Tag Archives: title tags

While reviewing a bunch of websites this week, I noticed many of them in their title tags use the word “Home” or “Welcome” as the name of their home page.  What does this accomplish?

Back when the web was new and people didn’t know what to call anything on the web, we started seeing a practice of putting “Home Page” as the title tag and page title for the initial page of a web site (a title tag, for those wondering, is what appears at the very top of your browser and thus also shows up as the title of your link in search engines like Google, Yahoo! and MSN…they are identifiers of the content on the page).

Do you know what a home page is?  Does your neighbor?  So I’m guessing your customer does too.

A title tag is one of the most powerful keyword providers on your website.  The limited space it provides on each page is precious.  So why do people put “Company Name > Home Page” there?

When your potential customer is doing a Google search, do they know your company name already?  What if they don’t…then you just threw away your title tag power to tell them something they don’t know yet…and you told them “home page,” what does that say about your company?  And who does a search on the words “home page?”  Someone who probably just came out from a cave and is wondering what this glowing box on the desk and humming box on the floor does.

Don’t waste this valuable space.  Your home page is one of your most valued commodities.  Don’t waste its power by telling people something they already know and wasting the opportunity to place juicy keywords in a goldmine area.

If we can solve that…then maybe we can next tackle the annoying “Click Here” command.