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Writing Powerful Titles - Blog Posts vs. Online Flyers

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Services for Real Estate Pros with Real Estate Marketing - Go Smart Solutions

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!

 

Candis Hidalgo
Real Estate Marketing - Go Smart Solutions - Arroyo Grande, CA

 

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 03, 2008 04:32 AM
Kerry Lucasse
eXp Realty - Urban Nest Real Estate Group - Atlanta, GA
Your Urban Nest Atlanta Real Estate Consultant

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

Nov 03, 2008 04:49 PM
Candis Hidalgo
Real Estate Marketing - Go Smart Solutions - Arroyo Grande, CA

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

Nov 05, 2008 03:51 AM
Alisha Harrison
John L. Scott, Belfair - Belfair, WA
Allyn, Belfair and Hood Canal real estate expert!

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.

Nov 05, 2008 04:13 AM
Eileen Hsu
Douglas Elliman Real Estate - Manhattan, NY
LICENSED REAL ESTATE SALESPERSON

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.

Nov 05, 2008 05:33 AM
Candis Hidalgo
Real Estate Marketing - Go Smart Solutions - Arroyo Grande, CA

 

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 05, 2008 05:56 AM
Thom Abbott
MyMidtownMojo.com |770.713.1505 | Intown Atlanta GA Condo Living - Atlanta, GA
Midtown Atlanta GA Condos For Sale

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 07, 2008 02:50 PM
Candis Hidalgo
Real Estate Marketing - Go Smart Solutions - Arroyo Grande, CA

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

Nov 11, 2008 03:35 AM
Teresa Berry
Seattle, WA

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 17, 2008 11:30 AM
John Herrigel
The Herrigel-Kennedy Group - Portside Real Estate - Portland, ME
Portland, ME - Real Estate

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.

Nov 19, 2008 01:04 AM
Candis Hidalgo
Real Estate Marketing - Go Smart Solutions - Arroyo Grande, CA

 

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 19, 2008 03:19 AM
Lou Ludwig
Ludwig & Associates - Boca Raton, FL
Designations Earned CRB, CRS, CIPS, GRI, SRES, TRC

Hi Candis

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

Good luck and success

Lou Ludwig

Nov 26, 2008 06:45 AM
Myra Spano
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Towne Realty - Virginia Beach, VA
Real Estate Broker

Thanks for this great post and wonderful info...

Dec 18, 2008 02:45 PM
Terry Miller
Miller Homes Group - Tyler, TX
Miller Homes Group and Tyler Apartment Locator

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

Terry Miller

Dec 29, 2008 02:00 AM
Shannon Aldrich
Keller Williams Coastal Realty - Rye, NH
NH & Maine Real Estate Seacoast

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

Dec 30, 2008 12:11 AM
Evelyn Johnston
Friends & Neighbors Real Estate - Elkhart, IN
The People You Know, Like and Trust!

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

Dec 30, 2008 10:32 PM
Terry Miller
Miller Homes Group - Tyler, TX
Miller Homes Group and Tyler Apartment Locator

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

Terry Miller

Jan 05, 2009 03:36 AM
Candis Hidalgo
Real Estate Marketing - Go Smart Solutions - Arroyo Grande, CA

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 :)

Jan 05, 2009 04:33 AM
Anonymous
Jean

http://craigsflyer ! let's you create flyers for any ad, real estate or otherwise. and besides the free advertising by their website, you can also use it yourself on any major social network using their widgets.

pretty handy in my opinion...

Apr 24, 2012 01:54 AM
#30
Anonymous
Achim

Good point. I think printed flyers and great titles together work best. There are a lot less distractions in real life and people pay more attention to your ad. Plus traffic from online ads doesn't usually last long. People like your Facebook page(for example), then forget about it. Wrote an article about this a while ago http://thevrincent.blogspot.com/2013/09/online-ads-vs-flyers-why-flyers-are.html

Sep 13, 2013 07:14 PM
#31