Where Does the Link Come from in Search Results

In 2005, I created my first website for my own business.  I had joined forces with another IT consultant and planned to sell website design services.

Search engines were in their infancy then so figuring out how to get included was not very well documented.

After my consulting site went live I submitted the site to search engines to be included. I waited a few more weeks to see my pages listed and when the site finally showed up I was flummoxed - Only the home page was showing up!

What's the link?

I figured out that every page had a space for a title and I put the name of my consulting business in it.  I used the title like you would a letterhead on your company stationary.  

The search engines, however, used that title to differentiate pages and to display a readable link users could understand. 

 The search engines saw that all of my pages had the same heading information and only created one listing in their catalogs.

Fast forward, almost twenty years, *gulp*, and the title on a web page is still very important for creating search engine listings.

Make it count

The moral of this story is....drumroll please.... be deliberate about what you put in your page titles.

For every piece of content you create make sure the title of the piece tells what the main idea is in the piece.

And as you know, search includes more than just web pages, it is: blogs, podcasts, videos, social media profiles, and more.  The title you choose may become the link in a search engine listing one day.