While it’s certainly not as much work as crafting the body of a top article, selecting a title for a piece is definitely an important element of the entire content creation process. An article title is a multifunctional web tool that provides opportunities to interact with the reader and the search engine in equal measure. Some thought about the title and how best to harness its effects will help title options provide a solid return on investment rather than unnecessarily burdening a good project.

Make puns work

The need for a good title is quite evident if one plays a small game. Taken from Christopher Hitchens’ autobiography Hitch 22, the game basically goes like this: Pick a popular movie title and change it slightly to get a “title that didn’t make it”: Quiet of the Lambs, American Pastry, Mister Zhivago, The Samurai American and others demonstrate the importance of doing things right. A small change can remove the value of a good pun or an entertaining turn of phrase in favor of something more bland and meaningless.

To that end, try to think about the title a bit. Reference popular works; for example, a comparison piece doesn’t go wrong by referring to “A Tale of Two…”. Alternatively, the title could refer to a key quote or phrase within the body of the text itself. Don’t ignore something that seems to work, but double check creative title ideas with someone else’s opinion, just to be sure.

words are key

The title is a crucial part of the search engine optimization process. Keyword spiders and algorithms often look at the first few words of an article, and the title is no exception. Having the central keyword integrated in the title will help to obtain better results in internet searches.

However, this comes with particular caveats: some keywords, particularly keyword phrases, are long and clunky and can interfere with the aesthetics of a title. If the key phrase in question is “how to brew your own beer,” that’s one thing. It can be given a witty preface, with how to brew your own beer as a subtitle or appendix to the main line. On the other hand, the keywords could be “Car Accident Legal Advice”, which is harder to work into a smart title. Experiment with a few approaches and consider putting just a few of the keywords in the title or breaking them up into a new sentence.

Another trick concerns where to put the title. In many blog posts, the title will have its own section. However, also consider putting the title and your keywords in the body of the paragraph. Some search engines ignore separate title fields and focus on the article content itself, so this can help prevent a writer from stealing good keyword returns.

brevity please

Particularly in academia, article and paper titles tend to be long and quite dense. “An Analysis of the Savior Archetype in Modern English Literature” certainly tells us what the article is about, but it could just as easily be summed up as “The Savior in Modern Literature” and loses none of its statement of intent.

Also, keyword optimization becomes less effective the deeper you go into a document, and this includes the size of the title. The right keyword effect selects for the shortest and most efficient use of titles, so avoid the temptation to put the entire topic in the title line. Choose simpler and shorter word options that allow you to express the important information without going on and on.

Scripted titles are very popular for this reason. A single word can capture the intent of the message, such as “Betrayed,” and then follow up with keywords. To take an example from the news, perhaps the keywords are “WikiLeaks” and “PayPal.” The title could then be “Betrayed – WikiLeaks banned from PayPal”.

To joke or not to joke

Not all lighthearted articles respond well to a joke title. People are strangely fussy and picky about when they’ll accept humor, and using puns in a title is a long shot. It certainly works, though: consider the example of the Focker movie trilogy starring Ben Stiller.

Obviously, if the article is serious, a play on words should be avoided unless it is executed on a line of gallows humor. Serious work demands a serious degree.

However, an important rule of thumb is to be very careful about industries or groups in pranks. Consider who the item is intended for. If it’s aimed at a broader public audience, such as a newsletter or ad intended to drive people to a site to discuss or buy, then a great inside joke would be out of the question. Not everyone understands the jargon, so it needs to be limited. On the other hand, a special letter designed specifically for professionals in the plumbing trade could easily get away with piping jokes and other internally recognized puns. As with any online venture, the goal is first and foremost to keep the audience in mind when selecting a title, rather than just hoping they “get” it.