Extra, extra, read all about it! Why headlines are important in website design

We all know how vital web content and killer copy is to the success of a website. Combined with a design layout that’s pleasing to the eye and strong SEO to push you up the SERPS and get that all-important page one spot on Google, your content should be working hard on all fronts. But the only way you’ll get people to read your content is to grab them right from the start with an engaging headline.

In journalism, an editor knows the value of a headline that stops people in their tracks and gets them to part with some money and buy the paper. As newspapers fade and the Internet becomes people’s primary source of information, the importance of an eye-catching headline is as important as ever. Perhaps more so, because whereas a newspaper only had a handful of rivals to compete against, your website is going up against thousands of competitors from all over the world. So that first line of copy better be good.

The slippery slope
Web content should start visitors off on what US copywriting guru Joseph Sugarman calls ‘the slippery slope’. This is an almost imperceptible form of engagement that encourages your visitor to slide effortlessly and comfortably towards your call to action and then take up the challenge, whether that’s signing up for a newsletter, buying something or contacting you direct for further details. The top of that slippery slope is the headline. Without that initial first gentle push, the visitor will not venture further down the slope into the content itself and they certainly won’t make the final descent into action.

A UK copywriter with experience in journalism is your best friend when it comes to writing content and headlines that start your visitor on their journey down the slippery slope. Whether it’s simple wordplay, clever construction or something so different that it stops your visitor in their tracks, that headline has to grab them right from the start. So what goes into creating a better headline?

Writing headlines for people
While your UK copywriter can write plenty of content that will satisfy the search engine ‘bots, your headlines should be written for your human visitors. Yes, they can have an element of SEO in them, but stuffing a headline with keywords is a quick way to suck the life out of it. What a headline has to do is encourage your reader to carry on engaging with the content by drawing them into something that interests them. You may have the best content ever written on your website, but if your headline is flat and boring it is highly unlikely that anyone will hang around long enough to enjoy the poetic prose that sits beneath.

Hold the front page…
Unlike the final press run on a newspaper, a website can be changed – and should be on a regular basis. Stale copy equals sliding SERPS and visitors that drop by and go, “Oh, I’ve read this already,” and bounce off to a newer, fresher rival’s site. A website is never ‘finished’, it is always a work in progress and that includes your headline. Talk to your UK copywriter on a regular basis about freshening up not just the content but the headlines too. If it’s not working, try something else. If you’re getting lots of unique visitors but not many returns or prolonged stays, then either the headline isn’t grabbing them or the content isn’t living up to the expectations generated by the headline. Don’t be afraid to throw away something that isn’t working in favour of new content or a better headline that gets your reader’s attention, draws them in and ultimately, gets your message across.

About the author:
Derryck Strachan is managing director of Big Star Content, an award-winning UK copywriter service that produces top quality content for national and international clients from across a range of disciplines. He writes regularly on the techniques of copywriting, branding and web content.

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