The art of writing a post title
June 15th 2006 02:23
The title of a post is so important that is warrants a little section to itself. Your posts will be listed in a number of locations just by it's title (in search engines, on www.orble.com, rss feeds, sites like digg or reddit) so it is important that it is well written in order to encourage readers to click on it.
Keep it Simple - Most research I've seen into titles seems to argue that the most effective titles are short, simple and easy to understand. While breaking these rules can help grab attention (see below) they can also confuse, frustrate and put a glazed look in the eyes of potential readers. Shorter titles are also good for Search Engines - keep it under 40 or so characters and you'll ensure the whole title appears in search results.
Grab Attention - Good titles set your posts apart from the clutter around them and then draw readers into your post. Grabbing attention might happen using tactics of shock, big claims, controversy or even confusion. While these tactics do work at getting people in - it should also be said that they can do more damage than good if the rest of your post doesn't live up to the promises your title makes. By all means try to grab attention - just don't trick your readers into thinking you'll provide them with something you can't give them.
Meet a Need - An effective title draws people into reading more because they feel you've got something to say that they need to hear. Indexes like del.icio.us illustrate just how effective this is. Quite often the articles that get to the top of the list are how to or tutorial type articles that show readers that they will learn how to solve a problem or need that they might have.
Describe - Some readers will be drawn into a post by a cryptic title that doesn't tell them much about what they'll be reading - but the majority of readers need to know something about what they'll find if they read further. Titles should describe (in a word or few) what readers will get in the main post.
Use Key Words - As I mentioned above - titles are a powerful part of Search Engine Optimasation (SEO). If you want to maximize their power you need to consider using the keywords that you want your post to be found with in your title in some way. This of course is challenging when you are attempting to keep it simple and to also grab attention and intrigue - but it can be done. Words at the start of titles are thought to be more powerful than words at the end when it comes to SEO.
Take Your Time - Take your time with your titles. Many bloggers pour a lot of effort into writing engaging and interesting posts - but then just slap any old title onto it without realizing that in doing so they might be ensuring that their post is never read.
Names are Important - 42% of SE searches are for product, brand and or company names. If you want to be found by people using search engines you might want to consider your use of names as keywords in your post title.
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