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Do I need to include keywords in the titles of my content?

by GSMarketing
18 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Evening everyone,

I've been writing numerous pieces of content for my site, however I'm worried that the titles do not contain relevant keywords that people within my niche will be searching - the info contained within the article is great though

Should this be a concern? Should I consider revisiting the articles and giving them new titles which contain keywords?

Any advice/assistance would be welcomed.

Cheers

G

P.S Some of the titles are just down right strange (but entertaining), should I drop these?
#content #include #keywords #titles
  • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
    Originally Posted by GSMarketing View Post

    Evening everyone,

    I've been writing numerous pieces of content for my site, however I'm worried that the titles do not contain relevant keywords that people within my niche will be searching - the info contained within the article is great though

    Should this be a concern? Should I consider revisiting the articles and giving them new titles which contain keywords?

    Any advice/assistance would be welcomed.

    Cheers

    G

    P.S Some of the titles are just down right strange (but entertaining), should I drop these?
    If you are planning on using SEO in any way .. Yes.
    Signature

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  • Profile picture of the author ColinR
    As Troy said, if you plan on using SEO as a main source of traffic then yes, it is important. However, if SEO isn't your strategy then using your keywords in every title wont exactly make for compelling titles. Basically it's a matter of whether you're writing for people or search engines.
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    • Profile picture of the author MissTerraK
      Originally Posted by ColinR View Post

      As Troy said, if you plan on using SEO as a main source of traffic then yes, it is important. However, if SEO isn't your strategy then using your keywords in every title wont exactly make for compelling titles. Basically it's a matter of whether you're writing for people or search engines.
      Actually, you don't have to be using SEO as a "main source of traffic". You could very well just use it as one among many sources of traffic.

      And if you utilize a little bit of creativity, titles with a keyword in them can indeed be quite compelling.

      Also, you can write for both people and search engines. As a matter of fact, search engines like what people like as it's good for their business.

      It is true writing just for search engines isn't attractive for readers, but with a little ingenuity you can write for people and have the search engines like it as well.

      Terra
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  • Profile picture of the author DerekGann
    I agreed with above two comment. You must have your keyword in title, url and in your content.
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  • Profile picture of the author contentwriting360
    Banned
    SEO-wise, you must include at least one of your primary keywords in the title (an eye-catchy title). Whenever our clients order SEO-based articles/content, including the keyword in the title is one of our standards in writing. Nevertheless, bear in mind that we we all write for humans and not for search engines (SEs).
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  • Profile picture of the author Doubleup
    Keyword should be included in h1 tag, h2, and h3. You should also include it in the url in some fashion, and also the meta description. Not forgetting to sprinkle it a little bit in your actual content.
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  • Profile picture of the author GSMarketing
    Thanks everyone. I'm not really hoping to use SEO as a main source of traffic, however, I also don't want to turn my nose up at it either.

    It's just some of the keywords I've looked at are long tail and don't really make for catchy titles.

    Sure I can get 'golf grip' in there but 'gripping the club in windy conditions' ain't going to be much fun. Maybe I'm just trying to be to quirky with my writing and should play it with a straight bat.

    Cheers

    G
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  • Profile picture of the author zaykem
    puting keywords on title is very helpful for getting rank onf search engine
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    Why would anyone have irrelevant page titles, compared to the page content?

    Doesn't make any sense.

    Even If you didn't care about SEO, it still doesn't make any sense to have irrelevant page titles.
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    • Profile picture of the author aadi144
      Originally Posted by yukon View Post

      Why would anyone have irrelevant page titles, compared to the page content?

      Doesn't make any sense.

      Even If you didn't care about SEO, it still doesn't make any sense to have irrelevant page titles.
      Yukon is right,A title is the portrait of the content and its important to have a relevant title which relates to the content or not.Whether you are doing SEO for it or not Title should make some sense in anyway.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jim Hughes
    Try to work the keyword into the title, even if it's the second part of the title.

    Example:
    keyword phrase: gripping the club in windy conditions
    potential title: Golf Tips: Gripping the Club in Windy Conditions
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    • Profile picture of the author tylerjaysen
      yeah while the keyword in your title is important for seo...you can also gain traffic from meta tags, headling in h1 tags, anchor text and keyword density.

      Google though...seems to put alot of importance on other factors too....like bounce rate...and time spent on a site...

      ....so if you have killer content ...your traffic from referrals and word of mouth will over shadow any traffic you would've received...had you actually put keyword in title.
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  • Profile picture of the author Peep
    I would just use a certain ratio of post with keywords in the title to posts without. Like 5:2 or something like that. That way you can see if for your particular site it matters or not.
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    • Profile picture of the author Nicky Papers
      Originally Posted by Peep View Post

      I would just use a certain ratio of post with keywords in the title to posts without. Like 5:2 or something like that. That way you can see if for your particular site it matters or not.
      There's no perfect ratio for this. Creating titles is NOT something you should be over-thinking in terms of the "SEO benefits". Create a title that explains what the article is about in a way to grab the attention of your target audience.

      If you're tweeting the article or pushing it through social channels the title of the article is visible and will influence clicks.

      More Clicks + More Engagement = Better SERP Performance (Usually)

      Targeted keywords should naturally be contained within titles, but grabbing the attention of users is equally (if not more!) important.
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  • Profile picture of the author fanta81
    For SEO purpose, I would say definitely yes.
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  • Profile picture of the author K Mec
    Yes...even seo plugins recomments it...

    Your post will be stand out in bold if you use keyword in the title in search engine results
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  • Profile picture of the author Aarav
    I suggest you to include keywords in the title of your contents because its very beneficial to get effective results.
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  • Profile picture of the author GSMarketing
    Morning everyone,

    Thanks for your replies.

    I understand the relationship between the title and contents being important but I was trying to differentiate myself from the competition, everyone in the golf niche seems to have boring titles. But maybe that's because it works.

    For example, one of my articles is; Generating power - put your right knee in, your left knee out.

    I thought this was a bit different and may pass through social channels more than; Generating power by driving your legs.

    I think I may do a mixture as suggested by Peep and see how it goes.

    Any other suggestions are welcome

    Cheers
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