Crafting User-Friendly Titles for Content Marketing

By February 16, 2016content marketing

On average, people only read about 50 percent of the content that they encounter while browsing online. Let’s face it — with so much information readily available at our fingertips, it’s inevitable that most people aren’t going to digest the majority of what’s written in a lengthy article, no matter how informative or interesting it is. If you want to increase your presence in content marketing in Utah or elsewhere, this means that you have to create fully-enveloping, diverse and dynamic titles to both capture and maintain your audience.

Online Readers Scan for Prominent Headlines

Readers may not devote their undivided attention to reading an entire article. What they will do, however, is scan. Perhaps the first thing that a reader does while browsing online articles is scan through the prominent headlines before deciding to spend the time and energy to actual read what’s written therein. This means that you only have a limited number of words to capture the attention of your reader. This is where content marketing comes into play — whether you’re in Utah or on the East Coast, it’s critical that you make every word count.

Titles Should Reflect a Consistent Dialogue

Content marketing, whether it’s done in Utah or the Midwest, is only effective if the audience believes that you are a reliable, trustworthy expert in your field. Every title and headline should be specifically reflective of the ideas and verbiage that follow. A reader will feel misled if you propose an unrelated topic or question in your title, and then go on to discuss a completely different topic within the content.

First Appeal to Readers, Then Focus on SEO

Although the use of keywords in titles and headlines is important, readability is more important. Your target audience should be first in mind when crafting the perfect title — and if your preferred keywords fit within this framework, count it as an additional bonus. A few ways to write titles with your target audience in mind can include posing a question, employing humor, commenting (tastefully) on controversial issues and using well-placed power words. First appeal to the reader — and once you’ve done this, focus on the SEO aspects.