How to Title an eHow Article

The title of your eHow article is important for various reasons beyond the obvious. The title is often displayed on search results pages, in menus and in other areas where there is a limited number of words. The title represents the first words that appear when the page is loaded, it plays a significant role in how your article is searched and indexed, and it serves as the primary text used when someone bookmarks your article. Ultimately, the word choice of an eHow title goes a long way in determining how many people will see your article.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Use actionable words Begin your title with an action verb. All titles on eHow come with an implied “How to” at the beginning. These words are generated automatically when an article is published and do not need to be entered in the title field in eHow’s writer/editor form. Thus, your title should look something like this “Boil an Egg” or “Tie a Tie.”
2. Capitalize significant words in the title. Prepositions and articles should be lowercase unless they have four or more letters. Thus, you would capitalize titles as follows:
   
   How to Store Bicycles and Gear
   How to Hire an Employee
   How to Get Along With a Roommate
3. Keep titles succinct and to the point. Try to use less than 80 characters. An item on a Google search results page has a limit of 72 characters, while Yahoo offers a limit of 110.
4. Conduct general Internet searches and look to experts when angling titles. Try to stay consistent and use common words related to a given subject.
5. Research the best way to phrase a title by checking it against what people are currently searching online. Use online resources such as Wordtracker and Overture's Keyword selector tool to choose words that represent the most popular or common way something is searched on the Internet.
6. Be sure to check all potential article titles against titles on eHow so you don't write an article that has already been written. You want to make it as easy as possible for people to find the information they need without having to read five articles on the same topic.
   
   However, feel free to tweak with the title if your article is slightly different. For example, eHow has both an article titled How to Buy a Ceiling Fan and How to Choose a Ceiling Fan. This is acceptable since the articles are slightly different. However, if the content of a potential article is very similar or almost the same as an existing article, DO NOT write the article.
7. Choose words that are consistent with eHow’s philosophy of publishing evergreen content. How to Find a Club in Miami is a suitable title, while How to Find the Hottest Club in Miami would only be appropriate if it concentrates solely on time-tested resources for finding a club, and not on actual clubs (which tend to fluctuate rapidly in popular appeal). It is also a generally good idea to avoid using superlatives such as “Best” or “Top.”
8. Keep the wording of titles short, simple and conversational. Avoid clever phrasing and cutesy, magazine-style headlines. A good rule of thumb is to try to use the fewest amount of words required to capture what the article is about. For example, use “How to Knit” rather than “How to Use a Needle and Thread.”
9. Do not use “Vol.” or “Part” and a number in the title, even if your article is part of a series. Presumably, if it’s a series on Thanksgiving centerpieces, for example, each centerpiece is different in some way (otherwise there would not be several articles). Add into the title the element of each article that makes the piece unique. Some examples might include:
   
   1. How to Make a Fresh Flower Thanksgiving Centerpiece
   2. How to Make a Thanksgiving Centerpiece for the Kids’ Table
   3. How to Make a Pinecone Thanksgiving Centerpiece
   4. How to Make a Thanksgiving Centerpiece with Artificial Flowers
   5. How to Make a Non-Traditional Thanksgiving Centerpiece
   6. How to Make a Thanksgiving Centerpiece with Dried Fruits

Tips & Warnings

• Ask yourself the question “how would someone search this?” Think like an Internet user about to type a search query into the Google search box. What keywords would a user type that they would expect to find this article? Include those keywords.
• Try a few different searches to decide on the popularity of a given word for your title. For example, “car” is searched more often than “auto.” So car would be the better choice in most cases. However, in some word combinations or phrases, the popularity of a word could shift. For example, people search “auto insurance” more often than “car insurance.”
• Do not end titles in questions marks; avoid unnecessary punctuation.
• Don't dilute keywords by throwing in extra words. “How to Make Pizza” is always better than “How to Make Pizza Pie” because it is more accurate, even though they both contain the major keyword “pizza.”