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

    • Send email is not authenticated

      Hi, I’m getting an error in Gmail, when receiving an email from my account in zoho, my email is already authenticated in my domain, and I don't know why I keep receiving this message... also testing in outlook, the message goes directly to "junk".

    • Using Queries with dynamic parameters in Kiosk Studio

      Hi, I'm pretty new when it comes to developing within Zoho (I'm really a .NET developer), as it was just added to my responsibilities. For a new feature in the CRM, I'm trying to develop a Kiosk function to show a list of records (retrieved by the new

    • Workflow Based on Manual Journal

      Manual journal entries are one of the few areas that cannot kick off a workflow automation in Zoho Books currently. I would propose considering adding that. My use case is that the payroll provider I use (a flavor of SurePayroll) has a Zoho Books automation

    • How do I hide all leads from Standard users in my CRM ZOHO

      I want to configure my crm zoho in such a way that standard users will only see leads owned or assigned to them. How do I go about doing this? I have tried all i could, but nothing...can anyone help me?

    • Zoho sheets to crm and mapping

      i want to know more about mapping the contacts that i upload from the spreadsheet also couldnt able to understand flow

    • Condition-based data sharing rules are now available in CRM

      Dear All,   We are excited to introduce a much awaited feature: condition-based data sharing rules. We'd love to explain more about this enhancement.   Specify record conditions in data sharing rules Data sharing rules enable you to share all the CRM

    • Portal Default View

      Hello! My company is about roll out portals for some users, but we were wondering if it was possible to set the Record Detail Page View to default to a custom view that we made. That way the information they need would be streamlined and easier to see.

    • Automatic Portal invite

      We have numerous customers we move through a blueprint in deals, when they get to a certain point we need to give them portal access, how can this be done through deluge or a workflow?

    • Directly Edit, Filter, and Sort Subforms on the Details Page

      Hello everyone, As you know, subforms allow you to associate multiple line items with a single record, greatly enhancing your data organization. For example, a sales order subform neatly lists all products, their quantities, amounts, and other relevant

    • Is it possible to trigger the review process when a record is edited?

      Hello, I need to trigger a review process whenever a field is updated to a specific value. This field is empty when the record is created and is only filled later. I know the approval process exists, but that's not what I'm looking for in this case. What

    • 【Zoho CRM】ウィザード機能のアップデート

      ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの中野です。 今回は「Zoho CRM アップデート情報」の中からウィザード機能のアップデート をご紹介します。 今回のアップデートにより、ウィザードの「条件処理ルール」機能が改良され、以前の入力画面の項目を基に条件を設定できるようになりました。 これまでは条件設定が1つの画面内に限られていたため、画面間で情報を関連付ける際に、余分な項目を作成する必要がありました。 今回のアップデートにより、前の画面の情報を利用して次の画面に条件を適用できるため、設定がより効率的になります。

    • Multiple date selection

      Hello, we want create app for our company. We need create tasks for our employers. For example - 1 employer have task every Friday the whole year. Second have task every Monday for 6 months. For simple way create Multiple date selection in date form

    • Last payroll of the year gives me an error

      Trying to run the last payroll of the year. The payment doesn't get to the employee until 1/1/25, which is correct. However when I try to process it I get the following error: Tax calculation is not supported for the year 2025. Please change the Pay date.

    • Partner with HDFC And Sbi Bank.

      Hdfc and sbi both are very popular bank if zoho books become partner with this banks then many of the zoho books users will benefit premium features of partnered banks.

    • Set organization level access to Knowledge Base and manage duplicate article permalinks (with date appended to them)

      Hello everyone, We have introduced two important updates in the Knowledge Base module: Permissions - A new permission called "Admin access" has been introduced under module permission. Permalink alert - Users will be alerted when an article with the same

    • Language Field on Contact Person-level

      Dear at Zoho Books, would it be possible for you to have a Field for 'Language' for the Contact Persons under a Company. In CRM and Bigin we could create a Custom Field (Dropdown) for this effect but without any present in Zoho Books we could never sync

    • This domain is not allowed to add. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details

      I am trying to setup the free version of Zoho Mail. When I tried to add my domain, theselfreunion.com I got the error message that is the subject of this Topic. I've read your other community forum topics, and this is NOT a free domain. So what is the

    • Zoho Books email notifications

      Hi, We are currently implementing Zoho books for our organisation. I have 2 questions. 1. Are we able to embed HTML into our emails to make them look as part of our business ? Branding is very big issue for us and i would like to make sure that all branding efforts are carried across into the notification emails.. 2. Is there a way to preview the notifications that are sent out to our customers so we can make sure the look and feel is as we require ? thanks

    • Multiple templates (Settings > Email templates)

      Hi Zoho, We would like to have more options to select a template when sending an email in Zohosign. Currently we can only add 1 template per option: Is this possible? Kind regards, Tristan

    • Add an action to set agent as a member of a team in zoho desk

      Hi, Please add an action to zoho flow to set agent as a member of a team in zoho desk (add to a team or remove from a team). Regards, Ram

