How To Appropriately Use Your Keywords In Your Article Titles

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Originally uploaded by Farl

Recently we've talked about what keywords are and how to do keyword research, but when you've finally decided what keywords you'll be using on your website, how do you use that knowledge in your article marketing campaign?

Great question!

Keywords are useful to Google and the other search engines because they help categorize what your web page (or the web page that your article appears on) is about. There are a few areas that Google pays extra attention to when trying to establish what your web page is about, and your title is one of them.

I would suggest trying to naturally work your keywords into your titles, if possible. 

Notice I said "naturally"–as we've discussed before, your title is like curb appeal for your article.

First and foremost you want to craft an attention grabbing title that will draw readers in, but I think you'll find that you can also use your keywords most or some of the time when you're crafting titles. 

Here's what NOT to do…

Some folks create titles that are all almost the same. It's like they have latched on to the idea of using keywords in their article submissions, and they are bound and determined to insert those keywords in every one of their titles with no regard to how the title will appeal to a reader.

I'm just making this up as an example, but here's the sorts of titles that I'm talking about:

Article 1: Sailing Boats–Morocco

Article 2: Morocco–Sailing Boats

Article 3: Sailing Boats in Morocco

Article 4: Morocco's Sailing Boats

You get the idea–These titles are BO-RING!

Yes, the keywords are in there, but are these effective, attention grabbing titles that make a reader stop and say "Whoa–I need to read this!"?

No, they aren't. People who use titles like this thinking that they're helping their article marketing campaign by inserting their keywords in their titles are missing out!

If you are planning on integrating your keywords into your article titles, please remember that creating article titles is a craft.

We have to balance 3 things:

1. The title must be interesting, something that would catch a reader's attention and make them want to read more.
2. The title should give some indication of what the article is about. Duh, right? Having a title that indicates what the article is about serves your readers and Google.
3. If possible, you can include your keywords in your title, if you can also meet the first two criteria. Since your keywords are what your site is about, and since you should be writing articles on the topic of your website, there is a very good chance that you can craft an interesting, attention grabbing title that incorporates your keywords.

If trying to balance all of these things makes your brain hurt, then don't worry about purposefully including your keywords in your titles–just make attention grabbing titles that will lure in your target readers.

If you take this reader-focused approach when crafting your titles, you'll notice that you're sometimes including your keywords in your titles without even trying–sometimes it helps not to try too hard when it comes to keywords!

Related resources you may find helpful:

What Are Keywords? 

How Do I Get Started With Keyword Research? 

Posted: Monday, July 7th, 2008 at 12:00 am
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7 Responses to “How To Appropriately Use Your Keywords In Your Article Titles”

1. Steve Says:
   July 9th, 2008 at 12:38 am

   I’ve found that my most successful articles have used a keyword in the title. E.g., “Tips for Selecting a Blue Widget” where “Blue Widget” is what you want to promote and your resource box links point to your website or landing page on “Blue Widgets.”

   Obviously, if you get the article on a site that covers widgets in general, they really nice things start to happen IMHO…

2. Steve Shaw Says:
   July 9th, 2008 at 8:42 pm

   Hi Steve,

   Thanks so much for reporting your success with using keywords in your title.

   And that title “Tips for Selecting A Blue Widget” is actually something that a searcher might type into Google, so that’s a good tip in itself. As best you can (if appropriate) make your title be what searchers would type in to Google to find your article.

   Thanks for chiming in!

3. Creative Article Marketing » Blog Archive » How Do I Get Started With Keyword Research? Says:
   July 11th, 2008 at 12:35 pm

   […] How To Appropriately Use Keywords In Your Titles  […]

4. Creative Article Marketing » Blog Archive » Reader Question: What Are Keywords? Says:
   July 11th, 2008 at 12:38 pm

   […] How To Appropriately Use Your Keywords In Your Article Titles  […]

5. Creative Article Marketing » Blog Archive » 5 Things To Do Before You Start Article Marketing… Says:
   July 23rd, 2008 at 3:20 pm

   […] How To Appropriately Use Your Keywords In Your Article Titles  […]

6. Writing Articles Says:
   September 5th, 2008 at 2:22 pm

   Thanks for useful tips. I always read your articles. Keep sending.

7. David O Connell Says:
   September 8th, 2008 at 7:45 am

   Great advice! that we can sometimes forget

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