Does everybody want to know the secret to writing blog post titles that get clicks every time? Of course, they do! Especially if it’s so interesting of a title that a reader can’t resist wanting to find out more.
Aside from writing your ‘About’ page, one of the hardest parts of a blog to write is a catchy post title. When you put so much hard work into the content, you want people to read it after all.
Let’s look at how to write a blog title that’s attention-grabbing right from the start.
Why It’s Important To Write A Blog Title That’s Catchy And Interesting
If the title doesn’t grab attention, potential readers won’t click on it, it is that simple and first impressions matter.
Blog post titles are the first thing a potential reader sees:
- In Search engine results
- When shared on social media
- In RSS feeds
If you can write a title that resonates with the reader’s pain point, or that solves a problem for your reader then you are already ahead of the game.
Did you know there are two types of blog post titles?
- SEO titles – These appear in search engine results
- Blog post titles – These appear on the actual blog post
SEO Title
The SEO title is more of a challenge on average because it needs to be about 60 characters which is not a lot of text. SEO titles can be time-consuming as you need to play around with the keyword positions to get the context correct.
Consider how many blog titles in Google results have been cut off because they were just too long. The reason for this is that they have not been optimised to the character limit. You can use an SEO plugin on your website like Yoast SEO to help snip your title to the correct length, making it more visible to potential readers.
Blog Post Title
Regular blog post titles can be longer, but you may want to keep your post title the same as your SEO title. Blog titles need to be accurate and reflective of the blog post’s content. False advertising is a turn-off and will ultimately result in less traffic and poorer ranking in search engine results.
What makes a simple blog post title into one that gets clicks?
It must be catchy, informative, and also have a few key elements. Here are some ways you can create the perfect blog title.
Use Power Words
They are those that evoke a psychological or emotional response. They are naturally persuasive, resulting in the reader wanting to find out more.
.There are several types of power words:
- Encouragement power words (e.g., perfect, brilliant)
- Fear power words (e.g., painful, catastrophe)
- Anger power words (e.g., hate, useless)
- Lust power words (e.g., fascinating, captivating)
- Greed power words (e.g., don’t miss out, hurry, sale ends soon)
- Forbidden power words (e.g., secret, be the first)
Answer A Question
One of the most successful ways to generate blog traffic is to answer a question that is of interest to your potential customers. Blog titles that include “how-to”, “why”, “when” and “what” always end up with the most successful clicks.
Think ‘why do people Google’. The answer is that they are looking for specific information. They want an answer so to frame your title, answer that question. This will likely drive more traffic to your site.
Include A Benefit
When writing a blog post title, consider including a benefit. The reader wants to know what your content will help solve for them.
Use Numbers and Statistics
Numbers, especially odd numbers, in a blog post title get people interested. The most effective way is via list posts. If it’s a tough problem you’re helping solve, psychologically, it’s better to create a shortlist of simple solutions.
A blog post title such as “Top 3 Easiest Ways To Grow Your Mailing List” will get more views than “100 Ways To Grow Your Email List”.
However, there are instances where longer lists are preferred such as a topic where the readers want many solutions. You can also tie the statistic into the benefit type of blog post title. When you write a blog post title that shares a specific benefit, the reader is most likely to click to find out how you got that result.
Make It Personal
People love to learn from others’ journeys or mistakes. One of the most unusual tips on how to write a blog post title is to make it personal. When you share your story and your experience with tips that might help your reader, they can relate to that more. Addressing your reader personally makes the blog post attractive.
What other ways can you create a click-worthy headline for your blog post?
Always include a long tail keyword that’s most likely used by your potential readers. This is a good optimisation step for SEO posts. Long-tail keywords are short phrases, such as “writing great blog posts” or “social media content ideas for Halloween”. Think about what the person would be typing into Google.
Finally, make sure you don’t have any spelling or grammar errors! Nothing screams mediocre and amateur than a poorly written blog post title.
If you’re struggling, there are tools that can help you. When you have your blog written, use Grammarly, a free tool, to check the spelling and grammar.
Final Point: Go through some of your older blog posts and see if you can re-work the titles to boost your blog traffic.
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