To illustrate this point, look at the example of searching Google to purchase Let it Be by the Beatles. In the first five page results, most links begin with some variation of “Beatles” and “Let it Be”. By frontloading titles with an identifiable site name reputable retailers can stand out from the crowd of junk links. In Nielsen’s words, “when a SERP link starts with a respected brand name, it holds more appeal for users than weirdo links.” And he’s right; in the first five page results for “Beatles” and “Let it Be”, only Amazon.com places their site name at the beginning of the link, and effectively stands out from all other results.

Should this practice be applied to all websites? Certainly not. According to Nielsen, only frontload page titles when the following is true:

• The link appears as a hit for queries that typically produce a SERP (search engine results page) that’s full of junk links
• You have a widely recognized and well-respected company name

It’s been easy for individuals and small organizations to embrace social networking. Larger organizations have policies, lawyers, etc. and aren’t as nimble. The most valuable lesson to learn is that creating low-risk, sanitary environments is a lost cause. Yeah, we’re looking at you Wal-Mart. Sprite, your days are numbered. The lesson is simple: build it and they won’t come. Instead, go to where your audience is.