Should You Write Article Titles For Readers or Google?

In the SEO (search engine optimization) world, there has always been a discussion about whether site owners, bloggers, retail site owners, etc. should write content and titles that target their community of existing readers or if you should write articles and article titles that gets good ranking in Google? That debate is still ongoing, but as you make the decision for your own content, I want you to keep a few things in mind:

New Kid On The Block – Writing Article Titles For Google
If you are new to the online marketing world then chances are that you do not have a large existing community of followers of your content. There are always exceptions to this rule, but the average newbie does not and so it probably is not in your best interest to write content or at least titles for that content that is not keyword rich. Keyword rich titles are very attractive to search engines. They love ’em!  In other words, I’m suggesting you write article titles for Google.

What this means for you is that when people search for information that includes the keywords that you are targeting in your title, your content will show up in a search engine search. This is very important to the new marketer because you want to begin to gain traction in the search engines. You want Google’s search engine spiders to start crawling your site and then showing your pages in relevant searches. This is how you will begin to obtain organic, natural, traffic to your site.

Social Butterfly – Writing Article Titles For Readers
If you have been on the web for a while and have built a following of devoted fans, perhaps to your site (they leave a lot of comments) or your Facebook fan page, Twitter page, etc., then you have a decision to make. If the word spreads about you socially on the web (someone refers your articles, forwards your articles, tweets your latest article) then you may want to write article titles that appeal especially to those readers. And often titles that appeal to readers are not especially keyword rich. This varies among niches, some markets having to be a lot more “clever” with their content in order to stand out among the clutter – but I would say that most times these titles are clever or cute.

Now the flip side to this theory is that Google will show Tweets in real-time that are keyword specific. For example, if a new Dancing With The Stars is showing and you tweet the title of the show while it is showing on live TV, Google will show you relevant tweets about the show very high on the page (above the fold). The only tweets that show though are the ones that contain the keywords. This makes a case for using keywords socially on the web as well.

Same goes for Facebook fan pages. When you are able to name your Facebook Fan Page with a customized url – using keyword terms is a good idea. I used one of my phrases for my Facebook fan page, and it ranks #3 for that term. Of course pages on my site, rank for that same term in the #1 and #2 position and this is out of over 9 million results for that term!

So the bottom line here is that you can do a little of both if you are building your business socially via a lot of conversation. Write what appeals to your readers first and sprinkle keyword terms in here and there when you can.

Article Marketing All-Star – Writing Article Titles For Google
If you use article marketing as part of your marketing strategy, then here’s my recommendation for you. There are hundreds, maybe even thousands of articles in your niche talking about similar to identical topics. The only way to truly cut through that clutter is to write really good information (no junk) and to write relevant article titles. Ones that people will actually type when conducting a Google search. Those are the two most important factors for getting read among the sea of competitors you have out there.

Guest Post Guys and Gals – Writing Article Titles For Google
When I write a guest post for another blogger, one of the things that they ALL have asked me for was seo information. They wanted a good article title, keywords for tags, and a kick-butt summary. This is because they want their articles to be found and indexed HIGH in the search engines; and you want this too! While you also want to reach that blogger’s existing readership, you also want to always look for opportunities to attract new readers and writing a keyword rich title for your guest posts is a great way to accomplish this.

* Hot Writing Tip For Writing Balanced Article Titles
Honestly, as you practice writing more and more – you will find a balance between writing clever titles and keyword rich titles. Many of the great writers and bloggers on the web have figured this whole strategy out. It’s the best of both words. One of the short cuts you can try is to include both sides in a two-part article title.

Part 1 – will have your keyword phrase. No longer than 4 words. Very specific. Example: Raw Dog Food Diet

Part 2 – will appeal to your readers interests. Example: Is Raw Really Right For Fido?

Complete title will read: Raw Dog Food Diet: Is Raw Really Right For Fido?

The first few words of the title will appeal to the search engines and hopefully rank pretty well for that keyword term. The second part is what will help draw readers into reading the rest of your article. Both together are a content marketer’s perfect marriage.

Have any tips or thoughts about writing for readers vs. search engines? What do you do in your own business? Leave your comments or questions in the comment section below.

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Lisa Angelettie

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I make a living writing, ePublishing, and marketing books and teaching others how to do the same. I have one mission: To turn you into the best writer that you can be while enjoying every minute of it!

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