Right so that worked. When I was deciding on an article for this topic I played with five variations of the above. I thought that ‘Headlines with impact’ grabbed your attention whilst giving a thorough indication of what I am about to talk you through.

Article titles (headlines) make or break traffic getting through to the content you have worked hard to create. By that I mean they will affect how a search engine ranks you and will be used by people when deciding if they should give their precious time to view what you have written.

Think about how you read a newspaper

Pick up any newspaper, look at the front cover for no more than three seconds and try to take in as much as possible. Right, I will guarantee that you read the headline; I would also presume that you have decided if you want to read more about that topic.

Now you are starting to understand the difference the right headline can make. Headlines for the web are a little different but we will move onto that later. For now I want to stick with the Newspaper. The tabloids often employ a title editor who is paid simply to create headlines that are guaranteed to capture our attention. The reason that we have so many options when we visit the newsagents is that different groups want information pitched to them in a style that they appreciate. It is important that you try to get a good understanding of your target audience and try to get feedback from them as often as possible.

The Wording of Titles

Think about the keywords that will pull someone into an article once they are on your site.

We received a lot of calls a few months ago regarding the amount of SPAM our clients were receiving, we then wrote an article titled ‘How to Reduce SPAM’. I could have been creative and titled it ‘Win back your working day’ or ‘How to clean up your inbox’. Both give a vague indication of what the article is about, but we are in a rush when we surf the web and will simply move onto another site if we feel the current one is either misleading or unclear.

Also think about topical events that people are likely to be searching for.

For example I wrote an entry for our reference section in January titled ‘Web Site Information – UK Legal Requirements’ in January following the new legal requirements and for the last two months this search term has been responsible for around 40% of our new site visitors. We have also sold two new sites as a result from people arriving on our site! Considering that the article costs nothing for me to add this is the kind of ROI we all want!

Unless you are fortunate enough to have a seven figure ad campaign supporting you, it is wise to avoid company jargon or company buzzwords. Very few people from outside your organisation will know your jargon and even fewer will be searching for it. Like all aspects of the web it is best to keep it simple and honest.

Top Tips

• Keep it Short
• Reflect the content
• Try to create an interest
• Dont Use jargon
• Identify your audience and write for them
• Check search term popularity

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