Creating Effective Titles for Your Posts and Pages
go.ncsu.edu/readext?527678
en Español / em Português
El inglés es el idioma de control de esta página. En la medida en que haya algún conflicto entre la traducción al inglés y la traducción, el inglés prevalece.
Al hacer clic en el enlace de traducción se activa un servicio de traducción gratuito para convertir la página al español. Al igual que con cualquier traducción por Internet, la conversión no es sensible al contexto y puede que no traduzca el texto en su significado original. NC State Extension no garantiza la exactitud del texto traducido. Por favor, tenga en cuenta que algunas aplicaciones y/o servicios pueden no funcionar como se espera cuando se traducen.
Português
Inglês é o idioma de controle desta página. Na medida que haja algum conflito entre o texto original em Inglês e a tradução, o Inglês prevalece.
Ao clicar no link de tradução, um serviço gratuito de tradução será ativado para converter a página para o Português. Como em qualquer tradução pela internet, a conversão não é sensivel ao contexto e pode não ocorrer a tradução para o significado orginal. O serviço de Extensão da Carolina do Norte (NC State Extension) não garante a exatidão do texto traduzido. Por favor, observe que algumas funções ou serviços podem não funcionar como esperado após a tradução.
English
English is the controlling language of this page. To the extent there is any conflict between the English text and the translation, English controls.
Clicking on the translation link activates a free translation service to convert the page to Spanish. As with any Internet translation, the conversion is not context-sensitive and may not translate the text to its original meaning. NC State Extension does not guarantee the accuracy of the translated text. Please note that some applications and/or services may not function as expected when translated.
Collapse ▲
If you’re someone that does a lot of writing, sometimes a title can be sort of an afterthought. But it’s the first thing readers see when deciding on whether or not to click on your content, and an effective title does more than just describe the page or post; it’s an essential part of how Google indexes a webpage.
What’s the Purpose of a Title?
The specific purpose of a title is to get someone to click on your content. A good headline is a difference between a click or a scroll. But more than that, we want people to be able to find timely, up-to-date content that is relevant to them, and what they are searching for.
Avoid Duplicate Title “Slugs”
A “slug” is the “placeholder” information that comes after the website information in a URL, which, in our case, is the title you give your page or post. For example, if your title is 4-H Events, the “slug” is highlighted in red:
- https://wake.ces.ncsu.edu/2018/04/4-h-events/
You’ve probably noticed URLs like this that are exactly the same, but include a number after the last word:
- https://wake.ces.ncsu.edu/2018/04/4-h-events-2/
- https://wake.ces.ncsu.edu/2018/04/4-h-events-3/
- https://wake.ces.ncsu.edu/2018/04/4-h-events-4/
This happens when a news post or page title is not descriptive enough and has already been used, multiple times in this case. Besides not being aesthetically pleasing, these types of non-specifically-titled pages are not efficient when dealing with Google “ranking” and search.
A better and more effective title for this page would be:
- 2018 Wake County 4-H Events
- https://wake.ces.ncsu.edu/2018/04/2018-wake-county-4-h-events/
You should always keep in mind that while an ambiguous title like ‘4-H Events’ may not seem all that vague in the context of your portal, our Extension web ecosystem is designed in such a way that your article can be displayed in many other places (digital signs, the main NC State Extension website, newsletters, etc.).
By being as specific as possible with your titles, you ensure your post never loses its context. It would also mean better search placement, because it’s more descriptive, and provides a much better user experience for the reader who is most likely looking for specific information. And lastly, it would help ensure fewer duplicate URLs in our Extension database.
Best Practices
A few things to remember when writing titles:
- Use “Title Case,” which means capitalize all words except articles
- Be descriptive; avoid using 1 or 2-word headlines
- That said, be brief; long headlines (10 words or more) can be convoluted and confusing
- Be specific, especially if the post or page is for a time-sensitive event or class
- Avoid using emojis or special characters; doing this can impact search engine optimization (SEO) and general formatting within search engine results