& (ampersand) and the word ‘and’ are treated similarly by search engines but they can show different search results.
Currently, in our home page meta title, we us use the phrase ‘Web Design & SEO Ely’. If you search for this in Google, we are top. However, if you search for ‘Web Design and SEO Ely’, then we are third.
Using an ampersand in the meta title can be helpful from an SEO aspect because it is shorter than the word ‘and’, so it can be used to create a higher response title as the meta title tag is typically limited to 70 characters before it is cut off by search engines.
At Lord Knows, we have found it best to keep meta title tags as short as possible while clearly conveying the topic in a natural-sounding phrase. Using the ampersand to make a meta title or content title more attractive can also have merits for SEO through user engagement. The job of a search engine is to offer the most relevant results, which are best measured with metrics such as search click-through rate, bounce back rate, time on site and pages per visit. These metrics matter and are all part of the Google algorithm.
We would suggest using the word “and” in your body text. This is how most people will search, and you have a high likelihood of connecting on an exact match search phrase in doing so.
Using the full word in your copy is also the proper use of the English word, which would be deemed as “higher quality”. Proper grammar and spelling are thought to be factored into the Google algorithm by many in the industry.
