In the last article that I wrote, I got feedback from one of my readers, who said my title article “it’s not matched with my article, but it’s okay.” I really like feedback, and I read my article again, and I think yes my title article is awful.
I realize writing a title for an article is not hard, but it’s not really simple. There are a lot of aspects you need to consider before you write a title for your article:
Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) it’s a process to improve your page, especially on search engine machines like Google. SEO is a long process, you need to do a lot of things with consistency to maintain your page.
There are a lot of pages indexed by Google, and with good SEO your page can be on the first page or second page on Google. Being the first page on Google has a lot of advantages, your page will get more clicks from internet users. Who is going deep to page number 12 on Google?
Many bloggers, content writers, or online writers want to show on the first page on Google. They will compete with each other so their article can be on the first page on Google. There are a lot of theories and tricks on how to be on the first page on Google, and one of those tricks is about titles.
Except for meta title, and description title, you also need to focus on your article title to make sure it’s not too long, one source on the internet said maximum it needs only 70 characters, don’t more.
Make sure every article you write has a good keyword on Google, and is still consistent with that keyword, so if someone searched for that keyword maybe your article is on Google’s page first. So, how do you know you write a good article title with matching keywords? Of course, you need to research it first. You can research SEO keywords on some websites on the Internet.
Clickbait
Clickbait isn’t a bad thing. The articles need bait to get interested readers, if that title didn’t bait the reader it’s hard to get a click.
Not only the article but there are also bestsellers book worldwide written by Mark Manson “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck,” and “Everything Is F*cked”, why is that book so popular, and why do people want to spend their money to buy that book?
First, maybe that book has good content, but another reason for me that book can become popular is because those two books have a good title. That book has a F word, with bold and big font, this is the bait you know. Imagine you are going to a bookstore, and you see two books with the F word, at least you will be interested to see those two books and start to read the synopsis.
But you also need to make sure, you still create title articles with the politically correct value. So, if your title article is controversial, but still politically correct, maybe it’s the best title article. Confused right?
Don’t Lie
The most important thing when making a title article is not to lie. You can bait, but don’t lie. Make sure your title article tells the meaning of your whole article. If you are lying you will make your readers disappointed.
One of the problems with online news articles is there are too many titles with spinning missed points. Like they quote some correspondence in a brutal way, they spin that title in the wrong direction, so that article will miss issues.
For example, there is an article about milk, and one of the correspondences says he didn’t drink milk because he has lactose intolerance, so milk isn’t good for his body. And maybe the crazy news editor will write a title like “Milk isn’t good for health.” Editors cut that statement, and make that point far from what the correspondent wants to say. Yes, this is not lying, but still worse.
Because writing a title article isn’t really easy, so yes we need to practice. There is no way you wanna be good at writing without practice. Remember, practice makes perfect.
