A/B Testing Idea #2: Make your headlines sound super cool.

A/B Testing Idea #2: Make your headlines sound super cool.

Hello everyone,

We're back with our second post in the CRO testing idea series. If you missed the first post, please check it out here: "Place irresistible and clear CTAs." In today's post, we'll look at how to effectively A/B test your headline content.


 
Some people say "you only get one chance to make a first impression" while others contend that it only takes seven seconds to make an impression about someone or something. Well, the same concept applies to your website.

A good first impression on your website is crucial for making visitors trust in your products/services and keeping them tied to your business forever. Creating this first impression depends on many factors like structure, colors, spacing, symmetry, amount of text, and fonts. But, of everything else, a good headline plays a major role in the success of your website.  

Your headline is the first thing that readers see as soon as they land on your site; it holds the power to make or break a deal at first visit. Even if your content is truly unique and innovative, a weak headline can ruin its chances of being super successful in terms of conversions. So how do you create a strong headline that drives more traffic and clicks on your website?

Here are a few aspects to consider as you A/B test your site's headline content:

Communicate your brand's purpose
Often we just assume that the visitors fully understand everything about our website and its product offerings. However, that’s not always the case, especially for new visitors. With hundreds of websites selling products/services online, it's important to make sure that the primary headline on your homepage tells visitors what your website has to offer and how it aligns with their expectations—all in a few short seconds. Tweaking and testing headline copy that clearly communicates your brand's purpose and differentiates yourself from the competitors can encourage your visitors to take the desired action without another thought.
 
Example:
Say you own a website testing and analytics software solution that offers a set of tools to grow an online business. Take a look below at the old and new versions of the same headline message. Notice that while the first tells people what the product is, the second tells people what the product will actually help them do.



Extra tip: The easiest way to determine if your brand message is clear to your visitors is by assuming your audience knows nothing about the business you're running.

Try different headlines for different set of target audiences
Each website caters to a specific type of audience. So understanding which audience group you cater to, where they come from, what their interests are, and what information they are hoping to find on your site is another major parameter to consider before starting to test your headline content. Testing and optimizing your headline copy based on a particular set of audience segments like demographics (such as location, gender, age, etc), personal interests, and past engagements with your site can help you deliver personalized content for each category of visitors, which is more likely to generate conversions. 

Example: 
Say you run an ecommerce business and want to A/B test your headline copy with enticing offers for returning visitors to see which one convinces them to fulfill your conversion goals.
 

Extra tip:
  • You can target your A/B test in PageSense using a variety of audience segments such as visitor type, device used, JS variable, day of the week, and more to learn which version grabs your audience's attention immediately and performs best for each segment.
  • To know your target audience better, you can set up polls on your website using PageSense and learn your visitor’s business (or personal) needs and how your product can help achieve them. Later, you can use this feedback to test and optimize your website content. 
Match your headline with your ad copy
When a visitor clicks on an ad, it's of the utmost importance to match the message on that ad to the headline content on your post-click landing page. If your headline doesn't match the offers and features that you promised in your ad copy, you're wasting all your marketing investment and conversion opportunities. A/B testing your headline by incorporating relevant keywords that resonate with your ad copy can help you reassure people that they've come to the right place. It can also later persuade them to take the desired action on your site more quickly. Further, this type of testing is more likely to generate increased clickthrough rates, conversions, and revenue for your website.  
 
Example:
Say you're running a Facebook Ad for older travelers, and the post-click landing page shows the most relevant tourist packages, flights, and hotel stays based on their interests. Now compare the old and new headline messages below to see which version of the message sounds better.



Include stats and numbers
Numbers in your headlines are a great way to grab attention by spontaneously triggering curiosity in your targeted audience. When you use symbols like %, $, or digits instead of words to express percentages, dollars, or numbers in your headlines, it creates specificity around the duration, size, value, etc. of what you're offering customers, which is more attractive than a generic offering. This is a powerful psychological tactic that spotlights your headlines and immediately hooks the reader's interest, which results in more traffic.

Example:
Consider the pricing page of your website and see how adding a number to the headline can increase reader engagement.


Follow the problem-solving methodology
Solving your customers' problem is the easiest and fastest way to reach their heart. Crafting a headline that addresses an issue and provides a cutting-edge solution to solve the problem can make optimizing your website easier. Intriguing your readers like this can make them look for more information on the rest of your site. Further, when done well, it can build a solid emotional bond between you and your customer for a longer term.

