Seven questions to ask before you hire an agency
A short list of questions that show how an agency works, what it costs and whether it fits your team.
Read article: Seven questions to ask before you hire an agency
Nobody reads a web page from top to bottom. They scan. Their eyes move from heading to heading, and they stop only where something looks useful. The headlines decide whether the rest of the page gets read at all.
We spend more time on headlines than on almost any other part of a page. Here is what we look for.
Say what the reader gets
A headline should tell the reader the benefit, in plain words. “How to book a dental check-up in three clicks” is clear. “Our patient journey” is not. The first one tells the reader what they will do. The second one asks them to guess.
Use words your customer uses
Write the way your customer talks, not the way your team writes internally. Your team may say “onboarding”. Your customer may say “getting started”. Use the customer’s version. You can see their words in support emails, sales calls and reviews.
Keep it short
Aim for under 60 characters for a page title. Longer headlines are cut off in search results and on phones. Shorter headlines also read faster, which matters when someone is skimming.
- Lead with the main noun
- Drop filler words such as “very”, “really” and “amazing”
- Test two versions if you can, and keep the clearer one
Use subheads as signposts
A subhead should answer the question the reader has at that point. If a section is about price, say so. “What it costs” works. “Our investment philosophy” does not. Readers who skim will read the subheads and decide whether to read the body.
If your subheads alone tell the story, you have done half the work.
Make the first line of each paragraph count
Many readers only read the first line of each paragraph. Put the key point there. Save the detail for the lines after it. This habit makes every page easier to scan, and it makes long articles feel shorter.
A quick check
Read only the headlines and subheads of your page. Then ask a colleague what the page is about. If their answer is close to your goal, the structure is working. If not, rewrite the headlines before you touch the body.
Clear headlines are one of the simplest ways to improve a page. They cost nothing to change, and they help both visitors and search engines understand what the page is for.
