Imagine a researcher who would cite your paper — if only they knew it existed. For most papers, that reader arrives through a search box: a database, a search engine, an indexing service. Whether they find you is decided largely by two things you control completely: your title and your keywords. Get them right and your work surfaces for the right people; get them wrong and even excellent research stays invisible.
Write a title that gets found
Search tools weight the title heavily, and so do human readers scanning a results page. A good title is specific and contains the terms people actually search for. Compare:
| Vague / clever | Discoverable |
|---|---|
| A closer look at a common problem | Prevalence of iron-deficiency anaemia in pregnant women: a cross-sectional study in rural Kenya |
| New light on an old question | Effect of intermittent fasting on HbA1c in type 2 diabetes: a randomised trial |
The right-hand titles name the population, the intervention or exposure, the outcome, and often the study type. They are longer — and infinitely more findable.
Choose keywords like a searcher, not an author
The mistake authors make is choosing keywords that describe how they think about the work, in the jargon of their lab. Instead, choose the words a stranger would type to find it. A few rules:
- Mix broad and specific. Include the field ("cardiology") and the exact topic ("atrial fibrillation ablation").
- Use standard vocabulary. In medicine, prefer recognised terms such as MeSH headings, which indexers and databases already use.
- Do not waste slots. If a word is already in your title, spend a keyword on a synonym or related term a searcher might use instead.
- Spell out abbreviations at least once somewhere findable — people search both "myocardial infarction" and "MI".
Your abstract is discovery text too
Search engines index your abstract, so it is not only a summary — it is a discovery surface. Make sure your key terms appear naturally in the first two sentences, where they carry the most weight. Do not stuff keywords; write clearly, and the terms will be there because they are what the paper is about.
Be findable, not clickbait
There is a difference between a discoverable title and a sensational one. "This one factor predicts everything" is clickbait; it overclaims, ages badly, and erodes trust. Aim instead for a title that is precise and honest — one that tells a reader exactly what they will get. The most sustainable form of discoverability is a paper that delivers what its title promises, so the people who find it, cite it.