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Headlines make people click on your link to land on your articles. If the headline is plain and uninviting, there are high chances people won't visit your articles. So, no matter how hard you've worked in creating an amazing article, your efforts will go in vain just because you didn't optimize the first twelve words of your write-up, i.e. the headline.
Though having your primary keyword in the title may seem to be the key factor that drives your SEO, that is not about it. How engaging the title is to its readers to want to comment, share, or retweet it matters equally as well.
We have included five tips on creating attention-grabbing headlines. Have a look.
Know your audience
Think about the kind of people who will be interested in reading your article. Also, analyze the audience who has been reading & engaging with your past content. And then prepare a set of questions. For example:
- Which headline-types got the most clicks?
- What interests do they have?
- What can you do to make them click on your article links?
- What tone or language works best for your audience?
Keep in mind that you need to come up with fresh headlines, have your own voice, and something that people would want to read again. Moreover, if they like your content, they may become an evangelist for your blog by sharing it with others!
Keep The Time Factor In Mind
Time is of utmost importance when it comes to crafting engaging headlines. Creating an engaging headline is art. You only have less than twelve words and a couple of seconds to entice the reader to take action. So, you must infuse the reader's pain points along with your primary keyword in the headline.
According to Google, 31.7% of the people will click on your article if your article organically ranks first on the search result page. This clearly indicates the significance of having the primary keyword & your reader's pain point in the headline. Here's why:
- The primary keyword will help your article rank first on Google.
- The pain point will entice the reader to click on your link to know more.
Play with "Odd" Numbers
The knowledge of human psychology also helps in crafting attention-grabbing headlines. For example, we tend to probe "incomplete" things to complete them. Here is what we mean by this:
Odd numbers instigate curiosity compared to even numbers because the latter sounds "complete". So, if you write a headline like "11 Ways To Nail Social Media Marketing", people will more likely click on it than "10 Ways To Nail Social Media Marketing". Moreover, do not include tips that are multiples of 5. Instead, use the next number. For example, "6 Easy Ways To Clean The Floor" or "13 Content Marketing Templates That Will Drive Great ROI".
Never Use Tools
Understand this: reading an article is a human thing. Humans read articles and engage with them. Articles can be sensitive or informative -- it depends on the content. headline creation tools use AI & Machine Learning to create 'relevant headlines,' not 'suitable' headlines.
Remember, people will only click, read, and engage with your article more, if it has a "humane appeal" or "personal touch" to it. So, never use a tool to come up with a title.
Having said that, let's see some examples of bad & good headlines:
Bad examples:
- 5 ways to decorate your home
- How to repair your car
- Why blogging is necessary
- Bike Riding Tips
- 5 Best smartphones under $500
What's the problem here? These headlines are only 'explaining' the article'; these are not 'prompting a user to take action.' (click).
Let us convert these boring headlines to interesting ones:
- Confused about your Home's decor? These 5 tips will help!
- 5 Car Repair Tips No Mechanic Will Tell You
- Wondering Why Blogging Is Necessary? You Need To Read This!
- Fear Bike Riding? These Tips Are For You!
- 5 Smartphones under 20000 That Are An Absolute Value For Money
Final Word
Crafting killer headlines is imperative to ensuring the success of your SEO strategies. From landing pages to articles, headlines bring people to your content. You can use these tips to create attention-grabbing headlines or take the help of a good SEO company. The goal is to drive more traffic to your articles, and killer headlines will help you achieve that.
