Step 6 Write Title and Headings

Task Library

Write an SEO title under 60 characters, a meta description under 160, and descriptive H2/H3 subheadings built on the focus keyword (Blog Posting Guidelines Step 6).

Category: Content Factory – Process

Use this when the article body is drafted (Step 5 complete) and needs its search-facing title, meta description, and final heading pass.

Inputs

  • The drafted article and the GCT statement
  • The primary/focus keyword (the customer's phrasing of the question)
  • Character counter (RankMath previews these at publish time, but write to spec now)

Steps

  1. Write the SEO title: under 60 characters, containing the focus keyword, promising exactly what the article delivers. The customer's question phrasing usually beats a clever rewrite.
  2. Reject clickbait and vague titles – the title must match the Content (GCT honesty test: would the video's speaker stand behind this promise?).
  3. Write the meta description: under 160 characters, includes the focus keyword, states the concrete benefit of reading, written as one active-voice sentence or two short ones.
  4. Pass over every H2/H3: each must be descriptive enough to stand alone in a table of contents – "How a $1/day budget gets read" beats "Budget."
  5. Work the focus keyword and its natural variants into 2-3 headings where they fit honestly; never stuff every heading.
  6. Verify heading hierarchy: H2s for major sections, H3s nested beneath, no skipped levels, no headings styled as bold paragraphs.
  7. Confirm the H1 (post title) will be the only H1 on the page – headings start at H2 inside the body.
  8. Record title and meta in the working doc header for Step 14a (RankMath), update the tracker, and hand off to step-7-write-hook-and-establish-context.

Definition of done (QA checklist)

  • SEO title under 60 characters with the focus keyword
  • Meta description under 160 characters with the focus keyword and a concrete benefit
  • Title promise matches what the article actually delivers
  • Every H2/H3 is descriptive standing alone; hierarchy is clean with no skipped levels
  • Title and meta recorded for the RankMath step
  • Linked back to the definitive article and relevant siblings

Example(s)

  • Title and heading specs are enforced on every run documented at /blog-posting-guidelines and audited later by the Website QA Audit title/meta checks.
  • Example needed as a standalone meta-article – run the Meta-Article Prompt after first documented run.

File in the zip: skills/content-factory-process/step-6-write-title-and-headings.md. Download the Task Library zip.

Index: Task Library. Article guidelines.

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