12 Headline Writing Tips to Increase Traffic and Clicks

Consider this: You’ve spent hours researching and writing a fantastic article.

You obviously want people to read the article because you worked so hard on it.

But here’s the sad truth: 6 out of 10 people only read the headlines before sharing an article. And only 49% claimed to have read the articles.

What should a content creator do?

There is a clear relationship between the value and interest of an article’s headline and whether or not people click on it.

Writing a great headline isn’t an exact science, but plenty of data has been compiled and studied over the years to provide some clues as to what makes a great headline.

Here are some headline-writing tips to help you win over those readers and get more clicks.

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12 Pointers for Writing Click-Worthy Headlines

Your headline is critical in making a first impression on a potential reader.

We are all aware of the significance of first impressions.

Being average is not preferable to being bad. Your headline is either outstanding or forgettable. There isn’t much room for interpretation.

The following tips and methods will assist you in transforming a poor or average headline into one that attracts clicks and readers.

1. Examine the Google Search Results

After researching the keyword(s) you intend to target, examine the search engine results page (SERP) to see which articles you will be competing against.

How can you make your content stand out?

What exactly is the user’s intent?

Is the top result a list of listicles? What about how-to articles? What about commercial content?

If you want to rank on Page 1, you need to have a thorough understanding of the type of content that is already there if you want to be a serious competitor.

2. Establish an Emotional Bond

Emotional headlines consistently outperform neutral headlines.

Using power words to elicit emotions in your reader improves their first impression of your content while increasing their curiosity, dread, or anticipation to read more.

The most effective emotional headlines target:

Happiness.
Love.
Fear.
Anger.
Disgust.
Affirmation.
Hope.

3. Make use of names

The names must be well-known to your target audience for this headline trick to work.

Brand names can have the same impact as people.

When targeting SEO topics, for example, using “Google” in your headline will generate clicks, as will using “John Mueller.”

These are well-known brands and figures in the industry.

The names you include in your headline should be relevant to your brand’s niche.

4. Make Use of Numbers

Numbers are natural attention grabbers.

Numbers capture our attention and cause us to pause in the midst of an endless sea of words. Numbers help our brain organize information, so we remember them.

To outperform your SERP competitors, leverage the power of listicles and numbers.

5. Emphasize the advantages to your reader.

When a reader decides whether or not to click on an article, they ask themselves, “What do I get out of this?”

Your headline should indicate the benefit a reader will receive by clicking through and reading it.

High-performing content serves one or more of the following functions:

Entertain.
Engage.
Empower.
Enrich.
Educate.
Inform.
Inspire.
Offer a solution.

When a reader clicks on your article and invest their time and attention in it, they’ve already formed expectations based on the benefit your headline promised.

Make it clear to your reader what they will gain, but don’t overpromise.

6. Human and Search Engine Optimization

Your first priority should be to optimize your content so that your human audience can find it and want to click on it.

Your second priority should be to optimize for search engines, particularly Google.

The good news is that humans and search engines can generally agree on what they want to read, which includes content that is:

Accurate.
Comprehensive.
Credible.
Engaging.
High-Quality.
Informative.
Specific.
Unique.
Useful.
Valuable.

Include your primary keyword in the title to optimize it for Google and to help people find your content when they search for the topic.

Check out free title generator tools to help you write a better headline if you’re stuck for ideas.

However, keep in mind that these tools do not know your audience as well as you do, and just because a headline was generated automatically does not imply that it is the most advanced for SEO.

These free tools are best used for idea generation and analysis, rather than as a substitute for a human-created headline.

If you’re using WordPress, SEO-based plugins like AIOSEO and Yoast can provide you with a built-in analysis of your headline SEO rating (as well as the post as a whole).

As you can see with AIOSEO below, they’ll also make suggestions to help you improve your rating.

7. Create Several Headlines

Chances are, the first headline you think of won’t be gold.

And that’s fine! It is, in fact, normal.

Some people recommend writing ten or more headlines for each content piece and then selecting the best one.

Create a number of headlines that target different formulas. Don’t simply change the word order.

Attempt to target various emotions, points of view, and styles, such as:

Humorous.
Upbeat.
Unexpected.
Inventive wordplay.
Numerical.
Question.
Thought-provoking.
First-person narrative (I).
Second-person singular (you/yours).
Third-person pronouns (he/she/they/them).

When making your decision, use headline analysis tools to keep track of SEO ratings for each option.

8. Check Your Headlines

The data from your clicks do not lie, but your brain does!

Don’t be too hard on yourself; we’re all biased. Our minds convince us that we are clever and creative and that all of our headlines are brilliant.

However, many creative headlines never receive a single click.

People who skip over your article aren’t to blame, despite what your brain thinks. It’s in the title.

Remove bias by relying on quantitative data rather than your own opinions and feelings.

9. Experiment with headlines as well.

Writing click-worthy headlines is an art, and it takes some practice to make the task feel natural.

If you’ve followed every rule and still aren’t succeeding, don’t be afraid to throw the rulebook out the window and follow your instincts.

What kinds of headlines pique your interest? Proceed from there.

10. Adhere to Formulas

Even though there is an art to crafting headlines, it’s important to remember that your headline is a science, not a whimsical creative writing assignment.

No, seriously.

There are headline-writing formulas because they work. They’ve been tried and tested numerous times to determine click-through rates.

This begs the question, “How can I make my headlines stand out from the crowd if everyone is using the same formulas?”

The best advice is to develop your own formulas by modifying others and then testing your click-through rate (CTR) to determine which ones work best for you and your brand.

11. Should You Be Wary of Question Headlines?

Yes.

Question headlines can be an effective tool for piquing the reader’s interest, but they come with a warning label:

Don’t ask a question with a simple answer. Nobody will read your content.

Make certain that you actually answer the question posed in the article. Don’t be a slacker and waste the reader’s time!

Your response should be superior to other existing content that asks the same question.

Withholding information should be done with caution. If you do, your content will come across as clickbait.

If the answer to your question is yes or no, don’t put it in the headline.

In most cases, a more compelling headline that isn’t formatted as a question can be written.

12. Be Upbeat

There is already too much negativity in the world without adding more fuel to the fire.

Whether you’re providing useful information, solving a problem, answering a question, or entertaining your readers, your primary goal should be to help them.

Having said that, some companies want to be associated with negativity. Creating controversy and stirring up emotions elicits a strong emotional response, albeit not a positive one.

It all depends on the image of your brand and the message you want to convey to your target audience.

Create Captivating Headlines That Persuade Readers

If you want to break the 6 out of 10 reading statistics, your headlines must be more compelling.

That will take a lot of trial and error.

Even if you follow every piece of advice in this article, you will not be successful every time.

Pay attention to your target audience within your niche. What exactly are they clicking on? What are the headlines that have piqued their interest? Which of them isn’t?

Follow-up data and analysis, like any other type of content marketing strategy, are critical to understanding how to best target your specific audience.

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