That First Impression: Title Considerations

While it’s certainly not as much work as crafting the body of a top article, selecting a title for a piece is definitely an important element of the entire content creation process. An article title is a multi-function web tool that provides opportunities to interact with the reader and the search engine in equal measure. Giving some thought to the title and how best to take advantage of its effects will help title options provide a solid return on investment instead of unnecessarily overburdening a good project.

Making word games work

The need for a good title is quite evident if one plays a small game. Taken from Christopher Hitchens autobiography Hitch 22, the game basically goes like this: Pick a popular movie title and change it slightly to get a “title that didn’t make it”: Quiet of the Lambs, American Pastry, Mister Zhivago, The Samurai American and others demonstrate the importance of doing things right. A small change can take away the value of a good pun or entertaining twist in favor of something more bland and meaningless.

To that end, try giving some thought to the title. Reference popular works; for example, a comparison piece doesn’t go wrong when referring to “A Tale of Two…”. Alternatively, the title could refer to a quote or key phrase within the body of the text itself. Don’t ignore something that seems to work, but double check creative headline ideas with someone else’s opinion, just to be sure.

words are key

The title is a crucial part of the search engine optimization process. Keyword spiders and algorithms often look at the first few words of an article, and the title is no exception. Having the core keyword embedded in the title will help you get better results in Internet searches.

However, this comes with particular caveats: some keywords, particularly keyword phrases, are long and clunky and can interfere with the aesthetics of a title. If the key phrase in question is “how to brew your own beer”, that’s one thing. It can be prefaced cleverly, with how to brew your own beer as a subtitle or an annex to the main line. On the other hand, keywords could be “Car Accident Legal Advice” which is harder to work into a clever title. Experiment with a few approaches and consider just putting some of your keywords in the title or breaking them into a new sentence.

Another trick concerns where to put the title. On many blog posts, the title will have its own section. However, also consider putting the title and your keywords in the body of the paragraph. Some search engines ignore separate title fields and focus on the content of the article itself, so this can help prevent a writer from stealing good return from the keyword.

Brevity please

Particularly in the academic world, the titles of articles and papers tend to be long and quite dense. “An Analysis of the Savior Archetype in Modern English Literature” certainly tells us what the article is about, but it could just as easily be summed up as “The Savior in Modern Literature” and loses none of its statement of intent.

Also, keyword optimization becomes less effective the deeper you go into a document, and this includes the size of the title. The right keyword effect selects for shorter, more efficient use of titles, so avoid the temptation to put your entire topic in the title line. Choose simpler, shorter word choices that allow important information to be conveyed without going on and on.

Scripted titles are very popular for this reason. A single word can capture the intent of the message, like “Betrayed,” and then follow up with keywords. To take an example from the news, perhaps the keywords are “WikiLeaks” and “PayPal.” The title could then be “Betrayed – WikiLeaks Banned From PayPal”.

To joke or not to joke

Not all lighthearted articles respond well to a joke title. People are strangely picky and picky about when they’ll embrace humor, and using puns in a title is a long shot. It certainly works though: consider the example of the Focker film trilogy starring Ben Stiller.

Obviously, if the article is serious, puns should be avoided unless executed in a line of dark humor. Serious work demands a serious title.

However, an important rule of thumb is to be very careful about which industries or groups you joke about. Consider who the article is intended for. If it’s aimed at a broader public audience, such as a newsletter or advertisement meant to drive people to a site to discuss or buy, then a great inside joke would be out of place. Not everyone understands the jargon, so it should be limited. On the other hand, a special letter designed specifically for professionals in the plumbing trade could easily get away with pipe jokes and other internally recognized puns. As with any online venture, the goal is clearly to keep the audience in mind first and foremost when selecting a title, rather than just hoping they “get it.”