What you didn’t know about site titles, taglines and favicons…

If you’re wondering what the site title, tagline and favicon even are – these are the components of what’s called your “Site Identity” on the web. They’ll all show up in places outside of your actual website, so its important to make sure that you’re optimizing these pieces to attract clients/customers/readers.

Your Website Title & Tagline

You need to have your site title and tagline setup. Why? These are two of the first things that search engines index (FYI index is the search engine term for “commit to their memory”). Why is that important? Because they’re how people will find you!

Your site title is what comes up as the heading of your website in the listing in Google search results (or Yahoo or Bing or whatever you use – but let’s be real, it’s probably Google). If you don’t know where to add these, in WordPress, it’s usually under Settings –> General (although sometimes a theme might override this and you’ll need to enter it somewhere else). In SquareSpace, its in Design –> Logo & Title. (By the way, in SquareSpace, even if you upload a logo, be sure to fill in the Site Title portion as well.)

Don’t have something like “coaching website” or “website #1” if you have multiple sites. Instead you’ll want to use keywords that will catch people’s eyes. OK, that was the (perhaps) obvious part. The not so obvious part? DON’T USE YOUR BUSINESS NAME AS THE TITLE. At least not in the beginning. Why? Because the Site Title is one of the most weighted SEO terms on your website – meaning it counts for a lot when Google indexes your website. And people probably aren’t searching for your business name. For instance, my website business is called Well & Wonderful. Basically no one is looking up my business by its name, unless they’re already super familiar with me. Who do I want to find me? People who need websites and haven’t already worked with me. So my website title is ‘Websites for Wellness Entrepreneurs’. 

Your tagline should help further clarify what you do or offer. Again, this is because it’ll help people find you. So focus on things that someone might type into Google in order to locate the products/services you’re offering. For me, that might be “affordable web design for health coaches”. 

Not sure what people might be searching for? Type in your general product/service name into Google or Pinterest and see what comes up in the guided search bar.

Favicon

OK, so what is a favicon? This is the little icon in the menu tab of your browser. If you don’t have one then your website will show a little page icon in WordPress and a Squarespace box in Squarespace. When I see these it reads as a rookie mistake – use a favicon that reinforces your branding instead! You can create one easily in Canva by creating a ‘Social Media-size’ post and adding an item – even just a letter – there. Download as a PNG with a transparent background and install it. Favicon installation usually happens in the same place as your Site Title and Tagline additions.

Best of luck! Xx, Kara

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