The Headline Is Not The Most Important Part Of Your Article
Writing articles and submitting to article directories is great for generating targeted traffic to your website. The big challenge is getting visitors to read your article. In general, from the time your visitor arrives at the page where your article is posted, you have 5 to 7 seconds to convince your visitor your article is worth reading. If you fail, she is gone to the next site with a click.
An important part of writing quality articles is creating a good headline or title. This is where you grab the visitor’s attention and convince her your article is worth reading.
Well – I don’t agree.
The Headline Is Important To Stand Out In SERPs
Most likely, your visitor will find your article through a search engine. Your article will be listed on the Search Engine Result Pages with the headline and a decsription, which is normally part of the article introduction. To get the visitor’s attention, your headline and accompanying description must stand out from the other listings and ads placed on the SERPs.
- We know the headline and text snippet have already done it’s job at the SERP. A visitor coming from a search engine has clicked on the link to your article.
- It is also safe to assume the headline and introduction will not grab the visitor’s attention again. She saw this part of your article at the SERP listing
The SERP listing of your article promised information relevant to the search term the visitor used. She will not read your article first and then decide if the information you promised was what she was looking for. She will scan the article in an F-like pattern, looking for clues whether your article is worth her attention or not.
Sub-headlines Make Visitors Read Your Article
The best way you can provide clues leading your visitor into reading your article, is proper use of sub-headlines, also referred to as micro content. The headline and sub-headlines should tell a very short version of your article, hence the term micro content.
Without sub-headlines, your article is all text. No part stands out as more important than other parts.
Bullets Catch The Reader’s Attention
Bullets are not part of the micro content, but they work well to catch the readers attention.
Bullets will contain small parts of information the reader recognizes as relevant, but she will have to read more of the article to get all the information.
Use Font Effects To Highlight Important Text
A third way to grab the visitor’s attention is to highlight important text with font effects. Font effects will grab the reader’s attention and work the same way as bullets.
Bonus Effect – Improved Search Engine Ranking
The majority of the traffic you generate with writing articles will come from search engines. A simple technique for improved search engine ranking is to focus your article on one long tail search term.
For best results, include the search term as early as possible
- in the headline
- in the introduction or description paragraph
- 3-4 times per 100 words in the main article text, and
- in the closing paragraph.
Related search terms, or secondary search terms, are best used in sub-headlines, in bullets and, highlighted with font effects.
In addition to turning visitors into readers, these article writing tips may also contribute to an an increase in search engine ranking. This in turn will generate more visitors and targeted traffic to your website.
