A question about using the <title> tag

**bodybuilding** · 12-12-2007, 03:54 PM

I heard that the <title> tag is the most important meta tag you use on your page, so I want to use it more fully than I currently am. At the present, I have a single title tag that I use in my header file that every page on my web site (link in my signature) uses.

My question is, would it be better to put a <title> tag on each page individually and get rid of the title tag in my header file? My site is new, and I'm pretty new to the specifics of web hosting (I'm a hobbyist webmaster) so any help would be appreciated

.

**chrishirst** · 12-12-2007, 04:43 PM

Yes it is and it is NOT a meta element

Yes, each page title should be individually written for each page.

**alan1961** · 12-12-2007, 06:09 PM

Each page is individual, the title should reflect the content of each page. Don't put the same title on every page.

**bodybuilding** · 12-13-2007, 05:19 PM

Ok, thanks I have 1 more question now though.

Currently I use a header that goes on the top of every page. This header also includes the <head> and </head>. So therefore, how can I add my <title> to each page individually? It will be outside the <head> and I noticed that search engines see my site as having no title tag at all.

Are there any simple solutions to this?

**chrishirst** · 12-13-2007, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Are there any simple solutions to this?

At the risk of stating the blindingly obvious. BUT,

Change your header?

**vangogh** · 12-13-2007, 08:42 PM

You'd either want to change your header or you could also program it in your header to accept a variable and then pass the header that variable on your individual pages. You'd need a scripting language like php, but I'm guessing if you're using a header file you're already using a scripting language.

Your header might have something like

<title><?php echo $page_title ?></title>

and then you could set the variable of $page_title on each page.

You'll often seen the title tag grouped in with meta tags, but technically it's not a meta tag.

It's probably the most important thing you'll write on each page for a variety of reasons. Search engines will put more emphasis on what's in your title. Don't stuff keywords, but do get your main phrase or phrases in there.

Your title is also what displays in search results and will greatly influence whether the link gets clicked. Always make sure they read well for real people.

I just took a quick look at the link in your sig and the titles look pretty good. I'm just assuming they use the keywords you want, but assuming they do they seem fine to me. I'm sure they could be improved (what can't be?), but you definitely get the idea.

**bodybuilding** · 12-14-2007, 04:48 AM

Ok thanks for the replies.

As far as the php scripting goes, Im not comfortable with that at the moment because I have really no experience doing that. I would need to switch from .shtml to .php files and their language?

And the reason I did not want to change my header was because I think now I will have to write my pages in a very unorthodox way that I'm not sure will be "valid." Right now, my general pages look like this:

*start HEADER_FILE.txt
<head>
blah blah blah
</head>
<body>
menu bar, banner, etc
*end HEADER_FILE
*start CREATINE-or-any-page.shtml
<title>welcome</title>
text and stuff for the content
*END_DOCUMENT

Unfortunately, I used a web page analyzer and it is saying that my pages have NO title. It is probably because it is outside the <head> tags, as I did not have this problem in the past. It was just a random web analyzer on the web though, so Im not sure if google, et al are the same.

**chrishirst** · 12-14-2007, 08:29 AM

Split the includes up and have a top section (above the title) and a section below the title.

use SSI variables



then

<title> </title>

BTW the above won't work if you are hosted on IIS

But sticking the <title> in the wrong place can give problems with some browsers and Google.
BTW if you are wondering Google picks the first <h1> on the page.

Take a look at the SERP title in these results

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&r...22&btnG=Search
http://search.msn.co.uk/results.aspx...arch&form=QBRE
http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=...1&meta=vc%3Duk

**bodybuilding** · 12-15-2007, 06:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrishirst

Split the includes up and have a top section (above the title) and a section below the title.

use SSI variables



then

<title> </title>

BTW the above won't work if you are hosted on IIS

But sticking the <title> in the wrong place can give problems with some browsers and Google.
BTW if you are wondering Google picks the first <h1> on the page.

Take a look at the SERP title in these results

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&r...22&btnG=Search
http://search.msn.co.uk/results.aspx...arch&form=QBRE
http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=...1&meta=vc%3Duk

Thanks, that would be exactly what Im looking for, but it gave me title as "(none)".

Quote:

BTW the above won't work if you are hosted on IIS

Sorry, but I have no clue but what does this mean?

**Harlequin** · 06:44 AM

IIS (Internet Information Services) if I recall correctly.

Basically a Windows box.

You can run PHP on a Windows box, I have and do at the moment but only now for test purposes as I have control over the srever variables.