Headlines and Blog Titles: cute and quippy vs SEO

Having just come across this post, by Joy Victory of WordPress.com Are You Writing Rockin’ Blog Post Titles?,  I would have to agree that the advice here is pretty perfect for journalism/blog newbies.

I could add, though, that considering the algorithms of Google, concern for relevancy does tend to affect how clever/quippy/quirky a title/headline can be.

This is why mine aren’t as interesting (eye and interest-catching) as they might otherwise be. I may add a subtitle, providing the “cuteness” after once establishing the content in the title/headline.

This method served me well when preparing papers for college courses in APA format. This way I could appeal to the stringent requirements of the structure of the paper, while piquing the interest of the “audience,” my professor(s).

It worked so well that even though adding images to papers as part of the title is a definite no-no in APA, I did so frequently, finding they helped me stay on topic, and many of professors complimented my creative additions to otherwise drab academic writings.

I would also like to mention that in reference to the issue of capitisation of words within a title/headline, I have always capitalised the first word, and any subsequent ones that weren’t articles (a, the, an,) or prepositions (in, to, of, etc.).

However, as an online journalist for the Examiner.com site, I have learned that the preferred style is to only capitalise the first word and any proper nouns (names of things). This site turns to the AP (associated press) for its title/headline formatting.

But then, again, they also stress that the site, is not a blog space. So perhaps Joy’s way (and mine, as well), are the best ways to go on WP posts.

So keep in mind that while search-related optimisation may seem to make for less-inticing entries, none-the-less, if you consider that should you choose NOT to provide a cohesive message in your title, your post may never see the light of day on search engines’ results, no matter how clever it is.

What’s it all MEAN??

Definitions of farrago:
noun: a motley assortment of things

Definitions of forum:
noun: a public facility to meet for open discussion
noun: a public meeting or assembly for open discussion
noun: a place of assembly for the people in ancient Greece

So this is a place where SPDworks (that’s me,) can post thoughts on pretty much anything I like, to share with those that come by. It’s also a place where those that come by are welcome to share their thoughts. This is why I’ve chosen to call this space a “forum.” For it’s intended to provide a place where we can all interact and discuss issues and ideas.

I want to thank you for stopping in, and invite you to return soon, since I plan to begin filling this new space with all sorts of inks and inklings. I think I’ll start with porting all my Facebook notes to this space. There’s a little something for everyone, including those things found in my WP blog’s categories list, such as law, ethics, marketing, politics, religion, and yes, scribbles and scribing, as well as SocNet discussions. So come back and witness what comes of new news and old traditions in the Farrago Forum. Can’t wait to see you here again soon, and be sure and subscribe!

Mafia Wars on Facebook: More than a great MMORPG

_{Originally posted on Saturday, November 14, 2009
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=179849216635}

If you haven’t yet signed on to be a part of this mafioso phenomenon on Facebook, trust me when I say YOU SHOULD. You’re missing out on a great game, designed and maintained by a great group of developers and watched over by a great team of moderators that speak to the many (and I DO mean many) Mafia Wars players on Facebook.

The very color choices and images/graphics, terminology spot on to the genre of the criminal underworld scene, provides the romantic backdrop for every player to take on the dark career as a lowly thug criminal running numbers, scamming local store owners and pulling penny ante jobs for the boss and ultimately, the Godfather of the game. On your way up to becoming New York City’s newest and most powerful wiseguy, you’ll encounter other bosses, both NPC (non-player charcters, for those that aren’t RPG or MMORPG savvy) as well as player characters. That’s right, in a sort of turn-based game system and process, you’ll get the chance to test your mettle against other up and coming and even well-established bosses and mafia members that aren’t part of your own mafia family.

Now let’s talk family here. Perhaps you aren’t really into the games on Facebook. Perhaps you’re only here to push your new company in storefront boxes and badges on your profile, and believe me, as a well-versed student and teacher of marketing strategies, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. But, imagine how much more visibility those storefront boxes and badges could be getting if you were assured that at least a thousand people a day were seeing that profile, or were being auto linked to it…and with absolutely NO EFFORT ON YOUR PART TO LINK THEM THERE…

Now what would you think if statistics showed that for every thousand people that saw your storefront box or badge 25-30 percent were likely to want to check it out…meaning they were likely to go directly from your Facebook profile page via your storefront link(s) to your store or business’ website? That would be awesome, right? Well, here’s the deal…if you figure that Mafia Wars is THE most popular game going on Facebook, and Facebook, itself is one of the top two social networking sites (the first being Twitter, followed by LinkedIn,) you should be where the action is…right? Right!

And this is where Mafia Wars comes in.

Ever heard of “inbound marketing”? It’s where instead of like with traditional marketing, where you go out and try to impress upon people to want or need whatever service or product you’re trying to sell, in order to make a profit, you make yourself available to people that are already looking for your product. Case in point… to excel in the Mafia Wars game, a player must build up their mafia. Since this is an application through Facebook, it is necessary that each and every member of a player’s mafia also be a confirmed “friend” on their Facebook. Therefore, since so many people (and again, I’m talking MILLIONS WORLDWIDE HERE) are playing the game, those same people are always looking for people to make friends with just to play the game, and therefore have a larger mafia.

Let me recap…Mafia Wars…hottest game…Facebook, one of the hottest properties in social networking on the web…

If you have a business or are looking to start one… YOU NEED TO BE ON MAFIA WARS

Factor in it’s a trip to be a mafia boss, traveling to such places as Cuba, Russia, Bankok, and the US as well, to do your dirty work for the mob…making your way to the ultimate pinnacle of mafia badness….

yeah…Mafia Wars ROCKS!!
See you there, and don’t forget to comment here and then, if you’re not my friend already, go ahead and send me a request, if you like…and then…come find me on Mafia Wars…

There’ll be hot coffee waiting for you when you get there:)

~Stacey (MW boss name: SPDworks)