The title element is one of the most important factors when it comes to a website’s OnPage optimisation. The website title, working together with the meta-element attribute “description”, can certainly influence a result’s CTR (Click Through Rate) on the search result pages.
Should you use the brand- or domain-name in the title?
If we assume that the domain-name is also the brand-name, then it may be useful for the user’s search-intent to include the domain- or brand-name in the title, at least in certain markets or industries.
Example #1 search-term “common cold”
In an informational search, the user tries to find specific information. This is the first search result page for the search-query “common cold”:
The results with the domain- or brand-name in the title are marked with dots.
Does this make sense or is this helpful? Please ask yourself the following questions:
- “Which would be the first result that I would click on for this exact search-query?”
- “Which would be the first result that I would click on for this exact search-query?”
- “Which would be the first result that I would click on for this exact search-query?”
Especially when it comes to the topic of health, many people are very sensitive and would rather click on a trustworthy or well-known source to get their information. If you use the domain- or brand-name in the title, you can make it easier for the user to find the above information and arrive at a decision.
Example #2 search-term “go-karts for sale”
Another example of a transactional search-term is “go-karts for sale”:
In this case, a clearly transactional search result, the 6 results shown all use the brand in the title. Examples 5 and 6 show the brand as part of the domain name. The .co.uk domain name can have significance for searchers in the UK.
Does this mean I should always use the brand- or domain-name in the title?
You can basically say: If you have a well known and popular brand, then you should always add the brand- or domain-name to the title (as long as there is room). You can also use your brand- or domain-name in the title when you want to build up brand-awareness, which is also called brand-building.
The best thing you can do is run an A/B-test in order to figure out if the user will click more often on your result with or without the brand/domain-name?
