Who Else Wants Headlines that Draw Pageviews?

A to Z Guide to Increasing Pageviews: H is for Headlines

Headline writing needs to please the search engines and the people.

Headlines that please the search engines will draw initial traffic to the site. Headlines that please the people will keep them reading, and they will come back for more.

Headline as Advertisement

Consider the headline of the article the advertisement or commercial for the article. It is the headline that will entice the reader to read the content. The headline is what "sells" the article to the reader. What the readers is "spending" is not money, but another important asset, time. The headline will either "sell" the article or won't. The headline will encourage the reader to scroll down and read more, or to click away to more engaging and rewarding content.

The Devil is in the Details!

The headline, like the article should give details and get specific. Compare these two headlines:

"How I Made A Lot of Money Writing Online"
"How I Made $250 Writing in one Week on Associated Content"

"How to Solve Windows Bugs"
"How to Fix Windows Vista Bugs in 5 Easy Steps"

Which one works better? The headline that has the specific amount of money made, in a timeframe, with a specific web site mentioned. The first one is too general. Generalizations in headlines are not no more appealing than generalizations in content.

Reward The Reader

The reader wants some type of reward or benefit for taking their time to read the headline, and the article. This is a simple marketing tool that feeds into everyone's need for a good reason to spend their time on something. Readers need to know what's in it for them.

In the world of marketing, people want things that are easy and quick, will save them time or money, or will improve them or their lives in some way. The same is true for headlines. Show me the benefit of reading the article in the headline, and I will read it.

In the example of the headline on this article (Who Else Wants Headlines that Draw Traffic) the benefit to the reader is clear: you can increase traffic with headlines.

Keywords vs. Keyword Phrases