We had a bit of a debate around the office about whether you should use and repeat keywords in your title tag or not. For example: Web desig, designs for websites, amazing web design in auckland | Essentee...

Remember that the title tag is what appears as the link in search engine results, in browser tabs and bookmarks so it needs to be clear, informative and short.

Google only displays the first 64 characters of the title tag - so use them well. Our recommendation is to include keywords in your title at the beginning but make sure it makes sense - don't repeat the same words over and over because the user will suspect that you are only including them for that purpose alone. The title should also be unique for each page and relevant to that page, so you have the opportunity to add variations to your keyword phrases in each one. You may want to include your location if this is relevant to your keyword strategy.

Keep the company name and tagline for the description, so your users know who they're dealing with. This is important as trust is still an issue with many users. The description tag will appear underneath the title in search results (at least, in Google it does) so you will have an opportunity for something more descriptive. Just don't stuff your description with keywords.

There is a bit of a balancing act between what is good from an SEO perspective vs what is good from a uses perspective. We at Essentee tend to advocate for the user, because online the user is in control. And so it would seem are Google who say this: Make sure that your elements are descriptive and accurate. A useful test is to ask, "Does this help my users? Would I do this if search engines didn't exist?"

What about keywords and phrases in the keyword tag? - Isn't that what it's there for?

Search engines don't take notice of the keyword tag anymore due to abuse in the form of tactics like keyword stuffing. So:

• Go ahead and use the keyword tag and repeat your keywords and phrases in your title, but at best it will have little impact. At worst you may get penalised for it.
• Definitely don't include keywords in your title that don't appear in your content, as the search engines will interpret this as deceptive and you could get de-listed.
• Keywords in your content are still effective, particularly in the first paragraph and in headings. But don't stuff content with keywords or their variations as this will just put off users.