    • Zoho email setup in office365

      When i am trying to setup zoho mail setup using my domain in office365 and it is not working and it says that we couldn't log on to the incoming (IMAP) server and please check your email address and password and try again. I was able to login using my

    • Plug Samples #12: Verify Customer Mobile Numbers with OTP to Avoid Spam Entries

      Hi Everyone! Verifying customer information is critical in business to filter out junk data and spammers. Whether it’s lead generation, appointment booking, or any other operation, ensuring quality data is essential for driving meaningful outcomes. A

    • All notes disappeared

      I've been using the notebook app for over five years on my phone without being logged into an account. A few days ago I opened the app and all my notes had disappeared. Since then I tried restarting my phone, updating the app and logging into my account,

    • I need help in setting up a script that works for my calling service

      Please i need your guidance and expertise in how to go about a particular scripting. You see, we are a call service that assists companies to receive calls for them, i need to create a system in my Zoho CRM whereby i will receive call from my already

    • Cost Center accounting

      Hello all. We are looking at switching from MYOB to Zoho books. Love all the features in books - esp. CRM integration, but the big gap for us is the lack of cost-center accounting feature. Are there firm plans to develop this feature in Zoho Books? If

    • Impuesto automatico en cotizaciones

      Buen dia Mi pregunta es como se puede poner alguna operacion para que las cotizaciones me salgan automaticamente con impuestos ya que uno al cargarla al final tienen que añadir el porcentaje de impuesto Saludos

    • Formatting of Gantt Chart for PDF export

      Hi all, There really needs to be some improvements to the presentation of exported PDF Gantt Charts. An exported format is the way that most people on a project (other than the PM directly) will consume this data. The current PDF export options are lacking a lot of control. - I'd like to firstly have control over the export size of the PDFs (A4, A3 etc), Currently it seems arbitrary - very large aspect ratio print sizes. - Next i'd like to be able to specify the print date range, and scale (show

    • How to Iterate a Function in Zoho Desk Workflow with Delay Between Calls?

      Hi everyone, I’m working on a function in Zoho Desk that searches for a specific ticket record. If the ticket is not found, I need to retry the search multiple times with a delay between each attempt until the ticket is located or a maximum number of

    • タスクを問い合わせテンプレートに追加

      タスクを問い合わせテンプレートに自動で追加されるようにしたいです。どうしたらいいですか

    • Placeholder for Agent Signature in Email Templates

      Dear Zoho Team, I hope this message finds you well. We currently face a limitation when designing email templates in Zoho Desk. While we can create email templates and include a footer at the end, the agent signature is always appended by default at the

    • Custom Profile Agents Unable to Update Mandatory Phone Number in tickets under Zoho Desk

      Hi, While working in the Ticket module in Zoho Desk, agents with a custom profile are unable to update the Phone Number field (which is mandatory) under Account Information. The agents need to enter values such as "NA" or "Nil" in the field to close the

    • Response Violation - Zoho Desk

      Hi Team, I just need an information regarding the zoho desk - Response Violation and how can we avoid the tickets from getting the tickets response violated.

    • How to Replace an Assessment in a Job Opening on Zoho Recruit

      Hi everyone, I’m currently using Zoho Recruit and would like to replace the assessment linked to a specific job opening. I want to remove the existing assessment and add a new one. What is the best way to do this without losing any important data or affecting

    • Updating existing values in a list

      Is it possible to update an existing value in a list? For example if I wanted to append text to an existing string value that I had previously added to a list is that possible? I'm able to extract the existing value (get() function) and append the additional text, but can't find a way to add the new value back to the list in the same index location. One work around I found was to delete the existing list entry and then add the new value, however this changes the index location to the last entry in

    • Host not reachable

      Good morning. I have four mail accounts and they have been working well for years. Now, suddenly, I am unable to send any e-mails from any of them. I allways have this pop-up: Thank you. Regards. Luis Fernández

    • BIN Locations

      Hi, I’m new to Zoho inventory and unless Im missing something, I cannot find BIN locations anywhere in ‘items’? please tell me it’s there somewhere?!? Thanks

    • Zoho Marketing Campaign

      I want a details report of marketing API . which API i can use to get a full flexed detail of email campaign , sms , social media ,and all other campaigns ?

    • Zoho Marketing Automation APIs

      When I want to create New lead in marketing automation , I want to add First Name and Last Name as well along with Email but there is no option like this in API . Can you please give me the API which will fulfill my condition ?

    • Adding Folders in Android App

      Is it possible to create a new email folder within the Zoho Mail Android app?  Or can this only be done from the desktop version of Zoho Mail? Cheers!

    • Collaborative editing of spreadsheets by multiple users simultaneously - Is it really possible?

      I work in a SharePoint 2010/SharePoint Server 2010 environment and we use MS Office 2007(Excel 2007) . I have been trying to create a MS Office document which will allow multiple users to work on a spreadsheet simultaneously. For that I have: 1) Created a excel workbook and published as a workspace as suggested by Andrea Kalli in her link: http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-collaborate-files-between-sharepoint-and-office-2007-182172/ 2) Set up and saved the Excel Workbook as "Shared" and made it available

    • Next Page