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Here a blog, there a blog, everywhere a blog. In a new internet landscape where every bit of information is duplicated in multiple forms on many different web pages, how do you make your blog entry stand out in a sea of similar articles? And believe me, whatever the theme of your latest blog entry was, there are already thousands of similar pages available through Google or even Technorati. But is there a perfect title? Not really, but some tips may get you close.
First of all, keep your titles short. This will force you to make maximum impact with your words right away. No need to add filler if you only have room for the meat. Plus search engines only give high ranking to the first few words in your title.
Make sure the title will give the reader an idea of the content of your blog entry. There is no need to trick browsers into to coming to your page. Only those surfers who find your site relevant to what they are looking for will stick around. Everyone else will be gone as quick as they can hit the back button on their browser.
Write in terms that your audience will understand. I don't know how many times I have had to look up the definition of words in blog entries. Not words so much as abbreviations. You know what I am talking about. The disease of the shrinking words that came about when people who couldn't type got hold of the internet and came up with things such as LOL to make thing easier. Some you can pretty much assume are common knowledge like HTML or RSS, but don't assume that everyone interested in what you write in your blog knows your special language. You may be missing out on blog readers.
Think like the person looking for your article. Why did you write this blog entry? Who is it's reader? Put yourself in his shoes and actually search for information on Google. What in the search engine results stands out and why? Start from this point but make your entry title better.
Hot terms in the news may be effective for a blog entry title if they fit with the theme of your blog. If you writing for a programming crowd, the mention of AJAX or Ruby On Rails can bring a lots of hits. Subscribing to hot feeds related to your subject matter will help you determine what's the latest and greatest trend and sites like Technorati can also be of help.
But all rules are made to be broken, adapted and added to. So just take these tips as guidelines and create your own new.