Most people with an online presence will have to regularly deal with the issue of coming up with an appropriate headline. The problem is that most people do not take it seriously enough. Many do not realize that the headline is so important that no matter how good the content is, it will never get read if the headline does not beckon surfers to it.
The power of a headline In the offline world of the tabloid press, one headline can sell a few hundred copies while another in the same publication, can sell several million copies. Online headlines are even more important as quite often somebody will not have an opportunity to leaf through, like they do in a print publication. Quite often, even a summary will not be available and all the prospective reader has to go on, is the headline.
Most of us forget that we are motivated to read almost everything that we read online through the headline. Open any news page and you will only click on the headlines that you find interesting. Even on a page of search engine results, you will tend to go for a lower ranked page with a better headline.
What this clearly means is that every little tiny headline that you place on every small piece of content is important and will have an impact on how often that item gets read. Ultimately every little headline will contribute towards the success or failure of your site.
And what makes things even more difficult is the fact that you will be competing with many other excellent headlines online, most of them the work of professional copy writers working for leading websites.
Come up with your headline when the content is done The most effective way of writing good headlines is to come up with your headline only when you have finished reading the content. Not only is it easier to come up with a much better headline when the content is done, but you also be able to come up with different headlines covering different aspects of the article. You can then decide which is the most attractive aspect of the article to base your headline on.
This has become a harder decision to make in recent times because you have to consider other aspects like keywords with search engines in mind and balance this with the most captivating headline that will result in most people clicking on it to read the contents.
Spend more time on the headline and come up with various options Professional copywriters usually spend much more time on the headline than they do writing they content. It is important to come up with several headlines before you settle on your final choice. It is a good idea to regularly test different headlines for the same articles and see which one attracts the most hits.
About the author: S. Rosendahl is a Technical Executive Writer for Website Source, Inc. http://www.websitesource.com. Her established writing skills coupled with experience in the website hosting industry have provided internet professionals with marketing, product and service ideas for many years.
![]() Google News Updated : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:49:35 GMT Where Angels go...heartbreak follows - Baltimore Sun
Baltimore Sun - If you didn't stay up to watch, the Angels came back from a 2-0 deficit last night and had the go-ahead run on third base with one out in the top of the ninth, only to have the situation blow up in their faces when manager Mike Scioscia (right) called ... Oh, what a ninth! Sox-Halos a classic Angels seething after being squeezed out Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:42:08 GMT The Ike Whitaker Saga - Washington Post
Washington Post - In case anyone missed Zach Berman's story in today's paper, Ike Whitaker appears to be done at Virginia Tech. I raise the story in this forum because Whitaker chose Virginia Tech over Maryland amid the usual fanfare that accompanies a top-level recruit ... Va. Tech WR Whitaker faces misdemeanor charges More alcohol woes for Tech wide receiver Whitaker Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:08:42 GMT Fed creates commercial paper-buying facility - Reuters
Reuters - By Mark Felsenthal and Glenn Somerville WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Tuesday announced it would create a special-purpose facility, with the Treasury Department's blessing, to begin buying commercial paper in yet another emergency move ... Euro, Dollar Gain on Fed Move Fed to Purchase US Commercial Paper to Ease Crunch (Update1) Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:17:04 GMT McCain aims to slow Obama momentum in debate - Reuters
Reuters - By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent NASHVILLE (Reuters) - Republican John McCain hopes to halt Democrat Barack Obama's momentum and gain new life in the White House race on Tuesday when the presidential rivals meet in their second debate. A little word makes big waves on campaign trail Tonight's debate is in McCain's favorite style Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:57:52 GMT US, Britain, and UN weigh options amid rising violence in ... - Christian Science Monitor
Christian Science Monitor - By David Montero Against the backdrop of a string of suicide bombings in Pakistan, British, American, and United Nations officials are grappling with the idea of a negotiated settlement with the Taliban. UPDATE 1-Afghan govt denies Saudi meeting was peace talks Afghan official: no talks held with Taliban Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:09:17 GMT Nobel Prize awarded for AIDS, cervical cancer research - Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times - Luc Montagnier dedicated his award to AIDS sufferers and predicted results on a "therapeutic vaccine" for the pandemic within four years. 2 AIDS researchers receive Nobel Prize Three Europeans win the 2008 Nobel for medicine Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 07:01:27 GMT Pentagon denies US jet forced to land in Iran - guardian.co.uk
guardian.co.uk - The Pentagon today denied a report that a US plane had been forced to land in Iranian territory. Iran's Fars news agency claimed that five US officials were questioned and released by the Iranian authorities after the plane they were flying in ... Iran says it forced down Western plane Iran says US plane violated Iran's airspace Publ.Date : Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:12:58 GMT Website Traffic Promotion |
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