Want to work your way up in SERPs? Get and share ideas on link building, on/off page optimizing, social SEO and more.

Killer Titles vs Keyword Optimization?
lukecorden
Posts: 20
Joined: 30 Apr 13
Trust:
28 Aug 13 9:41 pm

Killer Titles vs Keyword Optimization?

Hi there

I'm hoping I can get some feedback on a couple of questions I have.

1) H1 tags (post titles in WP) is it better to capture attention with a well thought out Post Title in which the Keyword is sandwiched between the other words or is it better to put the keyword at the beginning of the H1 tag?

My thoughts are that from a user experience it is better to go with a catchy title that will make people want to click through however, WP SEO plug-ins seem to like you getting the keyword right at the beginning of the post title. Obviously if you can do both then great but some long tails don't lend themselves to well to this and you end up with an awkward headline.

2) Related to this first question is a secondary point. Traffic Travis flags up a page warning if you have a post title longer than 8 words long. This will make for some very boring long tail optimized keywords. How big an issue for SEO is this or can it be ignored in favor of a decent title.

I've read a couple of posts recently on seomoz that favor good titles to entice users to click through [moz.com/ugc/3-steps-toward-freedom-from-your-headline-woes] being one example another excellent post that made be pay attention was this one discussing "the 5 data insights into the headlines readers click" [moz.com/blog/5-data-insights-into-the-headlines-readers-click] Very informative.

Thanks in advance.

LC
  • 0
cecille.l
Posts: 6369
Joined: 25 Feb 11
Trust:
29 Aug 13 6:09 am

 Hi Luke,

1) H1 tags (post titles in WP) is it better to capture attention with a well thought out Post Title in which the Keyword is sandwiched between the other words or is it better to put the keyword at the beginning of the H1 tag?


>>> It's best to have your keyword in the title, and have it as close to the start as possible. Still, if you're going to end up with a dreadful, boring title, then it's better to ignore your SEO plugin's warning and continue with an interesting, unique title.

2) Related to this first question is a secondary point. Traffic Travis flags up a page warning if you have a post title longer than 8 words long. This will make for some very boring long tail optimized keywords. How big an issue for SEO is this or can it be ignored in favor of a decent title.


>>> Always go for the better headline, regardless of any page or SEO warning. These are all rules of thumb and it's great if you can follow them, but at the end of the day, you're writing for humans, not search engines so always put them first.

Hope that helps. Have a good day!
  • 1
Cecille

Building affiliate marketing websites is a breeze: https://www.affilorama.com/affilojetpack
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/affilorama
 
lukecorden
Posts: 20
Joined: 30 Apr 13
Trust:
29 Aug 13 9:48 pm

 I had hoped this would be the answer. It makes sense to focus on kickass title as half the trick is getting people to click through. One blogger has it that "On average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest".

If that's the case then a good headline is essential no matter where you are in the page rankings.

Thanks for the reply.
  • 0
cecille.l
Posts: 6369
Joined: 25 Feb 11
Trust:
30 Aug 13 2:19 pm

 Hi Luke,

I had hoped this would be the answer. It makes sense to focus on kickass title as half the trick is getting people to click through. One blogger has it that "On average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest".


I agree, and really, would you read an article that says "A Dissertation on How to Maintain a Strong and Healthy Relationship with the Male Sex. " Or would you go for "10 Ways to Get a Man and Keep Him!"?

You need to get the click first, then get them reading so that you can convince them to buy.

Have a good weekend!
  • 0
Cecille

Building affiliate marketing websites is a breeze: https://www.affilorama.com/affilojetpack
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/affilorama
 
burkhardt5
Posts: 216
Joined: 26 Jun 09
Trust:
31 Aug 13 12:33 pm

 Hello Luke.
How are you Cecille ?

I agree, and really, would you read an article that says "A Dissertation on How to Maintain a Strong and Healthy Relationship with the Male Sex. " Or would you go for "10 Ways to Get a Man and Keep Him!"?


Just wanted to add an important detail.

I agree that the title should be catchy to inspire a call to action but you MUST back it up with nothing but the highest quality and relevant content. This may seem obvious but it can never be over stressed. You can have the greatest titles ever but if they click on the link and come to a poorly written or fluff filled article they will likely leave quickly and never return.

Sorry if I seem obsessive about quality content but now more than ever it is an absolute must.

Never Give Up!!!
Paul
  • 1
Paul J. Burkhardt
 
tankctrlr
Posts: 210
Joined: 16 Oct 09
Trust:
01 Sep 13 8:51 am

 Agreed Quality content Rules over all!

What weekend? We're entrepreneurs we don't take weekends off lol. ;-)
  • 0
Writing Services - www.needanarticle.com
 
cecille.l
Posts: 6369
Joined: 25 Feb 11
Trust:
02 Sep 13 10:54 am

 Hi Paul,

I agree that the title should be catchy to inspire a call to action but you MUST back it up with nothing but the highest quality and relevant content. This may seem obvious but it can never be over stressed. You can have the greatest titles ever but if they click on the link and come to a poorly written or fluff filled article they will likely leave quickly and never return.


Definitely! I think that goes without saying but yes, sometimes, you just have say it as it can never be said enough.

Have a good day! :)
  • 0
Cecille

Building affiliate marketing websites is a breeze: https://www.affilorama.com/affilojetpack
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/affilorama
 

This topic was started on Aug 28, 2013 and has been closed due to inactivity. If you want to discuss this topic further, please create a new forum topic.

Topic locked