Writing a great content is very important to get it read and ranked. The most crucial thing that makes a content rank higher or keeps the reader engaged is the title. The title is elements that represent a content on the internet, in the search engines, on social media, and in the emails.
The title or the headline is a promise you make to deliver the content to the reader is expecting when they read it. Titles are the things that sell your content. It is therefore very crucial for you to carefully decide your content titles. Factors such as length of the title, choice of words, SEO optimization, etc. deeply influences the rank of the content and its returns on investment. Below are some of the things to be considered while framing your title.
Be Specific- Choose a Working title
Avoid using titles that do not specify what to expect. The title should be pretty convincing about the topic and clearly denote what the reader will get in the end. Generic titles such as “Office Supplies”, “Preschools for kids” will not work as convincingly and will not rank as higher as “Office Supplies to buy in 2017” that gives all the new resources, products or services the reader can expect in the new year.
Being specific will also help you gain the trust of your readers. If they will find content as stated in the title, they might become regular readers or turn into customers. A title that clearly specifies the goal of the content is, therefore, important. It improves the value of the content and easily attracts the readers.
Make It Pop
Not only being specific will work, it should also pop to the readers immediately. Use of bold and strong language will lay a deep impact on the readers. A tone that directly communicates with the readers, words such as “Get it now”, “why’s and how’s” generate higher CTR than title without them.
Making the title funnier, lovelier and playful also will rank your content higher in the search engines. Titles that are direct answers to things people are constantly looking for also grabs direct attention and makes readers stay put.
Keep It Short
Although there isn’t a size that is fixed for the titles, still a short title that directly convinces the message works best. A title that lies under 70 characters is said to be more productive than that exceeds this limit.
It was also observed that headline that lies between 8 to 12 words rank higher on Twitter and those with 12 to 14 words ranked higher on Facebook.
Optimize for the Social Platforms
The title of the content should contain words that already your readers might be searching for. Know your audience and use words that are familiar to them. Also, try to place the keyword as close to the first word as possible. The quicker the reader gets your keyword, the higher the chances are that they will read further the complete document.
Get It Discussed
Share your ideas with peers and fellow team members to make sure you do not miss anything. It might be possible that you have taken care of all the above-discussed things but still miss some key points. Brainstorming with a fellow team member might help you to optimize it better and implement things you never came across.
Apart from the above discussed key areas, using infographics might also gear up your ranking. If you can add visual elements to your content, do not miss this opportunity. Proper and appropriate use of visuals will increase your rank.
