Test Your Page Title with PPC
The problem with crafting a good page title is not only about the multiple roles it plays in your web page performance (it influences rankings, determines the click-through, calls to action, etc, etc). The problem also is that it is very hard to test.
We know that no matter how good you are at the theory, you can never be sure until you try – and that’s why testing and experimentation is of ultimate importance. However with titles, testing is potentially dabgerous because it might screw your rankings.
So what to do? Here is a useful tip sent to us by Ran of ConversionCounts.com
For better page titles, my tip is to use your Google AdWords so the page title will get a high CTR.
How:
- Write 3 or 4 ads in AdWords using your page title options (assuming it include the same keywords you are after);
- Switch off Ad Variation in AdWords and run your Ads for 4 to 5 days;
- Pick the best Ad in terms of CTR and conversions;
- Use this Ad creative for your page title
Works every time…
And how do you test your page titles? Please share your tips!
Ann Smarty
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22 Responses to “Test Your Page Title with PPC”
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SWEET IDEA! Test your title page with PPC http://tinyurl.com/djshvm
Excellent SEO tip http://tinyurl.com/djshvm
Very very clever. Thanks!
Great tip!
I’ve seen great results testing single keywords for conversion rates on AdWords, but this is going to be a great tool to add to my arsenal. Recently, I wrote on my blog about using the reporting functionality for researching long tail keywords using AdWords.
Thanks.
Ann Smarty Reply:
March 3rd, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Thanks for the link, Josh.
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This is good information. Google has so many useful SEO tools, and this idea sounds easy to implement. Thanks for the tip.
Adwords is something I’ve been meaning to experiment with for some time now – this might just be the push I need!
We did exactly this for many of our product pages about a year ago. We found out which of our AdWords were getting the highest CTR and altered the page titles to match the ad copy. It made a pretty significant difference for more than a few of our product pages.
You know, I just thought of a glitch with this. The Ad Words titles are too short. Like I would love to know if it should be, “St. Patrick’s Day Printables” or “St. Patrick’s Day Worksheets,” but they are both too long to test. So I hedge with St. Pat’s Day . . .
Ann Smarty Reply:
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Yep, Erin, that’s definitely a huge downside of the method, thanks!
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Adam Snider Reply:
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:19 pm
When I use this method, I actually include the entire text of the AdWords ad. I may not use the entirety of the ad copy, but I will at least consider all of it, as opposed to just considered the title of the ad.
Very clever, indeed! Despite the short title issue, it’s still a great tip…
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Nice tip!
You also might want to test your cross-browser compatibility. This page throws a 403 error in ie: Error 403
We’re sorry, but we could not fulfill your request for /test-your-page-title-with-ppc/140/ on this server.
You do not have permission to access this server.
Your technical support key is: 4b01-f258-17f4-e8c8
You can use this key to fix this problem yourself.
If you are unable to fix the problem yourself, please contact lorenmichaelbaker at gmail.com and be sure to provide the technical support key shown above.
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Ann Smarty Reply:
March 4th, 2009 at 10:54 am
Hmmm… works fine with me in IE. Does anyone else see the error?
Ann Smarty’s last incredible blog post..Take Daily SEO Dose at DailySEOTip.com
Fabio Ricotta Reply:
March 4th, 2009 at 11:29 am
Did not get any errors here.
Nice tip Ann, but as Erin said above I think the Adwords page titles are too short. One point is that you will have a great title that converts better, but for SEO this maybe not work. Into my case, if I “miss” my keywords into my title, I’ll certainly drop in rankings.
Anyway… excellent tip!
With such short titles in AdWords, it is hard to test with good keywords. I find that some of my best PPC ads do not insert the keyword in the headline, but are catchy instead. I then make sure that they are represented in the rest of the ad. I believe this to be different from organic titles as I try and add the keywords to the front instead.
Fabio Ricotta Reply:
March 4th, 2009 at 4:09 am
Thanks for this tip James. Interesting point. Merge the two titles can be an excellent ideia.
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Mega Sena Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Excellent James – this tip resolve the short title problem!
Great tips!
I always use the main keywords in the title and it works well. I know that titles and description are short, but try to use the keyword typed into the search box in the title and the description.
It gets too much relevant to the user what increases your CTR.
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thnaks ann for the nice tips you share with us
I think reading a 2 line ad definately is not the same as a single line ad (in the case of a page title), but this is certainly better than flying blind. I always put a lot of thought into the first word of each of the 2 lines because i dont think users always start as the first line.. read the entire thing.. then read the second line.. but just a theory of mine.