Archive: January, 2009

It’s all about signs – or at least it was in the days before processors. Imagine the shingle that may have hung by the door to your great granddaddy’s establishment – Harry Billings’ Barber and Taxidermy Emporium. You can see the weather-beaten barber’s pole and maybe a rough sketch of a stuffed bloodhound. The point is, your online establishment will similarly play by a set of conventions, especially those having to do with signifiers and signs. Storefront signs roughly equate to your site’s title tags which are regarded by some in the search engine optimization business as being one of the most important factors in reaching the lofty heights of high search engine rankings, and could easily be placed on par by search engines with both the visible text on your site, and the external links pointing to your site.

For a quick and instant impact on where your page ranks, try going to extremes with your title tags – try changing the text to something non-sensible like Sculpin Hinge and see where your rankings go. But if you really nail it, really give some thought to maximizing your exposure in the small geography associated with title tags, your results will grow. Another aspect of title tags to consider is that the words that constitute the title tag appear in the clickable link on the search engine results page, and maximizing your word choice may result in more traffic for your site.