and generally give those keywords a lot of importance in their ranking system. Therefore, if you were to create one page with a keyword in the title tag and another page with the same keyword in the body tag, the one with the keyword in the title will generally rank higher in most engines.

Many search engines use the HTML <TITLE> tag as the title of your page in the search results that appear to the user. What this means to you is that this HTML tag must not only work to your advantage for keyword scoring but also must be compelling to the reader.

Example of a title tag:

<TITLE>Blue widgets sold here at rock bottom prices!</TITLE>

There are at least two elements to every Web page listing in the search engines' results:

1. Page title, which will be blue and an activated link to the site

2. Page summary description

Of course both must be compelling, but the <TITLE> tag has a special relevance if only because so many search engines use it exactly as it appears on your page. The page description you offer in the META description tag will be used by some search engines but not by others. For this reason, the <TITLE> of the page is simply more important than the META description.

Here are some important principles to remember when writing page titles:

• Longer titles are sometimes more effective, because more words allow you to build a more compelling reason to visit a page. It often takes a certain number of words to persuade someone to take action. Remember: in a direct response approach, it's difficult to offer the key elements of time, money, and value in just a few words.
  
  People often scan headlines in brochures and magazines, even when they don't read the article itself. Since the title is usually a hyperlink, it's a different color and is generally bolded and easier to read. When it's longer, there are more words with which you can "hook" a reader. Chances are people's eyes will scroll down a list of page titles, and if something catches their eye, they will hopefully read the site description. If you've done your homework, they will be hooked and will click on your site's listing.
  
  
• People don't "read" text; they "recognize" words.
  
  After most people turn 12 or 13 years old, they begin to recognize words, as opposed to actually reading the text. Educators know that people glance at words and recognize them by the shape they see defined by the tops of the words. Don't believe it? Take a sentence in any newspaper or book and cover the bottom half of the words. You can still read the words with relative ease. Now cover the top of a different sentence. You'll find that the words are harder to read because there is not much difference in the shape or line of the words. This is because the bottoms of all words reach the bottom of the line they're written on.
  
  In other words, we recognize words by the tops of those words, or the differences in the height of the different letters.
  
  To further illustrate the "tops of words" principle, look at how difficult it is to read this sentence:
  
  SeNtEnCeS ThAT VaRy CaPs AnD LoWErCaSe LeTtErS ArE mAdDEnInG AnD EvEn HarDeR To ReAd.
  
  See what we mean?
  
  So, be sure to start your title with a capital letter, followed by lowercase letters, because it will be easier to read.
  
  How does this apply to search engine optimization? If people recognize words by looking at the tops of the words, then sentences that start with just one capital letter and then lowercase letters will be easier to recognize and will get read first.
  
  You want your title to be read at a glance by busy Web searchers.
  
  
• Don't write your title tags in all capital letters. To show you how difficult (and annoying) it is to read words in all caps, try reading this sentence:
  
  WORDS IN ALL CAPS ARE HARDER TO READ!!! PEOPLE DON'T LIKE TO READ THEM AND DON'T READ THEM AS EASILY. RECOGNIZING THE WORDS IN THE SENTENCES IS TEDIOUS AND THESE LINES ARE FREQUENTLY OVERLOOKED.
  
  
• The title tag should always be within the <HEAD> section of your page and should be the first line within that area.
  
  
• Always use your primary keyword phrase one time in the title tag.
  
  
• Try to place your primary keyword phrase toward the beginning of the tag.
  
  
• Use the longer form and the plural form of a keyword when possible. For example, if you use marketing in your title tag, a search on marketing or market will yield a match on most engines. However, words like companies will not always yield a match on company since company is not an exact "substring" of companies. In these cases, you'll want to try and use both forms of the word.
  
  
• Short, snappy titles can be highly effective if they're compelling, because they're so easy to read. Shorter titles can also be used if you need to emphasize a competitive keyword, or if that engine appears to favor pages with shorter titles.
  
  
• Make your title interesting and "compelling" to the reader to convince them to visit your site. If you succeed, you'll often get more click throughs than sites ranking higher than yours, simply because you've taken the time to write a compelling title.
  
  
• Improve your click-through ratio by reworking your title tags so that they either:
  1. Make a thought-provoking statement about the topic of your page;
  2. Ask an important question;
  3. Reveal a hidden truth or expose a misconception relating to your page topic.
• Use "Clicking Triggers" in your Titles and Descriptions
  Consider using your keyword phrase mixed with a "reason to click" or a "clicking trigger" in your title and/or description tag. Many of the reasons why people will buy a product are also "clicking triggers." A "clicking trigger" in other words, is a reason why people will click on your search results over others. Here are 14 reasons or clicking triggers why people will choose your search results over others:
  1. People will click to save money
     
  2. People will click to make money
     
  3. People will click if it saves them time
     
  4. People will click to make life easier
     
  5. People will click if it improves their safety
     
  6. People will click on a specific brand
     
  7. People will click to educate themselves
     
  8. People will click to improve health
     
  9. People will click to settle their fears
     
  10. People will click to have fun
      
  11. People will click to satisfy curiosity
      
  12. People will click to streamline processes
      
  13. People will click to prove they were right
      
  14. People will click to improve their image

  Think about how you can use your targeted keyword phrase within the title tag and/or description along with one of these ideas to create a stronger reason why people will click on your search results over others. Be sure the page they land on contains quality content that satisfies the trigger and meets the customers' needs with some aspect of your business or service or by simply offering a good article on the topic. Note: These ideas work equally well when creating titles and descriptions for pay-per-click ads.