Example:
Take a look at the image below to see how implementing the problem and solution technique in your fitness website can make your headline sound more interesting.


 
Test with power words and sentiments
Sometimes the right audience is just one word away. Using forceful positive or negative power words in your headlines has the potential to kindle your customers' emotions and inspire action on your website in no time. Also, these words can guarantee more clicks and make your headlines stand out from the rest. You can test your headlines depending on two groups of power words:  
  • Negative headlines: This type of headline tends to intrigue your customers by setting a stage to avoid a miserable situation. It includes words like never, stop, worst, avoid, or do not.
  • Positive headlines: This type of headline tries to build a relationship with feel good emotions. It includes words like best, always, fastest, easiest, most, greatest, largest, funniest, hottest, strongest, biggest, and ever.
Example:
Take a look at the image below to see how the choice of words can invoke a positive feeling as you read the headline.



Test the font and appearance of your headline
The presentation (color, fonts, and layout) of your headline copy has a huge impact on the performance of your site. Below are a few points to consider while testing the appearance of your headline:
  • Use title case. Avoid writing your headlines in all caps as it can reduce the readability of your text.  
  • Choose a font style and size that matches your website's personality. The most popular font style is sans-serif and font size is 20 - 36 pixels.
  • Apply colors that contrast (while complimenting) your website's background well and focus on the legibility of your content.
  • Align your headline perfectly with your body content for a bigger impact. Centered headlines are most powerful visually, while left-centered are more conservative and formal. 
Example:
Say you own an online food delivery website, and you want to test the color and font of your homepage headline for better clickthrough rates. Take a look at the before and after images of the headline below. Which one you think will attract more eyeballs? 

 
Try out the two-part strategy
Don't forget your supporting cast! Successful headlines act in two parts. Including a persuasive subheadline copy below your headline can be another winning strategy to pull your customers deeper into your website. You can test different versions of your subheadings to see which best suits your visitors, such as explaining a bit more about your product or services, emphasizing your product benefits, or encouraging visitors to click the CTA button placed on your site.

Example:
Take a look at the main headline and the subheading of a customer support software website as shown below. In this case, your subheadline re-affirms how your software helps your customers and adds emphasis about different product features.

 
Test the headline length and SEO compatibility
Test your headline for the right length, SEO keywords, and sentiments. Keeping a headline no longer than six words will help readers easily process your text and attain the goal of your website. Using free headline analyzer tools such as Coschedule or Sharethrough can help you effortlessly understand your website's performance. They analyze important factors (like searchable keywords, word balance, and sentiments) and assign a percentage score based on how good your headline is. They'll help you identify the factors you need to improve for more productive headlines.

Example:
Let's say you own an online pet supply store and you want to test the headline of your homepage to attract more visitor traffic. The screenshots below show the performance of both the old and new versions of the headline in terms of length.



Bonus tips:
  • Create a sense of urgency in your headline with words like "today," "now," and "last-minute offer."
  • Use comparison phrases like "versus" to reinforce the benefits and features of your products/services.
  • Research your competitor's headlines to add more value and optimize your headlines better.  
We hope you found this article useful. What is your favorite headline tester? Have you had any success with headline A/B testing? Do share with us in the comments box below.

Happy testing. Happy converting!

Thank you.

    • Recent Topics

    • Request to Enable Full DNS Management Access for My Domain

      Hello Zoho Support Team, I have purchased the domain "digimarts365.online" through Zoho, and I need to add A and CNAME records to connect it with my Shopify store. However, DNS Toolkit is not allowing me to edit or add any records. Kindly enable full

    • Backup flow, see change log / history

      Hello, I would like to know, how flows can be saved, copied and tracked. If I work on a Flow with multiple other colleagues we need to see the Changes made by others. Is there a history, changelog or something else? Also we need to backup/import flows

    • Problème de validation du domaine spelam.ma

      Bonjour équipe Zoho, J’ai l’honneur de vous contacter car je rencontre un problème technique au niveau de la validation de mon compte ou de mon domaine spelam.ma. En effet, j’ai déjà acheté le domaine, mais la validation ne semble pas être correctement

    • Critical:- Eneble TDS filing for 26Q from the zoho book

      We currently extract TDS data from Zoho Books and manually input it into a separate TDS software to generate the FUV file and file returns. Previously, while using Tally, we benefited from an integrated feature that seamlessly recorded transactions and

    • Add a way of clearing fields values in Flow actions

      It would be great if there was an option to set a field as Null when creating flows. I had an instance today where I just wanted to clear a long integer field in the CRM based on an action in Projects but I had to write a custom function. It would be

    • Writer loads as a blank page.

