Tip: Use Exclusive Titles When Writing Online Reviews

We strongly encourage you to use Exclusive titles when writing review Hubs (be they for this month’s contest or any old review). You might find this idea somewhat counterintuitive, because most Exclusive titles do not reference specific product names.

That actual products are not named is actually a good thing.

You heard us- reviews that have titles like “Simone Super Slingshot Review” or “Review of The Simone Super Slingshot” aren’t likely to see long-term success, as they may find it hard to compete with mainstream product listings and brand pages that are associated with that product’s keyword.

Google gives precedence to established brands and functional results. If Google Search sees that someone is searching for a particular product, it assumes this person is interested in buying it, and therefore is far more likely to serve up results that make it easy for them to do so. HubPages is not a commerce site, and it is not an official brand site- that much is self-evident.

Searchers looking for results associated with specific product keywords are far more likely to click on trusted brand sites and commerce sites they know- even if they’re just looking for consumer reviews. After all, we know that loads of people submit reviews on Amazon, and that we can trust the wisdom of that large, widely-distributed crowd more than we can trust the review of one, non-credentialed, online stranger.

Furthermore, since Simone’s Super Slingshot is replaced with a newer product, like Simone’s Superfly Slingshot, a title containing the name of the original product renders the review out of date and makes updates to the Hub less effective (the title can be changed, but the URL containing the original product name cannot).

Does this mean you should not even bother to write online reviews? Absolutely not! You simply must learn how to title and frame these reviews correctly. Instead of titling a review of the Simone Super Slingshot “Simone Super Slingshot Review”, go for something like “Best Slingshots for Newbies” or “The Basics of Slingshot Safety”.

These Hubs can contain photos, information on, and reviews of the Simone Super Slingshot, but they’ll also offer more general information on buying and using the product. Big brands and commerce sites can’t compete with real people on that front. These Hubs will also be able to update when new products and new versions roll out.

Now you may see why Exclusive titles can make for such great review fodder. They give you high-potential subjects to write about which can also include in-depth product reviews, and they keep you from falling into the product keyword review hole, from which few Hubs ever emerge.