Greetings and Salutations -

I've now caught up contacting / reviewing all editors in Launch 3 and Launch 2. That leaves the Launch 1 group and I'll be caught up in this area! I am aiming to have this finished by Sunday.

While I was doing my reviews, I worked with the amazing articles of our Crime editor, Donna Johnson. I wanted to share her talents with the group, to help everyone learn more about crafting perfect titles and content!

Take a look at the Crime main page -

http://crime.bellaonline.com

When you scan the list of articles, you know exactly what each one is about. They are rich with key words, meaningful, and to the point. This is fantastic for two reasons.

First, when people want to find content they typically Google / search for it. If a title does not match what they search on, they will never find it to read it. So even if the content is exactly what they want to read, they won't be able to find it.

Second, when someone DOES see a title as something to potentially click on, they rarely if ever click on something vague. They have been taken in too many times in the past by misleading titles. They want to know what they click on is what they want to read. Crystal clear titles are critical in helping the reader make that decision.

So what makes Donna's titles so perfect?

1 - The key words are always up front. A book review includes the words "book review" - but those are LAST. The words up front are the meaningful ones, the ones that will let the reader know this is a link they want to click on.

2 - No attached colons or quotes. These cause trouble in titles.

3 - The titles *are* key words. They are meaningful words for the reader. This activates their brain cells to say "Yes! This is what I want to read!" It ensures the reader actually clicks to learn more.

4 - For multi-part articles, each title clearly indicates how it fits into the series. To see this better, go to Donna's archives page -

http://www.bellaonline.com/archive/crime

See how she has multiple articles on phishing emails, multiple on the Lindbergh case, and so on? In all of these situations she makes the titles very clear so readers know exactly what they'll get when they click on one. This is exactly how multi-part articles should be handled. It means the readers feel comfortable and much more likely to click when they see them. It also means that they're more likely to find them in the first place when looking for this content.

In all of these articles the content is engaging, well written, evergreen, and informative. Whether she's writing about current or historical topics, the reader is engaged by the information and wants to know more.

Here's a book review Donna has written -

Pam Smart - Deadly Lessons Book Review
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art67290.asp

Again the title is absolutely perfect. Key word rich, important words up front, less important words at the rear.

The introductory paragraph is key. It lets the reader know that they are actually on the article they wanted to be on. It describes the article's content in clear words. This encourages the reader to keep reading, that they are right where they should be. The first paragraph is the "welcome mat" of the article, to create a sense in the reader's mind that they are where they want to be and the article is one they should read.

The review - as mentioned in the study on credibility - has her own personal views on the topic. She talks objectively about the book, and she also includes *her views*. It is this combination that creates the best sense of credibility in readers. She includes both good and needs-help comments. This helps readers know she is objectively looking at all sides of the issue, again which builds credibility. She then includes the required FTC statement about how she acquired the book.

Donna has created near ideal content on her crime site and is a shining example for how how to implement the training material we teach here at BellaOnline. Her articles earn top Google rankings.

Let me know if you have any questions on how to tweak your own titles and content to follow in this model, and congratulations again to Donna!


Lisa Shea, owner
BellaOnline.com

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