Competitor Recently Changed his Title to Match Mine

[Unturned]

Hey Mozsters,

I'm competing with one website for a niche, he's currently beating me and recently changed his Title to match mine exactly. Are there any negative repercussions from this? Should I change mine so users aren't confused?

Why would someone do this?

[Er_Maqui]

If their title matches your title it's for seo purposes, i think. Be sure to have your brand name on your title to have any difference.

Your competitor also can change newly the title to have the brand name, but because they doesn't have this on the page url, probably that's be bad for him.

But i cannot see anymore... I think the title it's important, but, it's more important the content. Check your competitor content for if it's stealing your own. And be sure google has cached your content already, for mark their one as duplicate.

[WilliamKammer]

Do you use your brand in your title? Is copying your brand too? If so, he's shooting himself in the foot. If not, there isn't much you can do to address the title specifically, but there are some other things you can do to make your result more desirable to click. .

Don't change your title if you believe it's the best title for your business. If you aren't using your brand in the title, this could help users with confusion. Also, if he's copying your title, make sure to beat him out in the meta description to siphon off more click-throughs. Also look into the kinds of rich snippets you might be able to put in there to make your result stand out while you work on over taking him.

This title won't have negative repercussions for you from an SEO standpoint. I usually just smile when I see something like this happen. Imitation is, after all, the sincerest form of flattery.

[Squee]

Did they change a title of a single web page?

Or

Did they dedicate a whole website to the title of a product?

Some niche markets are very narrow and you WILL have matching phrases and titles and even products, if you run into that you just have to stay ahead of the curve and keep your site above theirs.

Also if you are selling a product, service, then make sure your website is dedicated to getting a better conversion for your clients.

People copy for lots of reasons:

1. They have the same idea and geographical region, or the same name.

2. They want to get an edge on a competitor.

3. They want to get hits on the keywords maybe for a different reason,

(http://moz.com/blog/barnacle-seo-whiteboard-friday)

If you're dedicated to your niche market, then keep the name and keep your site/media/web presence above theirs.

[Unturned]

Can you elaborate on the meta description? Do you think I should make it more enticing for people searching?

[WilliamKammer]

Yes, your meta description should focus 100% on getting the users to click on your result, because it convinces them it's what they're searching for.

Google doesn't use meta description as a ranking factor, so there's no worry there. Just make sure to stay within the allotted character amount of around 156.

[Unturned]

Cheers