En "Title" ment

Everyone has heard about the "title" tag that is so important to search engine optimization (SEO) - it appears in the very top of your browser (Internet Explorer, FireFox) in the blue area. It gives a quick glimpse of what is on the page for search engine users & the search engines themselves and each title tag should be different for every page of the website (they don't all have the same content-do they?)

But have you ever thought beyond the initial page title tag? Titles appear in more than one place on every web page in several different ways. Usually they are called "heading" tags and have a larger font or even a different color.

• A title is usually the introductory statement in each page: it's written to grab the visitor's attention. It should reflect your unique selling proposition.
  
  
• Sub headings on the page are also titles and are written to bring the website visitor to the next step in the path to doing business with you.
  
  
• Side columns on a page also start with a title - whether it's "how to contact us" or a list of services available.
  

The important thing to remember about titles is that they serve the purpose of moving visitors on your web page forward in the decision making process.

Take a look at the titles on your website - do they lack the attention grabber? Do they brag about your company or about what solution your company offers? Do they "yell" at the visitor or invite them to look at more information?

Think about what you want your visitor to see & know right off the top, that's what the title should be.

How do you use titles? Have you seen any unique titles you wish you had thought of? Add your comments below.

If you pay for the advice, follow it!

I was in a meeting with a client yesterday and got the best comment from one of his assistants. He asked her about a suggestion I made about a particular image on the site. She swiftly responded, "Are you paying her for her expertise?" the client responded yes and she then said, "Well I would listen to what she says." Nice!

That reminded me of a story that I told during a presentation several years ago:

100 business professionals consulted an internet marketing company for advice.

These professionals were from large and small companies, they were marketing directors, owners, sales people. Some of the companies were in manufacturing, some in the service sector, some in the political arena and some represented retail companies.

All of these business professionals were concerned about the effectiveness of their respective company websites.

The internet marketing consultants reviewed each website, made recommendations and told the professionals how to improve the performance, position and results generated from the websites. Each professional was given a to-do list that, when implemented, would assure improvement.

Thirty-six of the professionals immediately and enthusiastically went to work making the recommended changes and exploring the recommended venues. And, a couple of months later these professionals were so pleased and encouraged by the improvements that they put even more time and effort into marketing their websites. The work was paying off! Some even consulted the internet marketing company further to see what other options were available.

Sixty-four of the professionals immediately and enthusiastically went back to their respective businesses and gathered co-workers and employees to tell them about the exciting things they had heard and how all the changes they could make would surely improve the performance of their websites.

They had rallies, held lunch meetings, and designed posters about the steps their company would take to get to their goal of a successful online marketing tool. They hired staff to handle the additional emails, customer calls and service needs. They did training, they covered every base – or so they thought.

A couple of months later these sixty-four professionals looked at their sales sheets and there was no change. There was no change because they failed to actually implement the advise of the internet marketing company.

While I have told this as a story – the facts are true. 64% of all companies fail to follow and implement the advice of their internet marketing consultants. Be sure your company is in the 36% that do follow the advice, implements the strategies and comes out on top.