I believe Headlines are very important in web content because they often function as the first point of content in a B2C context. For example, a grocery store with the magazines on the rack, many of them have outlandishly headlines and copy, let there are a few that will attract shoppers at the check-out to grab the magazine and start reading. Why? Because the headline has grabbed the attention (hook) that captured the curiosity, and interest of the target audience. The same process is true for web content. Consumers have needs/wants that need to be met. The headline acts like a solution to this, whether it’s leaning about how to fix a tire, or catching up of the Royal family drama, headlines serve to an end. Depending of the accuracy of the headline, and the quality/engagement level of the content, this can build trust, and repeated engagement with the content. Consumers like dependability, and when readers trust the content, they’ve engaged with they are more likely to revest. Whereas when consumers have a poor interaction with the web content, they are 80% more likely to never revisit (Forbes 2023). Headlines also are important because they are the main source of visibility for website content, more or less, headlines are the billboards that you would see driving by (or searching for a answer). Headlines are the most reliable way to quickly communicate the value of the content within the article to the target audience of potential readers. They impact the chick traffic and open rate of your website/article which can directly affect the article’s visibility within the SERP. This is a delicate relationship between Headline as content because you need to provide enough content to the user, but not too much that it is irrelevant and the reader bounces. Even worse the content could be well done but with a weak headline could waste the entirety of the article. Related to class discussion there are a few facts that legitimately improve the quality of the headline which results in higher traffic and engagement. For example, power words which are short peppy words that influence the reader to engage or not. Calls to action motivate the reader to click and engage with the article. This can often be the driving force in making the headline the hoot for the reader. Since the headline is the first thing the viewer reads, They need something quick and to the point in order to hook them and bring them in to read the rest of the content. Headlines would within the consumer cycle as well. Take the sales funnel for example: at the top is a good headline that captures the attention/desires of the consumers and the purpose/solution to a basic need or want. The headline serves as the blueprint for the following steps down the funnel: subhead, engaging content that is formatted well. The goal is to have the reader be hooked and brought down the funnel where the end goal is the purpose of the content, which is set the copywriter.
Effective headlines also optimize the content of the website to be indexed well, ultimately getting higher in the SERP. As per mentioned in class headlines for content that is purpose driven, will result in effective content that grabs the attention of protentional readers. What truly seals the deal with effective headlines on the web is one that uses the context of the content as it related to the topic to produce a headline that utilizes contextual keywords to show up in relevant and related searched topics. In a way this is also like optimizing your headline with long tail keywords. This is one of the most important components with headlines on the web because it gives an opportunity for you to be indexed with relevant titles that can actually solve the need and drive curiosity engagement to the reader. The visibility of the content is of most important, which is why the accuracy, relevancy, and attractiveness of the headlines are so important for the web in 2024.