Newsletter #108 Why This Headline Is Boring

Created on 13/10/06

A special hello to all new subscribers. This article is on the Web at this address.

Our last newsletter (11th July, 2006) was "Snail Mail vs Email".

This is the first newsletter in our new format which ties in with our new Website design. Let us know what you think.

Feature Article

The rise (and rise) of Google has meant the headlines you write and the words you present on a Webpage are now more important than ever. Pre-Google, if you can remember back then, webpage content was not as important as hidden code called meta tags heavily influenced how Webpages ranked. However Google pretty much ignores meta tags and focuses on how often keywords appear in the headings and other content on the page.

It is estimated that Search Engines now deliver 30 percent or more of the traffic on many news Websites, and traffic means readers and advertisers. So many news organisations have begun experimenting with their Websites to make them more search engine friendly. Take section titles and headlines for example; they normally get extra weight in search engines like Google. But it is part of the craft of journalism to think up clever and quirky headlines that grab readers’ attention, headlines that don’t necessarily rate well in Google. Some news organisations are now offering two headlines online, one to catch the eye of the humans and the other for the search bots.

It also makes sense for online content to vary from the printed version. A recent headline: “Speed of test stuns defence experts ” is fine for the printed matter but a better headline online may be: “Korean nuclear test speed stuns experts”. In the newspaper world you could assume that people would know what the heading means, but Google won't, so you need to add the obvious "Korean nuclear test". The latter heading is perhaps less interesting but probably more effective online.

Of course this applies to all, not just news organisation Websites. You should never copy information from printed brochures or other advertising and put it straight up on your Website. Some guidelines on how to adapt your message:

1. You must “speak your user’s language” according to usability guru Jakob Nielsen. Have a think about how your company describes its products or services, are the words used what users are likely to be searching for? One way is to find out via a service like Wordtracker at www.wordtracker.com



2. Choose each page’s keywords carefully then include them in your page title and headings as well as in the top part of your page content.



3. Old simple words are best – people will use them within a search query without thinking. Also when they view search results, users scan right past listings they don’t understand.



4. Tone down the marketing language, particularly in headlines and subheadings. Jakob Nielsen again: “Call a spade a spade, not a digging implement. Certainly not an excavation solution.”



5. Unless your brands are particularly well known, supplement them with well-known generic terms.



6. To cover keywords better it may make sense to increase the number of Webpages on your site. The structure of your product or service content may therefore look different on the Web in order to better optimise your pages for the search engines.

Sometimes being boring can be effective.

Hot Tips

Newbies

All the major email programs allow you to save an email you are writing in a draft folder of some sort. This is useful if you haven't the time to finish it or get interrupted. You can then call the email up at a later time to complete it. In Outlook or Outlook Express click "File" then "Save" or "Ctrl"+"S". You can then continue with the email by selecting the "Drafts" folder and double clicking the message you want to edit.

Power Users

If you're a real Power User you won't be using Internet Explorer, you'll be using Firefox. However some sites support IE only or if you're a Web developer you want to see how pages display in the still dominant IE. An excellent Firefox Add-on called IE Tab allows you to switch rendering engines with one click. See https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/1419/

Interesting Sites

Newsvine is a news site that combines online news stories from around the world with a democratic system that allows the important ones, as voted by readers, to get more prominence. The site is linked directly to Associated Press but also allows members to have their own column which can be used for writing articles, recommending stories, books, blogs and movies and connecting with other people. www.newsvine.com

InsiteFul Quotes

"All progress is based upon a universal innate desire on the part of every organism to live beyond its income." Samuel Butler

You can see our other Quick Quotes on the front page of www.netinsites.com; just refresh the page to see another one randomly selected from our database. Great for presentations or times when you want to appear to be a techno-dude(ss)!

Archives

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Best wishes

Alex Garden

Internet Strategy | Website Design | Website Promotion | Web Text Messaging | Email Newsletters | Online Sports Games | Content Management