Headlines will fall into three main categories. There are webpage titles, which appear in Search Engine result pages. For example when you do a search in Yahoo, the resulting page has a list of links to relevant pages. These links are page titles that describe the content in the webpage. These are what the surfer will first read to determine how relevant that page would be to them. These kinds of headlines are input in the HTML code of the webpage within the "HEAD" tag. They are only visible to your browser and Search Engine crawlers.

The second kind of headlines is the PPC titles. These are the bold sentences within a Pay per Click (PPC) advert that appears at the top of the advert. These titles are probably the most challenging to create. Due to design issues and restriction of space where the adverts appear, PPC demand you design your title within a number of characters. In Google Adwords, for example, the title is restricted to 25 characters.

The third kind of headlines is the subject line of emails. In email marketing, the subject of the email acts as the headline. Once the surfer opens their mail box, it is the title that either attracts them to click open the mail, ignore it or even worse delete it.

So what gives headlines such power?

Headlines are probably the most viewed elements on a webpage. Surfers use them to quickly determine a page's relevance. Different wordings communicate differently and as such different headlines communicate relevance differently. This explains why subtle changes have huge impacts. Consequently, headlines are very powerful prospecting tools. They assist in picking out your best fitting customer profile from the crowd.

The secret of harnessing the full power of headlines lies in creating headlines that resonate strongly with your perfect customer profile. Such headlines connect with prospects, draw their attention to click on them to find out more.

You create this resonance by providing the perception of value as being searched for by the surfer. Keep in mind that the surfer is searching for a solution, whether in form of product, service or information. When your headline promises to deliver they will stop to consider you.