Comments on: Blogging tips 4.5: The importance of titles http://www.thetlog.net/2005/10/12/blogging-tips-45-the-importance-of-titles/ Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:37:07 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Optimizing page titles in blogs at The Tlog http://www.thetlog.net/2005/10/12/blogging-tips-45-the-importance-of-titles/#comment-12284 Optimizing page titles in blogs at The Tlog Mon, 27 Nov 2006 22:18:15 +0000 http://www.thetlog.net/?p=117#comment-12284 [...] If you’ve read the Blogging Tips series, you’re surely aware of a part of it called The Importance of Titles. Titles (meaning what ends up between the <title> </title> tags) are one of the most important, and most ignored, parts of SEO, these days. Not only do search engines use them to rank pages, but they’re also what actually appears in search results, and a bad title is much less likely to be clicked on… even if the content is exactly what the user wants. [...] [...] If you’ve read the Blogging Tips series, you’re surely aware of a part of it called The Importance of Titles. Titles (meaning what ends up between the <title> </title> tags) are one of the most important, and most ignored, parts of SEO, these days. Not only do search engines use them to rank pages, but they’re also what actually appears in search results, and a bad title is much less likely to be clicked on… even if the content is exactly what the user wants. [...]

]]> By: Writing Effective, Attention-Getting Headlines and Titles on Your Blog « Lorelle on WordPress http://www.thetlog.net/2005/10/12/blogging-tips-45-the-importance-of-titles/#comment-8714 Writing Effective, Attention-Getting Headlines and Titles on Your Blog « Lorelle on WordPress Wed, 20 Sep 2006 09:21:37 +0000 http://www.thetlog.net/?p=117#comment-8714 [...] In The Tlog’s Blogging Tips, the importance of titles includes a very important point bloggers often overlook: There’s a blog, The Invisible Monster, that is possibly the best personal blog I’ve ever seen. Most personal blogs are mundane, boring, and of any interest only to a small group of friends of relatives; not that one (though the author is a relative of mine). It’s funny, witty, wonderfully written, and still personal - no “selling out” by talking about non-personal subjects to attract visitors at all. [...] [...] In The Tlog’s Blogging Tips, the importance of titles includes a very important point bloggers often overlook: There’s a blog, The Invisible Monster, that is possibly the best personal blog I’ve ever seen. Most personal blogs are mundane, boring, and of any interest only to a small group of friends of relatives; not that one (though the author is a relative of mine). It’s funny, witty, wonderfully written, and still personal - no “selling out” by talking about non-personal subjects to attract visitors at all. [...]

]]> By: Blogging tips #24: Linkbaiting » The Tlog http://www.thetlog.net/2005/10/12/blogging-tips-45-the-importance-of-titles/#comment-844 Blogging tips #24: Linkbaiting » The Tlog Fri, 17 Feb 2006 17:36:07 +0000 http://www.thetlog.net/?p=117#comment-844 [...] use good, self-explaining titles. People usually skim through the post titles, and only read more if a title grabs their interest. Obviously, a post called “8 essential programs for Series 60 phones” is much more attractive than a post whose title is “my mobile phone experiences”, even if the content is exactly the same. [...] [...] use good, self-explaining titles. People usually skim through the post titles, and only read more if a title grabs their interest. Obviously, a post called “8 essential programs for Series 60 phones” is much more attractive than a post whose title is “my mobile phone experiences”, even if the content is exactly the same. [...]

]]> By: How to write good post headlines » The Tlog http://www.thetlog.net/2005/10/12/blogging-tips-45-the-importance-of-titles/#comment-759 How to write good post headlines » The Tlog Wed, 25 Jan 2006 08:40:05 +0000 http://www.thetlog.net/?p=117#comment-759 [...] CopyBlogging has a nice article called How to Write Headlines That Work. I’ve already written about it in the Blogging Tips series, in The Importance of Titles, but my version is more SEO-related, while CopyBlogging’s has more to do with marketing, and titles that “intrigue” visitors. Good, useful reading. Tags: blog, blogging, headlines, titles, copyblogging Related posts: [...] [...] CopyBlogging has a nice article called How to Write Headlines That Work. I’ve already written about it in the Blogging Tips series, in The Importance of Titles, but my version is more SEO-related, while CopyBlogging’s has more to do with marketing, and titles that “intrigue” visitors. Good, useful reading. Tags: blog, blogging, headlines, titles, copyblogging Related posts: [...]

