What’s the first thing people see when looking at your blog?
The titles of your articles, right? So it goes without saying, your titles are critical to attracting readers and getting your content shared.
Scrounge around the Internet, and you’ll find lists of headline hacks, templates for “proven” blog titles. But be careful. Most of these lists use formats that are more suited to sales letters. Others are based on trends from earlier Internet days, when titles were stuffed with keywords (for SEO) or sounded like a tabloid cover article (to generate click-through).
What does a good blog title look like? What do you need to think about when writing blog titles? That’s what we’re going to explore today.
What’s trending in headlines today?
To know what works best, we first have to explore the trends. Here’s what I’m seeing.
I scrolled through Facebook to see what people are sharing…
- 29 Experts Talk About Online Marketing Mistakes and Myths. Klou.tt
- Facts About a Totally Unsexy Issue That Ought to Raise Some Eyebrows. Upworthy
- America Spent $1.5 Trillion On A Jet That Doesn’t Work. How Many Schools Is That, Do You Think? Upworthy
- Which Superhero Are You? PlayBuzz
- Welder Faces $75,000 Per Day in EPA Fines Over What He Built On His Own Property. Right Wing News
What do you see here? While some are good, others are designed purely to make you click. Those headlines are rife with judgment, snark, and controversy. Clearly, these qualities get clicks and shares. But I question their long-term value.
In general, there’s no need for yelling. You can get someone to click on a hyped title once or twice. But if your titles don’t match the content you provide, and if there’s no real substance in the article, people will eventually stop clicking.
Low-quality content won’t rank in search engines, either. So the only value you might get from hyped titles is a boost in clicks when the topic is trending or seems highly relevant. If people stop sharing or the article loses its relevance, it isn’t likely to generate much traffic to your website.
Here are some titles from top marketers…
- The Nastiest Email I Every Received. MaryEllen Tribby
- What Owning a Guitar Shop Taught Me About Business Storytelling. Ian Rhodes
- Email Marketing: Nonprofit cleans list and lifts open rate 225%. Marketing Sherpa
- How to Use Google Suggestion to Grow Your Long Tail Traffic. Neil Patel
- Why Your Search Rankings Are Dropping (and 7 Ways to Fix It). Neil Patel
- 55% of Visitors Spend Fewer Than 15 Seconds on Your Website. Should You Care? HubSpot
- 7 Facebook Marketing “Tips” and “Tricks” That Don’t Actually Work. HubSpot
- Which Marketing Superhero Are You? KISSmetrics
- 50+ Google Analytics Resources – The 2014 Edition. KISSmetrics
These titles are clear and to the point. Some adopt formats from headline hacks, but those are rare. Most contain specific numbers, benefits and a promise of useful information.
All of these titles let you know up-front what the article is about, so you can decide before you click whether you’re interested. It may stir your curiosity, but you aren’t disappointed when you click through.
All are great formats to use when writing headlines for blog posts.
Headline Hacks may or may not work
Headline hacks often promise to make your content go viral and increase traffic. But take a look at these structures. They look suspiciously like the hyped headlines we talked about above.
- How Safe Is Your [Valuable Person/Object] from [Threat]?
- The Shocking Truth about [Blank]
- Can We Really Trust [Person/Company/Product]?
- Warning: [Fill in the blank]
These work well on magazines in the grocery checkout line: First, because you’re bored and looking for a little sensationalism. And second, because you aren’t looking for answers about a particular topic. You see a curiosity-building headline and, sure, you want to look.
Does that transfer to content and blog posts? And does it work for a business? It depends on your audience, your topic and your reputation.
I found an email in my inbox this morning that reeked of the sensationalist headline hack. The article was titled “The Truth About Conference Calls.” And the email subject line was “This is a hoot! Check it out!”
No, I didn’t believe this was hype. I know this marketer provides consistently good content. But I didn’t click either. I’m just not interested in learning the dirt on conference calls.
The truth about blog titles
Let’s boil it down to the basics. One the reasons you blog is to improve your website’s performance. You’re going for traffic and search engines rankings, right?
You’ve been told, for the best SEO value, you’re supposed to optimize for people first, search engines second. Hence, the need for headline hacks. They appeal to people.
But here’s the thing: Optimizing for people involves more than writing juicy titles that make people click. You also need to get those titles in front of people, so they know your article is there. That means you need to make them easy for Google to understand.
Here’s what I’ve observed:
- When a blog post’s title exactly matches a search query, that post ranks higher than titles that are near matches or contain the keyword only.
- When that same search query is included somewhere in the body of the article, it boosts rankings even more.
- It’s okay to break up the phrasing to make it more readable. Search engines are smart enough to understand.
I’ve tested this in my own content, and it works. Now, Google’s Matt Cutts has recommended the same thing. Listen to what he says at about 54 seconds:
Did you catch it? Matt says, “Include the right words on the page.”
This strategy works for people and search engines
You can’t go wrong with this. Figure out what people are searching for—the actual words or phrases they’re typing into Google. Then use that to style your blog post title.
If people are searching for a particular phrase or topic, you know they’re interested in it. And when search engines see a title that matches the search query, they’re interested too. Simply by doing a little research into how people are searching for information, you can appeal to people and search engines.
Here’s a real life example…
Marcus Sheridan and two partners started a swimming pool company in 2001. All was going well until the recession hit. Then, in 2009, everything turned south. They were selling a luxury item at a time when people could barely afford the basics. Sales dried up, and they were on the verge of losing everything.
Desperate to generate new leads, Marcus started writing blog posts. But not the usual self-promotional drivel. Instead, he wrote down every question every prospect or customer had ever asked him. Then he wrote a blog post to answer each question. Here are a few of the titles you’ll find in their blog:
- The Cost of Going with a Vinyl Liner Pool vs Fiberglass Pools
- What Are the 3 Most Popular In-ground Pool Options of 2014?
- Variable Speed Pool Pumps vs One and Two Speed, Which is Best?
- The Cost of Owning a Swimming Pool with a Diving Board in 2014
Seriously. The strategy was that simple. And the titles are that… well… boring.
Now for the results.
Since the articles were designed to answer real questions that prospects were asking, they included the exact phrasing people were searching for. Whenever anyone typed a question about swimming pools into a search engine, his articles showed up.
Marcus says his traffic increased—as did his leads. And when he went on a sales appointment, the homeowners already had the answers to many of their questions. They were ready to buy. As a result, far less time was spent closing sales.
Think about that for a moment. We’re talking about how you can write blog post titles that get clicked on and read. But your solution isn’t better (or more exciting) headlines. Instead, it’s customer research and a bit of SEO.
What’s the best way to write blog post titles?
To win clicks, here’s what you need to do:
- Always include the general topic, so people know what the article is about.
- Try to include specific numbers, benefits or the question you’re answering.
- Don’t shy away from basic structures like How to…, Why…, # Tips for….
- Try to include the exact words your target audience uses when searching for the information in your article.
- If you can also build interest or curiosity, great. But never sacrifice clarity for sensationalism or hype.
Keep it simple, and your titles will do their job.
How about you? What tips would you add? Share your insights in the comments, and let’s start writing the best blog post titles on the Web.
