RSS Feeds: A Personal Guide To Proper Post Titles
In response to a comment left by Lin of "Telling It Like It Is" and the anticipation expressed by Troy of "The Free Website Project", I'm providing you with my personal guide to proper post titles.
The reason I'm calling it a personal guide is because proper post titles are as unique as the articles or posts they represent. Therefore, my guide is not for everyone; it's only for those who don't have a clue to what they're doing. What may be proper for me may not be proper for you.
Conveying the Correct Message
A title, of any kind of media, is the first message you're sending to the viewer. In the world of blogging, it's extremely important to convey the correct message. If you're writing about how to get rid of dandruff, your post title should convey that message. A post title like "Dandruff Sucks and it Itches" wouldn't convey the proper intent of the article, now would it?
Using Keywords and Key Phrases
There are two ways to formulate a post title. You can create the title before you write the article or you can create the title afterward. Which way you do it is a personal choice and it should be whichever is easiest for you.
As I've probably mentioned more than once (and no, I won't bother to go look for it), keywords and key phrases not only make your text eminently more readable, they'll make your post title and article rank higher in the search engines if both the post title and the article share them. The secret is to not overuse them (something I've been guilty of on occasion). I learned this technique from Grizzly of "How to Make Money Online for Beginners".
Read the first paragraph of this article and then read the last paragraph. "Personal guide" and "proper post titles" are keywords repeated from the post title. "A" and "to" are merely connecting words.
Sleuthing is NOT an Option for Your Readers
Post titles shouldn't require detective work to figure out exactly what they mean. Regardless of what language you write in, write the post title the way you would say it in that language. Don't use any kind of slang or colloquialism unless you're absolutely positive that all of the readers that speak your language will understand what you mean by it.
When I wrote how to produce quality content, I didn't mention a word about the post titles. I was focusing on the main content and it was intentional. The post title for that article, however, didn't require the services of Sherlock Holmes (a popular fictional detective) to figure out what the content would provide.
Deceptive Post Titles
While it may work once or twice, creating deceptive post titles will cause most readers to leave and never return. That isn't your goal, is it? Deceptive post titles are titles that are intentionally either misleading or completely false. For humor posts, it will sometimes work better than you want it to.
While you can get away with surreptitiously including words or even a links (like I did a few times above) in the post content, you can't do that in a post title because it'll instantly look out of place. While the content of the title may be correct, it will read like a spam nightmare.
Final Thoughts
While this isn't a 100 percent complete guide, it points out the common problems I see with post titles. The best post titles are short, succinct and convey the intended message at first glance. Stuffing keywords/phrases into long titles will most likely have the opposite of the intended effect, not to mention that feedreaders and social site listings tend to replace parts of a long title with an ellipsis ("…"), defeating part of the purpose.
Can you think of things to add, that I didn't cover already, to my personal guide to proper post titles? I'm sure I've missed a few.
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Just a few points to add:
1. Sometimes, it's really hard to figure out a good title, because a post might not have a clear point or message, but just be generally informative.
2. I've often been attracted more by cryptic titles than by very explanative titles, so I tend to follow them just to see what it's about. I guess that's curiosity for you. :mrgreen: But often cryptic titles can be annoying as well.
Well written article. I think you've stated all the logical reasons for bloggers to spend time writing good headlines for their articles.
hari's last blog post..Figured out a few things in b2evolution
You know me. Just call me Mr. Logic :roll:
Great advice RT. You are so gifted in terms of running a web site. I'm not and I know it. Thanks for the great tips, now if I can just do them. Have a great day. :)
Comedy Plus's last blog post..Daddy's Little Girl
What? For your blog, Sandee, your post titles are perfect.
Poor titles are the most common deterrent for anyone landing on the blog. If the title doesn't convey the post content people will just move away and ignore your post. Great post!
Shamim's last blog post..Sony Ericsson Xperia Video
Thanks for sneaking in the link to me RT!
Sometimes, all you really have is a good post title. What I usually do is to keep a (paper) notebook of post ideas by title and cross them out as I use them. That way, if I get blocked for ideas there are a few already waiting to be developed.
I only do the paper notebook thing when I'm away from home. It does work well though.
Sound advice as ever RT. Don't know if you want to mention it here, but the Post Slug for WP users is a great way to have two titles effectively, one for humans and another for search engines.
I am still alive, honest….. :sad:
Chris Lodge's last blog post..Use Blogger And Miss 3/4 Of The Internet
I'm saving the slug versus post title for another day. :cool:
I knew you were working again, so I was giving you plenty of time to catch up. Isn't that what weekends are for? Never mind family and friends, you gotta plug in the post now and then. :mrgreen:
:mrgreen: Just so it's clear…, I popped over here to read this simply due to what your post title showed in my RSS reader.
I skimmed through my ever increasing list of blogs I subscribe to until I landed on your title. Upon arriving to read your article I find my name mentioned. :razz:
Very good post RT! I must be subscribed to about 50 blogs at this point, and yours is the only one so far today that caught my eye. That says a lot!
Lin's last blog post..Inside the Minds of Angry, Controlling and Abusive Men
And it was 100% intentional, I assure you. :mrgreen:
ooooh! ooooh! I have a request for a post explaining what "keyword stuffing" is and how to avoid getting google bitch slapped for it. :razz:
It hasn't happened to me (yet) so I wanna figure it out before I get myself in google trouble.
Lin's last blog post..Inside the Minds of Angry, Controlling and Abusive Men
Your wish is my command. I'll see what I can drum up in the next day or so. :grin:
Great post! I agree that sometimes people are attracted to interesting titles rather than Logical title. Depending on he purpose of writing the post. Just my thought…
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