Over 2 million blog posts are written a day. We have entered an era of information overload. Therefore, standing out and grabbing the attention of your audience is more challenging than before. You have to write a catchy headline that readers will tend to click.
Around 80% of people only read your blog headline. As per Peter Koechley, co-founder of Upworthy, a great headline has the potential to increase your traffic. Studies show that traffic to Upworthy content increased to 500% because of the headline.
Moreover, it is recommended by some of the best copywriters to spend 50% of your writing time creating headline ideas.
Here are the best tips that you can use to create a headline that resonates with readers:
1- Consider The Length Of The Headline
There is no thumb rule on how long your heading should be.
But long headings are generally harder for your audience to comprehend. Thus, decreasing your CTR and traffic from search engines.
Besides, if your heading is too long, search engines often cut it off by adding an ellipsis (“…”). Thus, it may result in omitting important words.
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Here are two examples showing why it is better to write short headings:
a) Long heading:
b) Short heading:
As per a report by Hubspot, post-click engagement, pageviews per session, and conversion rate are highest for shorter headlines of 21 to 40 characters.
The ideal length of a headline is six words. It should be below 65 characters.
2- Include Specific Numbers
Numbers are “Brain Candy” that instantly grab attention and hook people’s interest.
A report by Remarkable Communication shows that blogs with a number in the headline bring 2.5-8 times more traffic.
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Here are two examples showing how just adding number to the headline makes it attractive:
Headline without any number:
Headline with number:
Here are a few practical options to add a number in your headline:
- Start your headline with the number.
- Use numbers as figures. According to Jakob Nielson, co-founder of Nielsen Norman Group, numbers as digits works better on the web than numbers as words.
- Choose multiples of 5 for list posts, if possible. As per BuzzSumo, the three best performing numbers in headlines are 5, 15, and 7.
- Use an odd number. A study by Content Marketing Institute suggests that headlines with odd numbers generate over 20% CTR than those with even numbers.
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3- Include the Word “Video” in Your Heading
As per a report by Cisco, online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic by 2022.
This shows that video content is a potential generator of more leads and traffic to your landing page.
Include the word “video” in your title!
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It is a simple trick as searches for videos on non-video search engines always include the word “video.”
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Here is an example:
Thus, including the word “video” in your video headline increases the relevancy of your page when a query contains the word “video.”
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However, this tip works best when you target searches on non-video search engines, such as Google, Bing, Edge, etc.
4- Add Punctuations: Colons or Hyphens
Colons and hyphens often make better separators.
Using hyphens and colons break up your headline into two parts. They allow you to communicate more information and increase the curiosity of your readers.
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A study of 150,000 headlines by the Content Marketing Institute shows that using hyphens and colons increases click-through rates by 9%.
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Here are the best ways to use them in your headlines:
- Use a keyword phrase followed by a compelling title. It is a great way to target certain keywords for better SEO.
Example:
SEO Myths: 12 SEO Misconceptions That Are Not True
- Use a short lead-in phrase to make the headline more interesting.
Example:
Breaking News: NFL To Announce 17-Game Regular-Season Schedule
- Add a qualifier towards the end of the headline.
Example:
Build a Perfect Digital Experience – Everything You Need To Know
5- Incorporate SEO Keywords
Google pairs the headline with your meta description to understand the content of your blog post.
Thus, write headlines that are keyword-rich and match the expectations of your target audience.
Related: SEO Keyword Research Guide
Here are two examples that show how adding a keyword to your headline helps search engines and searchers know exactly what the post is about.
Headline with keyword:
Headline without keyword:
There is an old idiom:
“Do not bury the lede. It is more important in subject lines than anywhere else to make sure your keyword is in the first 20 characters.”
You can use Google Keyword Planner or Keyword Explorer to choose the right keywords searched by your target audiences.
Related: Best SEO Keyword Research Tools
Once you select a popular, low-competition keyword to target for your post, optimize the headline for that target keyword.
Here are two best keyword optimization practices:
- Use the SEO keyword at the beginning of your headline. Maybe in the first 20 characters to help your target audience understand what the content is about.
- Use that target keyword in your URL slug, meta description, first sentence, subheads, last sentence, images, graphics, and body copy.
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6- Ask Questions
Questions headlines leverage a psychological effect, generating curiosity and critical thinking.
Thus, these headlines compel your target audience to click through or continue reading a blog post.
A Norwegian Study shows that question headlines increase the click-through rates by 5 times, with an average increase of 150%.
Besides, Google focuses on latent semantic indexing.
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An answer to a complete question helps Google determine the relevancy of your blog post and connect people to your content.
Here are some dos and don’ts that will help you frame your headline questions:
- Avoid Yes or No questions. It means never ask a question that your reader can answer in ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
The below example is just a Y/N question that fails Betteridge’s law of headlines:
- Experiment with open-ended questions. Open-ended questions encourage discussion and allow your audience to form their opinion.
Here is a better way to ask a question in your headline for the same search query. It shows that your blog answers the question that your customer may have.
- Do not provide answers to the question in the headline. If you answer the question in the headline, then there is no need for people to read your blog post.
For example:
7- Use Super-words, Superlatives and Adjectives
Adjectives clarify the noun in a sentence.
Therefore, the correct use of adjectives adds color and entices more people to read your post. Such as beautiful, essential, incredible, useful, valuable, etc.
Here are two examples in which the words “valuable” and “powerful” grab the attention and intrigue to read on.
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Word: Valuable
Word: Powerful
Instead of using adjectives, you can also use superlatives. These are strong adjectives. Such as best, fastest, easiest, or greatest.
Example:
Another option is using negative superlatives in your heading to draw on fear and doubt. Such as never, worst, none, etc.
Example:
Outbrain conducted a study of 65,000 headlines, comparing positive, negative, and no superlative headlines.
As per the study, positive superlative headlines performed 29% worse than negative superlative headlines, and negative superlative headlines performed 30% better.
The average click-through rate of negative superlatives headlines was 63% higher than with positive ones.
Whether you use positive or negative superlatives, ensure that your superlative is always at the front of your headline.
Final Thoughts
To write an effective headline, your focus must be on keeping it short and simple. Use an average of 7 to 8 words, feature numbers whenever appropriate, and make it look balanced.
Besides, you must understand your audience and where they are accessing the content. Your headline must highlight the benefits to your audience. To sum it up, a powerful and successful headline is ‘to the point’ and resonates with your readers.
