I regularly ignore all AI suggestions for my posts. Sentences too long? Not enough headings? Bah! But I write my titles last. And every once in a while I will test out the title generator when I’m stuck finding the right title.
Wow, are those title suggestions dry! For instance, I tried it with this post. Would anyone click through to?:
- How to Write Titles That Connect with Readers and Search Engines
- Balancing AI and Human Appeal
- Crafting Titles for Human Engagement and SEO
But of course those titles are not designed to entice humans to click but instead to allow algorithms to better work for search. As with the rest of SEO like headings, concise summaries, keyword repetition, the point is to make it easy for AI to consume and regurgitate content when a human asks a question.
Linking to related content has been around since we started using the Internet. Making it easy for others to find and navigate content is a mainstay of web design. Our goal remains the same which is to reach a human audience.
Somehow it just feels more personal when we’ve given it a name like Alexa and call it AI. You know the writer wisdom that says we often write for one person? It’s not like I’m going to imagine Alexa as my ultimate audience. If I do, you have my permission to shoot me.
I imagine that people who rode horses thought cars needing to stay on a road was boring and constricted. We give up a little freedom when we want to move faster.
So it is with AI, algorithms and search. We can still write titles that appeal to the human sense of creativity and punny-ness. Then create the links and the headings that help computers help humans find our stuff.
We can write for humans and then format it for findability. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to take any of those silly suggestions!
(featured photo from Pexels)
I’m the host of the How to Share podcast where we talk about things like why we share, how to share personal stories, and how to share professional communications.
I also co-host Sharing the Heart of the Matter – an author and storytelling podcast. I’m a parent of two young children. I help companies achieve organizational efficiency through collaboration, and speak about creativity and AI through the Chicago Writer’s Association.
You can find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/ and Instagram @wynneleon