Headline testing and optimization are methods of testing out different headlines to see which ones receive the most clicks and engagement.
Headlines are one of the most important parts of your articles and blogs posts since they are the first thing a person reads. Optimizing headlines is important since a compelling headline will get a reader to consume the rest of the article. Additionally, having strong headlines will lead to your content getting shared more across social media.
Headline testing tools such as Optimizely allow you to A/B test different headlines to find the one that performs the best with your audience.
Blick, the leading online and print tabloid in Switzerland, has boldly ventured into unchartered territory for most in the media industry: editorial A/B testing. By experimenting with headlines and teaser images, Blick’s editorial team is able to better understand what readers are most interested in, in real time.
Love it or hate it, headline testing has proven to be a necessary tool for media sites to use in order to stay competitive in the quest for clicks. Testing every headline is a great way to increase clicks, engagements, and social shares and create a culture of testing and experimentation needed to survive in this fast-paced digital world.
In this post, we walk through how publishers running their sites on WordPress can experiment with headlines using the Optimizely A/B Testing Plugin for WordPress.
