Working on Titles

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   TIMETRAVELER2posted 8 years ago

   I am of those people who has a terrible time getting my titles right.  Recently, I've come up with a new strategy which has made it easier, and may help you guys, too.
   
   I open my word processor
   I open the Google Keyword Tool
   and I open https://moz.com/blog/new-title-tag-guid … eview-tool which is a tool that Robin suggested I use to check title length.  I love it!
   
   (PS  Can't seem to get the link to work here, but have put one in below that does.  Don't understand the problem, but that's the only fix I could work out.  Sorry.)
   
   I go back into my titles and type words that bother me into the word processor and use the Thesaurus there to help me find the best possible word to use.  For example, today, instead of using the not quite right word "important", I found a much better one in "essential".
   
   I then go to the keyword tool to check views and what advertisers will pay for that word.
   
   If it looks good, I use it.  If not, I do it all again until I find the best match.
   
   Then, I write my title and check it in the title tool to make sure it won't get truncated on the search pages.
   
   If not, I'm done.  If so, I rework the title until it sounds conversational and also fits the search.
   
   If you read the article in the l link it will explain why you should do this.  Personally, I think my titles are starting to look better, and I also feel they are helping my page views.
   
   Just thought I'd share this.

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      Robie Benveposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Great tips! I need to start doing this, my views have been down about 50% in the last few weeks, more searchable titles can only help.
      I wonder if the same attention should be dedicated to the hub summary. Many times I write my summaries as after-thoughts, but they are probably pretty critical for search engines as well.

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         TIMETRAVELER2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Summaries are extremely important, and you have to be careful about keyword stuffing with them or they can give you problems with Google.  I always write mine first and then go back to correct if the focus of an article changes.

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   2. 77

      Sam Montanaposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Using a Thesaurus is a great idea. Titles can be the hardest part of article writing.
      
      I get an error on Moz when I click on that link.

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         RonElFranposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         The link doesn't work because the trailing comma in the sentence was inadvertently included in the url, invalidating it. If you delete that last comma, the link works. I just click the link, then when the error page comes up, remove the comma in the browser url field and hit Enter.

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            TIMETRAVELER2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

            https://moz.com/blog/new-title-tag-guid … eview-tool
            
            How about this?  It's the direct copy of the URL from the site.  Don't know what happened before.  Sorry.

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               Sam Montanaposted 8 years agoin reply to this

               I have been using this website to rate the titles I pick out, it has been very helpful with titles.
               
               http://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer

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                  TIMETRAVELER2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  That's a neat site.  Mine only makes sure that your wordage will not get truncated.  Thanks.

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                  Solarasposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  That is a neat little site!  How do you reckon title changes using Coschedule have affected your pageviews?

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                     Sam Montanaposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                     I'm not sure yet, I haven't been using it that long. At the least, I have not seen a negative change and it makes me feel better when a new title has a better score.

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      Solarasposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for sharing!

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   Stacie Lposted 8 years ago

   I tried several of my titles on this site and they all came back as having the right number of words. The problem is having too many common words so I'm wracking my brains out trying new ones out and not having a lot of luck. I will try again.

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      Sam Montanaposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Titles can be really hard to get just right. You probably scrolled down the web site to look at possible emotion and power words. Also use Thesaurus.com to get more ideas for different words.

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      1. 77

         TIMETRAVELER2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Sam:  Gotta thank you for showing me this site.  I've been working on titles using it all day today and what a difference it is making!  Don't know if it will increase views, but it sure is nice to have more interesting and accurate titles on some of my hubs now.  Great job!

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            Will Apseposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            Just bear in mind that Moz is trying to survive in an online world that does not have much time for old style SEO manipulation these days. The site is desperate to remain relevant. A lot of what they are offering these days is marginally important, at best.

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               TIMETRAVELER2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

               I wasn't aware of that, but what I do know is that my upgraded titles are so much better than my original ones.  I have always had a problem with this issue, and what they offer seems to be helping me.  Time will tell, I guess, but for now, I'm a happy camper!

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                  Will Apseposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  If it is a way of stimulating thought, rather than replacing it, that sounds great.
                  
                  I can't help pointing this out, though: it is worth reading the final para of every SEO article on Moz. It usually states out that the writer cannot be sure that anything said in the article is true, or that it might not be important, anyway.
                  
                  SEO stuff is always speculative.

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                     TIMETRAVELER2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

                     What it's doing is forcing me to think outside the box and come up with different ways of saying things to make the titles more detailed and interesting.  For example  RV Safety Tips become How to Protect Everybody in Your RV.  Much more reader friendly, I think.

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                        Will Apseposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                        'How to Protect Everyone in your RV' sounds a bit scary to me, lol. What are we talking about? Bears, mad ax men, dirty bombs?
                        
                        'Safety tips' sounds prudent, non-alarmist and a bit dull.
                        
                        How about 'Is your RV Safe? Ten Tips from a Pro...'
                        
                        Or however many tips.
                        
                        Provoke a little alarm. Offer to make it all better.

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                           TIMETRAVELER2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

                           This article is not about how safe an RV is, it's about how safe the people in it are during travel.  Accidents, theft, illness, etc.  Totally different focus...thus the word "protect".

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                           TIMETRAVELER2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

                           It's "How to Protect the Safety of Everyone in Your RV".  Didn't quite get it right...sorry.

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                              Sam Montanaposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                              From what I have been reading, Google still likes How To titles and number titles like 5 ways to whatever. Your new title would probably appeal to people looking for that type of article, more than your original titles, and Google probably loves it.
                              
                              And yes, titles are hard to get right.

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            Sam Montanaposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            I should have mentioned to also click on the links in that website. It has some helpful hints about power words and emotion words and the best length for titles, etc.

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            Sam Montanaposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            TT2, there is also another great title analyzer that I have been using... here:
            http://www.aminstitute.com/headline/
            
            And the article that explains the score:
            http://coschedule.com/blog/emotional-headlines/

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               TIMETRAVELER2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

               Thanks, Sam.  I am just amazed to see how much better my titles are, and I do think the new ones are boosting page views a bit.  What a great gift you gave me!

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         Stacie Lposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks for the suggestions...I have plugged in emotion words but I'm not having a lot of luck. I'll keep trying.

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   Alison Grahamposted 8 years ago

   I don't know if this will be of any help to anyone, but I had some fun with it! Shane Melaugh did a blog post about 8 tools you can use to generate some fun titles. I thought it was really good and gave me a few ideas! https:// thrivethemes.com /8-headlines-tools (I put spaces in the URL to avoid providing a link)!

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      Robie Benveposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for the link. The Portent's Content Idea generator is brilliant! So much fun.

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   Will Apseposted 8 years ago

   I honestly think that titles just need to be a clear reflection of the content of the article. You can try teaser headlines, if you like, on social media orientated, discussion articles but for info articles clarity is everything.
   
   I don't reckon SEO approaches are a great option these days. Google is trying to eliminate all SEO trickery. Readers hate it, too.
   
   Sometimes, a title change can really boost traffic but only by reaching readers more effectively.
   
   HP recommend human-friendly titles with conversational subheadings which sounds about right.

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