Web Optimization Strategies

Writing Titles is an art but it is even more of a craft when it comes to incorporating search engine optimization into the mix.
The first thing that you need to know is that writing titles for selling what’s on your web pages is very different then writing material for print or radio based magazines. Titles for web pages are accessed by search engines and unlike a phonebook are not listed by alphabetical order.
Also unlike ordinary advertising, a catchy title or catch phrase may not be as effective as a more boring or to-the-point phrase. For instance, David Letterman’s late night talk show is produced by a company called World Wide Pants (an obvious on purpose joke that leads the reader away the idea it is a comedy show.) However the same ironic title would be an absolute disaster on the Internet. Many individuals searching for pants would end up with a link to Letterman’s show and many people looking for pants would end up with sites having to do with comedy.
As a beginning web author you need to realize that you will be dealing with two types of titles:
1. The In Context Title. This is the title that sits at the top of your web page that needs to be both people and robot friendly.
2. The Out of Context Title. This is the title that is displayed by search engines or in archival pages after a search. It usually appears onscreen as a fragment and as part as a long sorted list. If you can’t come up with a robot-friendly Out of Context title for your web pages many search engines will simply display your title as "Home Page" or "New Page 1". You could also end up with a nonsensical fragment from somewhere on your site – a phrase from a banner or your site’s design template. This does not exactly lure people to your site!

The In Context Title is the title that is featured on your ACTUAL home page. Lets just say you have the title "The World's Saddest Music"
home page. This page displays your logo, a picture and a description of your product that actually relates to your URL. The purpose of your site is obvious to the reader. You sell sad music.
The out of context title is the one that you will submit to the search engines and it is a title that you are often asked for when you submit your sites to the search engines manually.
However when you write an out-of-context title you need to keep in mind that is for the benefit of the search engine robots that spider the Internet whenever anyone searches for the term “sad music.” You can't rely on graphics or anything else to entice search engine robots to your site. All they are going to see is a phrase that has to concisely and distinctively express the essence of your product in just a few words. Unlike the in-context title, the out-of-context title has to carry the full weight of describing the page's contents.
The World's Saddest Music may not cut it as an out of context title as people do not tend to search the word World or Saddest when looking for diamonds. A good out of context title for such as site would "Sad Music For Broken Hearts" as they are more likely to search with such terms as "heal broken heart" or "sad music" when they are trying to find you!