If you have a website, you probably want more traffic, but how do you do that? With SEO methods that are widely regarded as proper and correct (obviously). So, forgive my surprise when I read a newsletter from Joy Hawkins (founder of Sterling Sky), insisting that long title tags increase search traffic. Well, I almost died.
I get nervous when respected SEOs start encouraging rule-breaking, but even squares like me wanna live a little, so I thought, what the hell, let’s give this ‘hack’ a try.
FYI: Joy doesn’t take credit for this SEO tip; that honour goes to Joel Headley, former SEOer at Google. It might be safe to assume Joel knows a thing about Google’s algorithm (but not if it’s like folks who work at KFC; employees there never get their hands on the 11 herbs and spices, do they?).
Here’s what we’re covering:
What are title tags?
Title tags——AKA meta tags——AKA page snippets are web page previews (titles and descriptions) you see on the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Why are long title tags bad?
Long title tags are considered a crime against SEO because page preview lore states a set number of characters are to be used. Extending their length will result in… … … …
…
…that’s correct, ellipses. Meaning, your headings and descriptions run over (cut off). We want users to be able to read title tags completely because that’s good UX. And that’s the thing, customised snippets aren’t a ranking factor, but they impact click-through rates. If the title tag is enticing and attractive, and speaks to the user, in theory, they’ll click.
Here’s what a nice, law-abiding title tag looks like:
Long title tags are rad—not bad.
When an SEO tells you to stick to a fixed character limit, act like a teenager——ignore them. Yes, long title tags are ugly, but their impact on traffic can be significant. When you’re not a slave to a charter limit, you can add more search terms. WAIT, I do NOT mean it’s cool to keyword cram! Just as you’ve always done, add the page keyword (focus keyword) in the snippet (ONCE in the title and ONCE in the description). But with long title tags, you’re free to add as many approximate keywords (keywords similar to the focus keyword) and semantic keywords (keywords relating to the focus keyword) as you like. As long as you’re making sense…
SIDE NOTE: if you write long title tags, your SEO plugin will hate you:
You’ll see red crosses. You’ll be told your SEO needs work (coz your overall score will nose-dive). But that’s ok coz plugins like Yoast, Rank Math, and AIOSEO are guides——prompts that shouldn’t be taken entirely at their word.
Do long title tags actually work, though?
According to Joy, they do (and she’s been doing this for years). SEOs don’t recommend long title tags; that’s probably another reason they work (not many are doing it).
*UPDATE*
When I first published this article (Feb 2025), I decided to lengthen the snippets of key pages (homepage, services, and blog). I was a little conservative with the character count (it’s hard to break a habit). Here’s what I found – traffic did increase during and after the period I added long title tags (2/20/25 on the graph):
It’s been just over four months since I made those changes, and traffic continues to improve. However, I’m starting to think what would happen without any customised title tags.
Why?
LinkedIn drama, that’s why. Seriously, it’s all kicking off. Another prominent SEOer (apologies, I can’t recall his name) has contradicted everything Joy Hawkins recommends. This guy has poked the proverbial hornet’s nest by suggesting customised title tags are a waste of time. Furthermore, he provided PROOF!
FFS.
The comments section was on fire. SEOs resigned. Many cried. Nonetheless, this fella was unmoved. He was unwavering in his stance: “Google pulls what it wants from the page to populate the snippet anyway, so why bother?” He’s got a point. Ultimately, Google does what the fuck it wants.
So, where does that leave me? Testing the ‘no snippet’ snippet, I guess. As of now (July 2025), that’s what I’m doing. I’ll keep you posted.
Article first published, 19th February 2025.
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