Everyone is aware of the importance of content, page layout, design and keywords in Search Engine Optimization. But, a headline can bring in business? Sounds unbelievable, but that's the truth. A good title is the key to capture the initial attention of the reader. The reader is curious to know the contents of the page, along with getting some idea of the topic that the article is discussing. Search engine optimization experts are now realising the influence of the article headline on the overall SEO campaign.

Not only readers, headlines also influence the search engine spiders that scourge the site for relevance and quality to decide upon the ranking. The title has to work in a two pronged way – to capture the reader's attention and secondly to show excellent optimization to search engine crawlers. There are a number of ways in which headlines can be improved upon and made more effective so as to serve the purpose of search engine optimization.

The title helps the reader in recognising the content of the article. Hence it should be relevant to the content. Secondly, in order to show optimised results in search engines, one or more of the keywords should be incorporated in the headline. Since the article is a written piece, usually without graphics and other images, the headline plays a crucial role in grabbing attention, mainly because it is the first line that is read by the reader.

Determination and usage of keywords must be done after thorough research. It is advisable to use the keywords within the first four words of the title for the purpose of increasing familiarity. The author's name must never be used in the title, unless it is the keyword. Avoid the usage of punctuation marks in the headline. Also never use a quote within the title. Usage of all caps in the title makes it look screaming and too much in the face. This attracts attention but in the negative sense. The reader may find it rude and against aesthetics.

A little research and eye for detail can transform the article headline into a competent and effectual tool that can have a positive impact on search engine optimization and bring customers flocking to the website along with attaining a good ranking on the Search Engine Result Page (SERP).


Tags: search engines, caps, search engine spiders, search engine optimization, images, relevance, truth, headlines, aesthetics, familiarity, article headline, scourge, punctuation marks