      Hi, I'm new to zoho but I liked the idea of an online wordprocessor that I can use from multiple computers. I signed up a few hours ago while at work where our computers use Linus Ubuntu and a Firefox browser and the Writer came up fine. Now I'm home and using my Windows machine with Norton Firewall and Firefox and the writer opens as a blank page. I've checked my security options in both Firefox & Norton and I have received all the cookies from Zoho. What gives?

    • Ensure Consistent Service Delivery with Comprehensive Job Sheets

      We are elated to announce that one of the most requested features is now live: Job Sheets. They are customizable, reusable forms that serve as a checklist for the services that technicians need to carry out and as a tool for data collection. While on

    • Turning off the new UI

      Tried the new 'enhanced' UI and actively dislike it. Anyone know how to revert back?

    • JOB Sheet can not send PDF as service rapports and more info needed other topic

      Goedendag, - Jullie hebben nu job sheet erin gedaan en dar is echt super goed, enkel kunnen we de werkbon ( JOB sheet) nu niet verzenden als PDF als een service rapport naar onze hoofdaannemer hoe we dat nu doen als bewijs van de levering van het werk

    • Publish a single Sheet stopped working

      I used to have a published sheet on my Zoho Spreadsheet and that stopped working. If I want to publish it again, I only get the message that says "Published externally", but that does nothing, and if I change tabs and come back, the sheet gives me the

    • Does Zoho Contracts support white-labeling?

      As the title says, do you provide us white-labeling solution?

    • Constantly getting error 429 "Too Many Requests" despite not sending many requests.

      I am currently working on developing an integration between our company's app and our zoho books setup using the api. When testing new functionality, I am very often having the calls fail with Error 429 'You have made too many requests continuously. Please

    • Not receiving emails

      I'm able to send emails, but I can't receive any. Please help

    • Capturing knowledge across many channels

      We actively use Cliq for client discussions, product management etc. Often there are great answers to questions or key announcements. We have no way to tag or capture them along the way. Pinning only gets us so far. For example, imagine a product channel

    • Prepayment of a sales order

      How does everyone handle this common (at least it is common for us!) situation? We require all our orders to be fully prepaid before shipment since we manufacture made to order, custom products. Since ZOHO does not allow a sales order to be prepaid, we are forced to create an invoice at the time an order is placed to allow the customer to pay it. Our sales category is therefore skewed, since the sale was actually booked at the time an order was placed, rather then at the time it is shipped, which

    • Zoho Campaigns Account Keeps Shutting Down

      Hey hey, I am completely at a loss here. For months we have been back and forth with Zoho Campaigns Support on Spam Trap hits. Each time they can never provide us with a full list of emails, only 1 here or there. So internally we have setup a integration

    • Need a way to run a client script longet than 10 seconds

      By The Grace of G-D. Hi, Currently, Client Scripts are Timing out at 10 seconds. We have complex logics that needs more time. Can you add a feature request to increase the timeout?

    • Last activity time is acting like last modified time

      When i edit the description or any field in the potential, account, contact and lead, the Last Activity Time is being updated like the Modified Time. This is messing all workflows and reports and we are unable to track real last time of activities like mentioned in this KB article http://crmkbase.zoho.com/what-is-the-difference-between-record-modified-time-and-record-last-activity-time

    • Can multiple agents be assigned to one ticket on purpose?

      Is it possible to assign one ticket to two or more agents at a time? I would like the option to have multiple people working on one ticket so that the same ticket is viewable for those agents on their list of pending tickets. Is something like this currently

    • What’s New in 2025 (So Far)

      Hey Recruiters, We’ve wrapped up the first half of 2025 with a few focused enhancements in Zoho Recruit—all aimed at simplifying your day-to-day recruitment tasks. Here’s a quick video that walks you through what’s new so far this year: Here’s a brief

    • Zoho Pagesense really this slow??? 5s delay...

      I put the pagesense on my website (hosted by webflow and fast) and it caused a 5s delay to load. do other people face similar delays?

