Again With The Basics But In A Different Light: Titles –Tips On How To Improve It

A while ago I wrote an article about 7 Tips of How to Write Good Titles and What the Benefits Are. I decided to write some more on this topic and to explore other ways to improve the quality of my titles. I read a recent article on How Book Titles Build Personal Brands written by Roger Parker and basically that was the moment that I decided to write some more about titles.

Although there are some rules to follow when creating a title, many times we overlook them. I think that in the case of articles written for the web the title should play a double role.
What a title should contain and express

1. Contains the keywords you wish to target on that page. This is the most important place where you can place your targeted keywords for a certain page. This basically tells search engines that you talk about the topic X, that is connected to the keywords. So, as a small conclusion a title that contains keywords will improve your rankings on search engines.
   Quick tip: a group of words can be called a keyword only if people are searching the Internet using that particular group of words. So you can’t just say “I target this keyword” and not knowing what is the search volume or the competition.
2. Plays a decisive factor in whether your article is getting clicked or not. Once you’ve managed to rank well on search engines you still need to get the click from the person that performed the search. This is why the title should express the essence of the article. Here is the part where your imagination and in some cases originality, plays a big role. Because of the multitude of articles that are publish on the web every day it’s a real battle for clicks and I have to say it’s not an easy one.

Suggestions on how to improve your titles

You have to craft your titles carefully. It’s best to take your time and don’t rush it. It’s not always a simple task to incorporate your keywords and still have an original and interesting title. Many times the keywords are so dull that it becomes an almost impossible task. Sometimes you have to decide if you want to write your article only for search engines.

The human factor should be present all the time: especially now when the web is revolving around its social components. Here are some suggestions on how to build your titles. Feel free to add your suggestions in the comment section.

1. Your title should serve a goal. Every article you write should be written with a goal in mind. It may be to get more subscribers, sell products/services, or just to offer information. Try to create your title so that it becomes the first step in achieving your goal.
2. Ask your question. Each article should resolve a problem your audience might have. Indicate what the problem you address/resolve with a question:
   Suggestions
   1. “Did you know that …?”
   2. “Ho you can achieve …?”
   3. “Did you checked …?”
3. List articles probably remain some of the most viral ones, especially if you present a list of tools (if there are free the better) or a list of articles that address a specific topic, or a list of interesting blogs, or a list of suggestions on a topic.
4. Rise curiosity. Here are some suggestions on some titles:
   1. “What benefits lie in …”
   2. “How I managed to succeed in …”
   3. “Do you want to know how to/I …”
5. Provoke your audience. Don’t be afraid to touch delicate subjects, or to create a controversy, or to express your opinion, even if may lead to some intense discussions:
   1. “I bet you don’t know that …”
   2. “Why tool1 is far better than tool2”
   3. “Don’t do … or you might …”
   4. “Number 1 place to … no doubt about it”
6. State the great benefit your article offers:
   1. “X Steps to get … for sure/guarantee”
   2. “Here is how you can …”
   3. “Finally I managed to … Here is how I succeed it”
   4. “If you want to … consider these X steps/things/blogs/tools”
7. Interesting word associations or word games. I want to exemplify this with the title of a well known book “Not So Big House”. Here you have to use your imagination and try to make your article interesting to the public. It helps to think about important elements of your article and try to connect them with a twist.
8. Titles about news. Search engines tend to favor rankings for articles that talk about recent news.
9. Titles that talk about viral articles or just express your opinion on a matter discussed on an authority blog with lots of traffic.
10. The Paradox: there are no rules. Experiment, explore, innovate, express yourself, be original, be different.

Let me know what you think and help me improve this list: add your title suggestions in comments bellow.