Headline is the most important part of a landing page of a website. Headlines can have a dramatic effect on sales. So its important to test the headline to the know the best headline for the page. But its hard to test a headline, because most do not know what to test.
In this article I will discuss what type of headlines and sub-headline should you write and test in order to optimize the landing page.
The job of a headline:
Typically headline is the first line that is read by the visitor. If a headline is appealing, the reader is tempted to read further. Else they look elsewhere. So the job of the headline is to bring the reader to read the first paragraph of the page. That’s it. You may think it’s a small job, but actually it’s a very BIG job.
Headlines can be written in two formats. One that asks a question, and second that states or tell something.
Example:
Headline 1. Do You Want to Learn SEO in 24 Hours?
Headline 2. Learn SEO in 24 Hours Flat
As you can see both the headlines convey the same thing except that the first asks a question and the second states a fact.
Now how do you know which one will perform better? Not until you test.
Most of my clients have experienced that the headline that asks a question (Headline 1 types) usually perform better. However this does not mean it can be true in all cases.
Another thing I have experienced is there are certain words that perform well in headlines. Words like Get, Learn, Free, Now, Today, How, Do you, Have You, etc. perform well. When writing headlines you should try to include these words and test.
Sub Headlines:
A sub-headline can also have a dramatic effect on how your headline performs. Actually a sub-headline can add value to the headline.
Lets take an example:
Headline: Do You Want to Learn Website Marketing in 24 Days?
Sub-headline: In just 24 days you will be an Expert in SEO, PPC, Portal advertising and much much more…
… Don’t you think the visitor will read this first paragraph?
Here the headline asks the visitor if they would like to learn web marketing in 24 days. The sub-headline then informs what exactly they get to learn.
The headline by itself may not have generated any interest in the mind of visitor, but after reading the subhead they might be more interested in knowing the offer as it describes what exactly they will learn.
Remember to write headlines that have these elements: Clarity, Relevance, Logic and Credibility.
Clarity:
How clear (in meaning) the headline is. Whatever is the headline, if it can’t convey a clear meaning it won’t be able to perform.
Relevance:
The headline has to be relevant to the Ad that resulted the visitor landing on the page. For example if the Ad said that they will get a free offer, the headline must mention this free offer. If the free offer is not mentioned the visitor will not take the pain to search the copy for the free offer.
Logic:
Any business has to make a logic sense. You cannot say something that the reader finds hard to believe. For example:
Learn SEO in 30 minutes
This headline doesn’t make sense as we all know it’s very hard to learn SEO in half an hour.
Credibility:
Credibility is an added advantage. For example if the headline (or subhead) can tell the visitor that the product or service is offered from a very experienced person/company the visitor may believe in the offer.
However for start up business this may be a difficult thing to attain. In this case you may change the headline after sometime in business.
Remember combination of a great headline, subhead and copy can boost your conversion rates. So when you test, try testing all these three very important elements of the landing page.
I hope you found this post helpful. It will be great if you share your experiences with testing headlines. Also I will be glad if you tell what you would like to read on this blog.
Please do leave a comment!
Related topics:
1. Landing Page Optimization Tips
2. Tips for a Good Landing Page Design
3. Improving Conversion Rate of a Website
