Why is a headline the key to success? We present the best examples

Online marketing professionals know that the right headline is the key to a successful search engine positioning of a website. Why is the headline so important?

The headline – the right visualization of the text

Properly chosen headlines help the text to be readable and allow to emphasize the most important information. They are marked according to their importance, from H1 to H6. The most important is, of course, the H1 header, used as a title. The other headings are subheadings and mid-headings, the most popular being H2 and H3.

The use of headings helps in the readability of the text. This is very helpful especially when the website is viewed on a mobile device. An internet user can then quickly scroll through the text, catching the most relevant elements.

The right headlines are also important from the SEO point of view. Including good keywords in them directly affects the position of the website in search results.

The role of headlines in positioning

Headlines perform a very important function in positioning a website in search results. For a headline to perform this function, you need to stick to a few rules:

• headerhierarchy – the title should be marked with an H1 header, and then headers from H2 to H6 should be placed consecutively;
• h1 header may be placed only once on the page;
• try not to use H4 to H 6 headers – too many headers may have a bad influence on the page position in search engine, so it is better to avoid H4 to H6 headers;
• optimal headers are those up to H3 – they are most often used on websites and blogs.

Why is hierarchy important?

Headings define and organize content, from the most important to the least important. A web page is read the same way by internet users as it is by search engine robots. If a page’s title was written with an H3 header, it would tell the robots that the page has no important content for the potential recipient and they would place such a page at the bottom of the search results list

Keywords in headings

Keywords are an extremely important element of a good headline. They should be placed in an optimal way throughout the text, because too much saturation of them may cause the opposite effect to the intended one, and most of all easily perceptible artificiality of the text. H1 and H2 headings should contain the main keywords, while H3 headings should use synonyms for the keyword or less important keywords.

It is also important to place them in the text in a natural way. Until a few years ago, keywords were notoriously “stuffed” in the text, which was detrimental to the content

Example: Gynecologist Poznań, take advantage of our offer. You have to admit that it does not sound very credible?

How to optimize headlines for SEO?

To optimize your headlines for SEO, you should stick to a few important rules:

1. Write only the main keyword in the H1 header. The length of this headline should oscillate between 50-70 zzs.
2. The keywords should sound as natural as possible in the headline.
3. H1 header should start with a keyword.
4. Do not use clickbait, i.e. titles which encourage the reader to click on them (e.g. shocking information which will supposedly appear in the article) and promise content which the recipient will not find at all.
5. The H1 header should accurately identify the content of the page.
6. In H2-H6 headings, a keyword should not occur more than once. A higher frequency of keywords in headings has a negative impact on page positioning. Too many is not good
7. Use synonyms for keywords.
8. Text should always be written primarily for the target audience, not for search engine robots.

The most catchy headlines

• Enumerations. This way you offer the reader a series of solutions to their problem and a ready-made list of potentially helpful tools or ways.

Example: 10 best toys for a toddler, 5 best petrol lawnmowers up to £1000

• Targeted question. Internet users very often look for solutions to problems and dilemmas. Show in the title that your article can be useful for them.

Example: How to become a blogger? how to lose weight fast and effectively?

• Reference to someone famous. For many people celebrities are role models and a certain authority. Use this in your headline.

Example: How to do makeup like Malgorzata Rozenek-Majdan, How to learn to dance like Cichopek?

• Promise of a quick solution. Many people look for answers on how to do something in a few steps. The fewer the number of steps, the more catchy the title.

Example: How to learn to cook in 3 steps? how to design a nice garden in 5 steps?

Main article photo: Photo by Damian Zaleski, source: unsplash.com