How to Title Your Hub to Get Traffic

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By HubPages

While newspaper titles are catchy, they aren't great for search engine results. Choose a title that reflects a query in a search engine.
While newspaper titles are catchy, they aren't great for search engine results. Choose a title that reflects a query in a search engine.

Choosing the Right Title

Choosing the right title is a critical step in creating a Hub that will be found through search results. In fact, starting your Hub off with a good title is the most important step in your Hub making process. Follow this title up with in-depth, original, and useful content, and you have the potential for a successful Hub!

Why is a Hub's title so important? Since most successful Hubs get the majority of their traffic through search engines, words used in titles and subtitles could mean the difference between a Hub having traffic and not. A Hubber can have the most amazing Hub ever created, but if they have a poor or magazine-like title, their Hub may never get traffic through search results.

One great way to choose your title is to think of how someone will search for your topic in search engines. Having the exact query as your title will help you court visitors from Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Once you’ve nailed down your title, you should put some thought into your subtitles. Think about your subtitles as other keywords that readers may be searching for online. It goes without saying, but a title that is keyword-stuffed or deceptive will not do well. We recommend a sensible, readable title that utilizes keywords that represent the content of the Hub. Misleading or keyword stuffed titles are not allowed on HubPages, nor will they do well in search over time.

Examples of Good Titles

  • How to Bake a Yule Log Cake: Recipes and Frosting
  • How to Evict a Non-Paying Tenant
  • Killing the Parvo Virus from your Dog's Environment
  • Japanese Gift Wrapping and Furoshiki
  • Exercises and Games for People with Flat Feet
  • Ideas to Decorate your Office Cubicle
  • Men's Shaving Choices: Straight, Safety, or Electric Razor
  • Wire Wrapped Jewelry: How to Make your Own Pendant

Four Rules for a Great Hub Title

  1. Clearly describe the contents of your Hub. Be specific!
  2. Be as short as possible. Google cuts off titles at 60 characters (including spaces), so make sure you communicate the contents of your Hub in 60 characters or less.
  3. Do not include unnecessary words (like your name, random meaningless words, etc)
  4. Do a little research. If you know what people are searching for, you have a better chance of gaining their readership from a great title. Check out our Learning Center article on the Google Keyword Tool.
  5. NEVER USE ALL CAPS. THIS IS THE ONLINE VERSION OF SCREAMING AND SEEMS AGGRESSIVE. PEOPLE DON'T LIKE IT.

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