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Writing Powerful Titles - Blog Posts vs. Online Flyers

Whether writing a title for your online classified flyer or a post on your blog, it is very important to do it right. An effective title can oftentimes be the difference between a successful effort and a flop. Here are some tips to consider:

For Online Classified Flyers

Online flyer ads are great for promoting property listings or real estate services online, but are most effective with a targeted title. Since these ads are syndicated to web directories and indexed by search engines, it’s important to keep targeted search terms in mind.

Think about what you are offering, then think about what your buyers and clients might type into Google when searching for that. An effective flyer ad title will synchronize these two concepts so the searcher finds just what they’re looking for - your online ad.

Many people, to their own detriment, try to title their flyers with catchy phrases, much like they would title an article, essay, or blog post. This creativity is lost on an online flyer, since buyers and clients rarely conduct a search using those phrases.

For Blog Posts

A blog post is a bit of a different ball game. It's great to make your title search engine friendly, but you also want to take your regular readers into consideration. Is your title interesting enough to get their attention and make them want to read more? If not, you have some work to do.

Think about your blog post titles from the reader's perspective. Search engine optimization definitely has its place, but completely ignoring the "interest factor" is not going to encourage readers to return or refer others.

If you are clever enough to title your posts in such a way that they will be search engine friendly and reader friendly, then you’ve found the jackpot! Remember, you can always use tags for an SEO boost, and channels and groups to help readers find your post more easily.

I certainly have not mastered the art myself, but with more experimenting every day, it's coming along! What are your thoughts? Have any tips to share? I'd love to hear them!

Posted by Candis Hidalgo on 10/31/2008 06:50 PM

Comments (29)

Marketing in the Online Marketing Channel

blog titles, online flyer titles, blogging tips, online classified ads, classifiedflyeradscom

Post is included in group: ABC's of Real Estate Marketing
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29 Comments on Writing Powerful Titles - Blog Posts vs. Online Flyers

OCT

You are right, blog titles need to be catchy. I titled a blog "I've waited three months to write this!!!" and I got a ton of comments. A dead give away blog killer is; "What do you think?"

thanks for the tips Candis.

Tags for SEO, could you expand upon that. Are there special ones? I write from the heart....

I feel everyone is looking to write better titles and lead ins for there marketing because it works.

Good luck and success

Lou Ludwig

Hi Lewis - good point! Asking a question in a title can be a good thing if done right, but a generic question like "What do you think?" will not draw much interest. In my early days of blogging, I learned this the hard way :)

Hi Nancy - The nice thing is that tags don't have to affect your writing creativity at all. Note that the bottom of this blog post has tags like "blog titles" and "online classified ads", used to identify the content in the post. Now keywords are a different stroy. Those you should incorporate into your post, but the more naturally done the better. If you can find the balance of "writing from the heart" and writing content that will bring in traffic from search engines, then you're set!

Plus, you do a great job of using subtitles. ;)

Very true Lou! The more practice and experimenting you do, the closer you'll get to finding what does/doesn't work.

Thanks Colleen! P.S. I love that picture of you & your hubby :)

NOV

I agree. I'm working on improving my tags and generating more traffic. It takes time and a little research to get to the point I want to be. Thanks for your post.

Good points you can come up high in the search engines - but what's the point if no wants to read it!

Hey Candis,

Good points for getting noticed and getting read.

Thanks, Laurie

NOV

Great point Jon. Research and experiment what works best for you, and before long you'll be able to optimize your blog posts and classified flyers to bring in the highest quality traffic.

Eileen, you got it! People searching the internet have so many options at their fingertips, so not only do you have to attract them, but you have to keep them interested or they'll click away without a second thought. At least, that's what I do!

Hi Laurie - Glad you found it helpful! I think it's important to note the differences between titling a classified flyer and titling a blog post.

A classified flyer is advertising a product, whether it's a home for sale or your real estate services. Because of this, it is best to be specific when titling it (say just what it is), not focusing so much on the creativity ("Charming Home in the Heart of Town"... this is not how people search). This increases the likelihood that people find just what they're looking for when they land on your flyer.

With a blog post, you want it to be search engine friendly, but also reader friendly and interesting. This combination will spark a reader's interest, but also spark the search engine's interest.

Thanks for reading :)

NOV

Hi Candis -- I am still trying to master this myself, but I've been testing different messages to increase traffic and comments.

NOV

That's great Kerry! Best of luck to you.

Good food for thought! I am still trying to figure out how to maximize my blogging without loosing the "me" factor! I mean, I'd love to get business from all of this, but I'd do it regardless.

I have a bought a few very helpful books about words that sell. I use this book evertime I am writing a listing description or an important title for an online advertisement.

Good for you Alisha! It's great that you are striving to be personable, but also striving to blog for business. Best wishes in your efforts!

Hi Eileen - Sounds like a very interesting read. Are there any that you recommend?

NOV

Candis! LOVE your service and use it all the time. Thanks for the reminder about how I title my listing Flyers. Not so much about being crafty as it is being found! Thanks again!

NOV

Thanks so much Thom & Ray :) Glad this helped!

NOV

Candis stopping by to say hello - and to comment on these great thoughts and reminders you've posted, not sure we'll ever really master the stuff 'cause it just keeps getting better, smarter, faster. But so nice to have someone to help us keep up - thank you :)

NOV

I just watched a good video on Aaron Walls SEOBook.com about titles of web pages. keeping them short but with a clearn catchy but not promotional message and under 65 characters in length is the way to go.

Hi Teresa :) So true... things in the web world change so often it can be hard to keep up! But definitely worth it if you can.

John - Thanks for sharing your insights on optimizing website pages.

NOV

Hi Candis

Great post I'm always looking for creative titles or my blog posts and news letters.

Good luck and success

Lou Ludwig

DEC

Thanks for this great post and wonderful info...

DEC

Great post and right on the money. Hope the holidays were great and you have a wonderful 2009.

Terry Miller

DEC

Titles need to be catchy and be able to catch long tail searches!

DEC

Yep, you only have a few seconds to grab someones attention, better make a blog title catchy!

JAN

Thanks, I am just learning and the info was helpful. I hope you post again in 2009.

Terry Miller

Thanks Terry... I will post again in 2009 for sure! The last leg of 2008 got pretty busy, but I plan to put another post up soon. Thanks for your interest :)

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