Title Wording Consequences and Time at WA
There is perhaps nothing as important as the titles we choose in this business. A great title:
- Captures people's attention
- Tells the reader what the post will be about
- Uses keywords which we have determined are in demand
- Is logical and helpful
I just saw a great example of this. My husband wrote an insighful and philosophical post about time here a few days ago. It is a joy to read (yes I am biased but it really is). It is actually a very optimistic post but his title must have given a different impression. It sounds a bit forboding. Only one other WA member commented on it! I think the title must have scared people away! That is a shame because I suspect others would enjoy it.
https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/thucydides/blog/musing-time-is-a-friend-to-none
This is a good lesson I suppose. His thoughts on time also got me thinking about another topic. Should we spend time posting here on WA? Is it a waste of time that we should really be spending on our business? For me personally the answer is something like: if we spend a majority of our time posting here instead of to our sites, then it is probably a distraction. It is not BAD, but it will slow down our progress and the success of our business. I think having the opporutnity and platform to post to WA is a good thing however. Like everything moderation is key. Used in moderation (and that restraint can be very hard), posting to WA gives us:
- An outlet to share our experiences as we progress and learn
- A way to connect with others and help gain a sense of support to help us along the way
- A way to share valuable information and help each other build our websites
- A happy pick me up to break up the learning and work
Therefore, I believe posting here is a good thing as long as we don't let it become our only focus.I don't think it is wise (from a monetary standpoint) for new members to have the goal of becoming Ambassadors right away because that means their focus is not on building a website which is the whole point. Yes, I am an Ambassador. I realize that might sound hypocritical but I did not have Ambassadorship as a goal from the beginning. Over time my rank rose until it reached the top 25. It took a long time though and happened organically. If someone has the goal of being an Ambassador that is fine, but it may slow down the growth of their own business. It is entirely up to them.
Back to the topic at hand. Choose your titles carefully. Make sure they contain keywords (preferably long tail keywords), are clear, useful and informative.
P.S. I just edited the title of this post.
Onward and Upward,
Jessica
Recent Comments
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Jessica,
Since switching up my focus to my sites, and SAC, my 'rank' has been fluctuating. Up, down, up, down.
I've decided, that while rank is important, my sites need to be my focus, and I will take the rollercoaster effect it has on my rank... for now. LOL
Shaunna
Yes, mine has done that too. There is no downside to shifting rank here so we can focus where we want at a certain time and that is fine!
Excellent post! I agree about the ambassador stuff. It's not my goal, and my rank has risen naturally, not purposefully. I'm only in the 300s. Sometimes I am more active than others.
Your advice is spot on about the titles, too. I'm pretty bad at creating titles so I am working on it. I can create SEO friendly titles but they aren't always entertaining enough. But practice makes perfect!
Mine are not catchy or exciting by any means...but they do one thing well and that is match people's questions. I write lots of "How to..." or "What is the best..." titles. Boring but effective I hope!
It took me a year and a half to become an Ambassador I think. There is no rush. It seems the longer you are here and the more long time followers you have the easier it is to just hang in the Ambassador ranks. New members who work hard for months to get there can also quickly fall back down the ranks anyway so I don't see any point in rushing.
Hi Jessica,
Super post, have been concerned for a while about the amount of time which I spend answering comments and welcomes, once that I have got rid of everything on here, intend to be very selective, have said before to others it is nice to chat, learn and help, but it does not pay the bills.
Regards
Stuart
Yes. I learned early on there was no way I had time for chat, welcoming all the new members, commenting, responding to comments etc. Therefore, I turned off most of the email notifications and I don't worry about keeping up with everyone. I follow who I want (not everyone anymore). I read the posts of those I am interested in (not all 4,000 of my followers...there simply isn't enough time), I don't usually spend time in chat either. I guess I am not very social here! Yet I have been an Ambassador for almost a year and a half now. I prefer to have fewer strong relationships with members here than comment on 4,000 people's stuff and not have time to know one from the other.
I think we should pick what we enjoy the most (some like chat so that is great, some like to welcome new members...also great. I like to avoid chat but write and read posts from other members) and what benefits our business the most rather than feel obligated to do all of the above.
I hadn't been following your husband, so didn't see the post. So glad you brought it up, I read it, and thought it was wonderful!
Thanks Janelle! I just followed you too. My husband is a bit of a philosophy buff, it makes life interesting!
Long tail keywords are those that are 3 to 5+ words long that bring more focused traffic to our sites.
For example:
If you used the keyword "Cat food" you would have to compete with millions of other posts.
If you use the keyword "Best grain free cat food" you have narrowed down the topic to just grain free cat food and specifically to rankings or reviews of grain free cat foods. That narrows down the competition considerably. Therefore, if that is the topic of my post I will use the long tail keyword so people looking for that specific kind of cat food will see my post. I will get more focused traffic (and more sales) and I will not have to compete with as many other websites.
The keywords "cat food" and "grain free cat food" are still there along with the whole long tail keyword of "best grain free cat food".
Long tail keywords can be longer than 5 words. I have some that are 7 or more words that start with "What is the best..." or "How to...". I have one that is 9 words "apple cider vinegar for upper respiratory infections in cats". It seems like it would be TOO long and no-one would look for it. I was getting several dozens views per day for weeks from it! I found that was a good keyword when doing my keyword research so I used it. It contains:
"apple cider vinegar" (a massively popular keyword with tons of competition),
"apple cider vinegar for upper respiratory infections"
"upper respiratory infections in cats"
"respiratory infections in cats"
"infections in cats"
So, I could rank for any of these terms!
The longer the keyword phrase, the fewer people will search for it but the higher conversions you will get from those people because they know exactly what they are looking for. That is why it is called "long tail" because if you put the search result on a bar graph extending out to the right, the shortest keywords on the left get the most searches but also have the most competition. The longest keywords (more detailed) stretch out to the right where they have few searches and little competition.
You can see this on the infographic in Robert-A's post here: SEO Keyword Strategy (Why Longtail Keywords Are Best)
Thanks for getting back to me so soon. Now I know what long tailed keywords are.
All the best to you.
Edwin
No problem Edwin. I just went back and added some additional detail to my explanation above with an example of a very long (9 word keyword I used recently with great success). Of course the product is very low priced so I didn't make much money but it sure brought traffic to my site!
Thanks Kaju. I really think our titles (containing keywords) are probably one of the most important factors. No matter how great your content is, if your title is not appealing or useful, many people will not click on it.
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I agree that crafting a catchy title is really important. For me that's often a challenge. As far as ranking status, mine has really been plummeting since I've had pressing priorities and haven't had time to be active lately. I'm not worried though since I know how it works.
I dropped out of the top 25 and then when my rank rose back up again I was an Ambassador once more and my total days just started right back where they left off. There doesn't seem to be any downside to moving up and down in rank.