    • Multi-Department Approval for a Single Bill in Zoho Books

      Hello everyone, Hope you're all doing well. I’d like to ask if anyone has found a good workaround for the following scenario in Zoho Books: Let’s say a corporate credit card bill or vendor invoice covers multiple purchases across different projects or

    • Zoho Landing Page "Something went wrong" Error

      Hello, Every time I try to create a new landing page, I receive a "Something went wrong" error with no explanation. I cannot create any new pages, which means we cannot use this application. I did create one landing page successfully over a month ago,

    • Composite items are not seen in zoho commerce

      Composite items are not seen in zoho commerce. Are you scheduled to fix this error?

    • not able to access Zoho from home WIFI

      for some reasone i am not able to access Zoho on my laptop or my iphone while i am connected to my home Wifi, i am able to access these sites both on laptop as well as Iphone and associated apps on any other Wifi as well as when I am on my 4G connection

    • Zoho Books for Service Enterproses

      I would like to know how to use Zoho Books for services such as car rental, travel agency, and hotel services. I notice that Zoho Books is good for goods, but for services, it's very difficult to track the profit or loss on each invoice. I need to capture

    • Email Relay in Zoho Books

      I have set up the email relay in Zoho books and the SMTP test was successful. However, I can't figure out how to sent the POs and invoices via the relay so the copy of the message shows in google workspace sent mail. Any guidance is appreciated

    • E-invoicing/Facturacion Electronica in Peru, SUNAT authority

      Hi Zoho, you are promoting your product very actively in south america as well as in Peru, but since few years there is an obligation for e-invoicing, transmitting information directly to peruvian tax authority SUNAT. Do you have any solution for this?

    • Project Accounting

      Hello Zoho, Can we also bring project accounting in Zohobooks as a ne feature in upcoming developments? This will be helpful for specific business and industries. Thanks

    • Accounts Payable

      hi there  i am using the free version to trial the software. I am working on the acrual basis. When i received a vendor invoice, it gets keyed into the systems as an unpaid invoice as the payment to from the vendor is 14 days. the unpaid invoice does

    • Approval Processes "Record Modification"

      I didn't find any information about the "Record Modification" item in Zoho articles and Tutorials. I see that this item didn't exist a year ago. Help understand how it works, I tested it and didn't see any difference between "all fields" and "no fie

    • How do i add another purchase information heading?

      i would like to add another section right here to enter an amount which then link directly to the cost of goods sold account

    • Help with Zoho CRM API Integration in C# WinForms (Token Generation Issue)

      Hi everyone, I need your help with integrating the Zoho CRM API into a C# desktop application. My goal is to build a WinForms app in Visual Studio that does the following: Fetch the full list of client projects (module: Deals) and display them in a searchable

    • Can we share the URL of My zoho Sheets on other websites?

      Hello everyone? I have sheets on Zoho and I want to share them on other websites like daraz, homeshopping, gepco duplicate bills, etc. I don't have much knowledge about online sharing question forums? I am a student and have a short survey about online

    • Add Support to Upload Inventory Items with Categories or Enable Separate Upload for Inventory Categories

      Currently, Zoho Inventory does not support uploading new items along with their parent and sub inventory categories using the item import feature. This creates challenges for businesses with structured inventory hierarchies when trying to upload items

    • in zoho books while categorizing need to add new name in category by replacing expanses how to edit or make changes need assistance

    • Tip of the Week #62– Use @mentions to loop in teammates.

      Ever been stuck on a customer query because you needed input from someone else on your team? Maybe you were unsure about a refund policy or needed help answering a technical question. So you forward the message … and wait. Or worse, you forget to follow

    • Suggestions for Kiosk Functionality Improvements in Zoho People

      Hello Zoho Team, I’d like to share some feedback and suggestions regarding the Kiosk functionality in Zoho People, as there are two important points that affect user experience and compliance: Visual Confirmation of Check-In Status It would be extremely

    • Needs Separate Permissions levels for Record Attachments

      Currently in Zoho Books Record attachments are tied to the general permission level For example if a role don't have the delete permission level they cannot delete the attachment as well If a role doesn't have the edit permission they cannot upload the

    • Zoho Books integration with Google workspace

      How do I integrate Zoho books with Google Workspace? The steps outlined on the Zoho help sections do not correspond to the actual user interface in Google Workspace. Zoho books is installed on admin level for all users, all users can access it from the

    • Next Page