Your blog’s headline is the first impression you make on the reader.
In order to gain as many clicks as possible on your blog post, you need to ensure that you are capturing the readers curiosity immediately. Blogs are among the primary three forms of media used in content #strategies today. With a great headline, you are more likely to generate a good click-through rate (CTR) which is important to your entire marketing strategy.
To be in with a better chance of your blog being read, a catchy and compelling headline is essential.
The headline shouldn’t be misleading and should be written with an understanding of what search terms your target audience might be using to track down the content. Writing a headline that is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) compatible gives your content the best possible chance of being found in the first place.
So, how can you write a headline to create more clicks?
We’ve put together three factors to keep in mind when writing a great headline.
Simplicity
The headline structure should be simple and not overly informative. There should be enough information to keep the reader engaged but it should still be straight forward.
The headline should reflect what the post will offer to meet the reader’s expectations.
When it comes to the construction of your headline, keep in mind that Google will only display around 70 characters of your headline on most desktop and mobile browsers. If your headline is too long, then search engines will display it by adding an ellipsis and removing words.
Being able to see the full headline in a search gives you a better chance of gaining clicks because the reader can see what your blog is about. The reader is less likely to click on a headline that they cannot see as they might be trying to look for information fast.
Keywords
You need to ensure that you are creating your headline with the use of keywords. Keywords are essentially how your readers are going to be able to find your blog post.
Undertaking some keyword research to ensure that the keywords you plan to use are for your intended audience can benefit the overall performance of your blog.
A keyword planning tool allows you to search for certain words and see how many times the word and variations of the word in phrases, have been searched recently. Using a keyword planning tool that shows the volume of average monthly searches, can help you to pick what is best for your headline.
You don’t want to overuse keywords within the headline, instead having one or two main keywords that your audience is most likely to search for will improve your SEO and likelihood of clicks.
Types of headlines
You can decide which headline type is best and what structure you could use by the type of blog you have written. This helps to convey quickly what sort of material the reader will be led to. The different types of blogs include:
- Listicle
The headline includes the number from the list and what it is listing e.g. 10 ways to write a headline that creates clicks
- How to
The headline is clear about what you are explaining e.g. How to write a headline that creates clicks
- Experiences
The headline defines the lesson and then the background of the writer e.g. Lessons I’ve learned from writing headlines for 5 years
- Reader Focused
The headline draws the reader in by directly addressing them e.g. You can create more clicks for your headline by following these steps
- Educational
The headline consists of the context and is very precise e.g. 10 statistics behind creating a great headline for clicks.
Ultimately, blog copy is created to be consumed. How you craft the headline can have a big impact on the likelihood of it appearing in searches and for it to be clicked on once it is displayed. By ensuring your headline is clear, concise and rewards the reader, your blog post has a greater chance of generating more clicks and driving traffic to your site to help meet your brand’s objectives.
If you want help on improving your blog posts to reach a wider target audience, amplify your message and achieve your business goals, get in touch with us today.