]]> By: GreatNexus Webmaster Blog http://www.thetlog.net/2005/10/12/blogging-tips-45-the-importance-of-titles/#comment-441 GreatNexus Webmaster Blog Sun, 20 Nov 2005 17:59:39 +0000 http://www.thetlog.net/?p=117#comment-441 <strong>Is your blog failing because the title of your posts suck?</strong> I have been in the blogging scene just about a month now. One thing I have noticed is that the title of my posts is the most important key success factor for my blog’s success. The difference between a mediocre title and a great one can be more... Is your blog failing because the title of your posts suck?

I have been in the blogging scene just about a month now. One thing I have noticed is that the title of my posts is the most important key success factor for my blog’s success. The difference between a mediocre title and a great one can be more…

]]> By: J Wynia http://www.thetlog.net/2005/10/12/blogging-tips-45-the-importance-of-titles/#comment-344 J Wynia Tue, 18 Oct 2005 19:14:23 +0000 http://www.thetlog.net/?p=117#comment-344 I rewrote my templates and oriented my posts toward keyword rich, long titles a couple of months ago. I now have the longer titles in h1 tags, in the page title and in the URL via permalinks. That combination of 3 "powerhouse" locations has led to MUCH higher placement in Google and I'm suddenly in the top 10 for all kinds of terms, just by virtue of my titles. For example, my blog isn't *about* the movie Serenity or the series Firefly. Yet, I wrote 2-3 posts the week it was released, including one that mentioned merchandise for the movie. The *next day*, I was the number 1 site for "serenity merchandise". Think of it like a grocery store. They generally carry the same items from week to week, i.e., the keywords "soup", "chicken", etc. are always present in the store somewhere. However, they are GOING to sell more soup if it's on an endcap at the end of the aisle. If you don't care how much soup you sell, it doesn't matter: your store carries soup. However, if you really want to sell soup, the difference is big. I rewrote my templates and oriented my posts toward keyword rich, long titles a couple of months ago. I now have the longer titles in h1 tags, in the page title and in the URL via permalinks. That combination of 3 “powerhouse” locations has led to MUCH higher placement in Google and I’m suddenly in the top 10 for all kinds of terms, just by virtue of my titles. For example, my blog isn’t *about* the movie Serenity or the series Firefly. Yet, I wrote 2-3 posts the week it was released, including one that mentioned merchandise for the movie. The *next day*, I was the number 1 site for “serenity merchandise”.

Think of it like a grocery store. They generally carry the same items from week to week, i.e., the keywords “soup”, “chicken”, etc. are always present in the store somewhere. However, they are GOING to sell more soup if it’s on an endcap at the end of the aisle. If you don’t care how much soup you sell, it doesn’t matter: your store carries soup. However, if you really want to sell soup, the difference is big.

]]> By: Dehumanizer http://www.thetlog.net/2005/10/12/blogging-tips-45-the-importance-of-titles/#comment-335 Dehumanizer Mon, 17 Oct 2005 13:49:04 +0000 http://www.thetlog.net/?p=117#comment-335 Note that most really popular sites (not just blogs) also include what they're about in the title. e.g. <i>"Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more"</i>. Note that most really popular sites (not just blogs) also include what they’re about in the title. e.g. “Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more”.

]]> By: Dehumanizer http://www.thetlog.net/2005/10/12/blogging-tips-45-the-importance-of-titles/#comment-314 Dehumanizer Thu, 13 Oct 2005 13:45:42 +0000 http://www.thetlog.net/?p=117#comment-314 No, not at all. But titles do have a bigger "weight" than the regular article text. If someone googles for "cheese dip" (there I go again...), pages with "cheese dip" on the title will probably appear before those that only have it in the article text. Also, titles are what appear as, well, titles in the search results, so, when someone searches for something, even if one of your articles is in the search results, if the title is something like <i>"Well..."</i>, it's unlikely that it will be clicked on. No, not at all. But titles do have a bigger “weight” than the regular article text. If someone googles for “cheese dip” (there I go again…), pages with “cheese dip” on the title will probably appear before those that only have it in the article text.

Also, titles are what appear as, well, titles in the search results, so, when someone searches for something, even if one of your articles is in the search results, if the title is something like “Well…”, it’s unlikely that it will be clicked on.

]]> By: Michael http://www.thetlog.net/2005/10/12/blogging-tips-45-the-importance-of-titles/#comment-313 Michael Thu, 13 Oct 2005 13:39:19 +0000 http://www.thetlog.net/?p=117#comment-313 Are you saying that only the titles are searched? That having ky words in the body is not sufficient? Are you saying that only the titles are searched? That having ky words in the body is not sufficient?

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