X Copywriters Guide: Writing Titles & Headlines For Online Content

[Arnox]

As part of my quest to educate everyone, I've decided to start something similar to the GFY Educational series, only it's going to be pretty much entirely focused on words and related topics. When 99% of the content on this forum is conspiracy theories, posts about fecal matter and Manwin related topics, I felt it was about time something useful came about. So here we are!

Writing Titles & Headlines For Online Content

You can really make or break your whole advertising campaign with the few select words you have at the top of your content. Sound headlines should immediately inform you as to the content of the material. As I?m sure you can imagine, ?Stuff About Trains? has nowhere near the same level of user appeal or assistance compared to ?The History of English Trains From 1890 to 1923? ? if both sites are indeed about what the second title indicates, it?s better to use that instead of something uninformative and generic. Believe it or not, people use search engines in order to find specific things. Searching ?trains? is so broad that results are unlikely to flatter the user ? do they want train timetables, information on how they work, the history of the industry, stops close to their location or any other number of relevant topics that all fall under the generic search phrase ?trains??

While a clear indication of what you have on offer is important, the clarity of your content headline has to be juggled somewhat, because in the competitive online environment, there are other factors at play. You want those clicks, and you want those search engine rankings. Let?s talk strategy.

There are two primary focuses that should be considered when writing a title: its attractiveness to the user, and its attractiveness to search engines. Compare these two blog post titles about the fictional product ?Dieflex? on a website about weight loss:

? Weight Loss Pill | Buy Dieflex Online | Cheap Dieflex Diet Pills
? Miracle Diet Pill ?Dieflex? Sheds 10 Kilos in 2 Weeks!

Now, note how the former is structured in a standard search engine friendly way. It has a few different exact search phrases and is keyword heavy ? this style of title writing is the standard model for new sites that are going to get the majority of their visitors from search engines. The latter is an example of what sort of language would ideally be used: the readability and standardization as an advertising pitch makes sense to a reader, and is more attractive than the initial title. This type of description is best reserved for sites that already have heavy, established traffic or will acquire it through other methods that are not based on set SEO principles. When producing the titles and headlines for your content, be conscious of how you are going to attract people to it.

If you have little interest in being as SEO optimized and know that relevant, interested parties are visiting your site, you can treat your title as a sort of ?teaser? for what?s coming up or alternatively, use it as a large selling point. The content of a title is going to be held in the mind of the user and because of the size, treated with authority and as the main message being sent from the body. There are some standard title formats that people are naturally drawn to. So let?s take a look at them:

? Obtain X in Y (Example: Make $6,000 A Month Working From Home)
? Amazement/Shock (You Won?t Believe What These Pornstars Do Inside)
? Secret/Esoteric information (Example: The Fat Fighting Secret Dieticians Don?t Want You To Know)
? Directional/Targeted (You Can Get The Perfect Body In 6 Weeks)
? Lists/Features (Top 10 Instant Online Money Making Methods)
? Recently learned (Breaking: New Skin Cream ? Scientists Stop Signs Of Aging)

Hopefully, this article will have helped you understand a few things about writing a decent title for your blog post, testimonial, website or latest product information page. Always remember that the best bet when writing a headline is to maintain the user?s best interests. Balance just the right amount of clickability with provision of content information and you?ll be golden.

http://www.xcopywriters.com/guides/w...nline-content/

[SDSimon]

Well done Arnox. Keep it up!

>>>Winners WIN because they NEVER GIVE UP!<<<

[$5 submissions]

Cool tips for newbies. Right on! Keep up the good work.

[adultsitecms]

Great article, Arnox!

Here is something not as great but equally enlightening.

[Arnox]

Originally Posted by adultsitecms

Great article, Arnox!

Here is something not as great but equally enlightening.

I only started this venture a few months ago, but I'm pleased to say that I'm going from strength to strength. Hopefully this time next year I'll be in a very strong position with a bunch of support and recurring contacts - my goal is to be 'the' name in adult when people need writing work done.

From feedback so far, it seems as if people are digging what we do and nothing beats being told that you were found not through Google or GFY, but from a personal reference.

Expect a lot more guides to come in the near future.

[RubyGoodnight]

Great job covering the basics! It's strange how many folks can't even get a title that catches the eye and just look to keyword-stuff. Looking forward to your next guide. ;)

[Arnox]

Originally Posted by RubyGoodnight

Great job covering the basics! It's strange how many folks can't even get a title that catches the eye and just look to keyword-stuff. Looking forward to your next guide. ;)

The irony of this post was that it was bumped from the second page - I didn't get a single reply! Maybe I need to work on my titles... ;)