Advertising

What Makes a Good Advertising Headline?

A good headline helps the intended reader recognise “this is for me” and understand why the rest is worth reading. It should be specific enough to filter the wrong audience as well as attract the right one.

Start with the diagnosis

A useful advert makes a clear, supportable promise to the right audience. The landing experience must continue the same conversation.

Before changing the page or campaign, separate what you know from what you are assuming. Check the source, the promise, the destination and the desired action in that order. This prevents a visible symptom from being mistaken for the cause.

What to do next

  1. Write the plain factual version first.
  2. Test a benefit-led version against a problem-led version.
  3. Keep the strongest claim supportable on the destination page.

How to judge the result

Measure impressions, clicks, cost and the next meaningful action separately. Compare like with like and give the test enough time to reveal a useful pattern. Keep the original version as a reference rather than changing everything at once.

Watch out: Avoid vague superlatives and claims you cannot demonstrate.

A simple working checklist