Have you ever poured your heart into an article, expecting to attract more traffic only to land on page 3 or four of Google? Well, I have, and several times.
Could the headline of your article be responsible for its position? One study paints a grim picture, with statistics showing that 59% of social media users share news and blog posts they have not even clicked. These individuals may only stop at the blog title.
What can you do as a content creator to increase the rate at which readers click your blog headline? Catch your reader’s attention from the headline before you lose them. While a strong headline doesn’t require a specific scientific formula, several studies and data provide clues on how to write attention-grabbing blog headlines.
Read on to find out helpful blog headline writing tips that will get you 10x more clicks. If you are interested in exploring how to find a Niche for your blog, I wrote a whole article where I share 5 Best Tips.
7 Best Tips for Writing a Clickable Blog Title
Cynthia Ozick once said that, like time, the first impression is irretrievable. Your blog title makes the first impression on a surfer. Exceptional headlines move potential readers to click, while average ones are forgettable.
Here are tips for writing killer blog headlines that attract readers, enticing them to click for more information.
1- Proper Use of Keywords
Before you write an article or a blog post, you should ascertain which keywords you want to rank for. A keyword is what potential readers will type on Google search to find your blog.
That keyword should be on your blog title. For instance, this article is trying to rank on the keyword “blog headline.” No wonder you see the title page as “7 Blog Headline Writing Tips That Get 10x more Clicks.”
What if you are unsure which keyword to use in your blog post headline? Type your headline on Google and examine the search results. And the search results page will show you keywords that your competitors rank for, thus helping you look for ways to stand out.
You also want to check for user intent. Should you write a listicle, how-to, commercial, or transactional article? Google wants to provide users with the most relevant information that answers their queries, so look at what is already ranking on page 1 and write accordingly.
2- Create an Emotional Connection
Humans are emotional beings. We make emotional decisions and logically justify those decisions.
How do you make your blog headline emotional? Use powerful words to evoke the reader’s emotions and prompt them to click the title. Powerful words will enhance the first impression and build curiosity to read more.
We are talking about words that generate the following emotions:
- Happiness
- Love
- Greed
- Anger
- Fear
- Hope
- Affirmation
- Disgust
- Sex
You have probably seen blog headlines with words such as:
- Secret
- Unexplained
- Money or Free
- Obsessed
- Never
Nevertheless, ensure your blog content matches the emotional headline. You want to avoid creating clickbait and making your readers lose trust in your site.
For example, if your title is “The Shocking Truth about Makeups,” ensure your content reveals a truth your readers do not know. You can frustrate your audience if the article only states the obvious.
3- Use Numbers
The human brain is drawn to numbers. The subconscious mind organizes data in a list form. That is why we thrive well with a to-do list, shopping list, or other routine lists.
Headlines with numbers also tell the reader how much time they will invest in your article. Readers will likely click your content when they know what to expect, and numbers do the trick.
Listicle headlines sound more authoritative than plain headlines since readers trust that the information is genuine and reliable.
One study showed that headlines with statistics or data had 37% higher click-through rates and 162% more impressions.
When using numbers, I often prefer odd numbers because they appear inconveniently packed.
4- Offer Value to Your Readers
Ask yourself: what problem will the blog post solve? What are your ideal readers looking for? How does your blog post help them get what they want?
Your headline should suggest the value the reader will get once they click the article. For instance, this blog title promises that if you apply these tips, your blog title will get more clicks.
The target audience is probably a blog owner who wants more traffic, hence searching for “blog headlines.” I hope this post appeals to them.
But if you’re not confident about what will impress your readers, you can do a little research before settling on a blog title.
Search results on page 1 of Google could help you with this discovery. Alternatively, consider forums like Reddit to know what your target audience talks about.
So, what value does your blog content offer? It could be to:
- Engage
- Educate
- Entertain
- Inspire
- Enrich
- Answer a question
The headline should promise to address what the reader seeks, and the content should deliver on that promise.
5- Optimize for Search Engines And Humans
While there is a lot of emphasis on using keywords for search engines, your priority is your human audience. You want people to click your content, so optimize for them.
Fortunately, Google also loves what humans want. The content should be:
- Accurate
- Credible
- High-quality
- Comprehensive
- Original
- Engaging
- Valuable
Your content will likely rank on Google if you follow SEO rules and address user intent. So ensure you use the primary keyword in the title for surfers to find your topic quickly.
Free title generator tools can inspire you to write clickable blog headlines; feel free to check them out. However, this tool may not know your audience better; curate the headline to match what your readers want.
You can also optimize your blog headline using headline optimizer tools. These tools help you include suitable power and emotional words to make the headline click-worthy.
I have seen blog titles that rank on page 1 for a particular keyword but do not answer the question raised. Such articles often lose their position faster because users find them irrelevant and pogo sticks them.
6- Use the 5Ws
Several informational blog titles are written using one of the 5Ws- who, what, where, when, and where. Since these topics are often in question form, they address the immediate need of most readers. You can leverage the 5Ws on your title and create engaging content that makes your audience stick around.
However, these titles are suitable when you know the exact question your readers are asking for. You can also add some flair to the title to move potential readers to click.
Consider some examples:
- Who is the Future of AI: An Interview with Top Experts”
- “What is the Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture”
- “Where to Find the Best Vegan Food in New York City”
- “When to Invest in the Stock Market: 7 Tips from Financial Advisors”
- “Why Mental Health is Important for Students”
7- Keep Short and Sweet
A blog title should be a teaser of the main content; it should not give a lot of information, so keep it as concise as possible.
And since the headline is the first thing your audience will see, you want every word to count in drawing them to click. If you use lengthy headlines, Google will cut some words when displaying search results- you don’t want that, right?
People often shun complicated and long titles.
How do you write short and sweet blog headlines? Employ simple language and avoid excessive punctuation marks. Keep your headline between 50 and 60 characters.
Additionally, you can use a free title checker to determine if Google will likely cut off your title. If your title turns red in the tool, you know it is too long and needs editing before publishing.
What to read next:
- How To Choose a Blog Niche That Makes Money: 5 Helpful Tips!
- Can a Blog Have More Than One Niche? (Yes! and here’s how!)
- How Long Should a Blog Be to Rank on Google?
Write Attention-Grabbing Headlines That Readers Click on
If you want your article to break the 60% reading statistics, your headlines should create curiosity and appeal to people’s emotions.
Remember, your blog headline is the first thing your readers see. It either grabs their attention or bores them.
You will need a lot of trial and error to determine what works for a specific niche. While this guide provides useful tips on writing click-worthy blog titles, it is not surefire.
Study your audience and know what makes them tick. Address their needs from the start in the title before giving them value in the content.
Like other content marketing strategies, use data to analyze what works for your audience. You may not have one fixed solution for all.