Before we jump into the formula you can use to write great blog titles that will attract attention, you first need to understand that it is one thing to create awesome content and it is a whole different thing to get the content ranked on search engines and read. This is where you need to make sure that you have nailed the blog title. Titles are the representation of the content on search engines; they sell the content on social media, emails and anywhere else you post them.
With this in consideration, it is therefore not surprising that the most questions are about writing a great title for a blog. Let’s just jump into the formula that will assist you in creating great titles and headlines that will market your blog.
- Create a Working Title
Prior to getting down to the basics of writing a nifty title, you need to start with a working title: this is your rough draft. Most people get confused when they are dealing with working titles and topics and this is why this needs to be cleared up…
A topic is quite general and multiple titles can come out of a single topic depending on how the writer looks at it. On the other hand, your working title is specific and is what guides you in creating your blog post. Let’s take an example; you have a topic “Creating great Content” this is general and can give birth to the following working titles:
- Mistakes to avoid when creating great content
- Great tips for effective website content
- Tips and trick of social media content
This is how specific working titles can get. Working titles are often not the perfect titles for the blog but they sure are great guides when you want to create a great blog post.
- Be Accurate
Being accurate when creating the title is all about matching the title with the content. You do not want to create a title that will mislead the audience because all you will get is disappointed readers. Everyone will want to click on a title that says “10 secrets to creating content that will rank you #1 in an hour” well this is an attractive title but is the content true?
Unless you have discovered these 10 secrets, which is highly unlikely, you should be accurate in creating a title that correctly reflects what your blog is all about.
If you do not remember most of what you will read here, let this point be the most important thing you keep in mind. If your blog title sets high standards and expectations that are not delivered in the content, losing your reader’s trust will be an easy affair. “Clickbait” is the term given to these bombastic titles and since they are everywhere today, it is now most important that you create a blog title that reflects the content in your post to gain your readers’ trust.
If anything, it always better to under promise and over deliver in the content than over promising what you do not have. If you don’t know which direction to take between over-promising and accurate, always choose accurate.
- Make the Title Attractive
Yes, you need to be as accurate as possible, but this does not mean that your title should not pop. There are quite a number of ways to ensure that your title stands out and attracts attention.
- Make use of alliteration- There are many great phrases that you can sue on your blog title without misleading your readers. For example “wonderful clickable” attracts the attention of the reader. The words are lovelier to read and will have an impact on the reader.
- Strong words are important – There are words that will attract readers and give your title some strength. Words such as “brilliant” “exceptional”, “Kick-ass” and many others are great when used in moderation because some boldness is always appreciated.
- Make things clear – It is important to make things clear using the title. If the blog is an infographic, include this in the title in a bracket. You can also include things such as (Free download), (Templates) and any other thing that you think will increase the views of that particular post.
To the example above about the “10 secrets to creating content that will rank you #1 in an hour” you can easily change this to a much more believable and attractive title.
- 10 amazing secrets to a fast ranking on major search engines
- You think ranking high is a difficult task? These tips will change your mind
- 10 effective tips that will change the fate of your website on search engine result pages
The first title uses the word ‘amazing’ and ‘fast’; who wouldn’t want amazing tips that will get them up in the ranks fast. It is possible to provide tips that will rank your reader’s website high in the search engine result pages as opposed to promising a number one spot in just an hour.
- Try to Incorporate SEO in the Blog Title
The subtitle says ‘try’ because a lot of people end up with funny looking and sounding blog titles as a result of too much SEO. If you are in a position to optimize the blog title for search engines, that is good, but you should always value the clarity and the natural appearance of the title. Though your keywords are important, it is better to have a headline that gets multiple clicks and shares, which are great elements in better ranking by search engines.
If you decide to use keywords in your tiles, ensure that the title still reads natural and the keywords take the first words of the title. This will tell the reader what the content of the blog post is about when they look at the title.
- Be Brief
There is no specific answer to how long the blog title should be to be effective. The length basically depends on what you want to achieve with the title. Though this is the case, keep the title of the important details in the title below 65 characters to avoid the cut by search engines. It is a great idea to test out your titles to see what will work best and what your audience will be seeing.
A good practice it to try and keep the titles less than 70 character so that they are not cut in emails or search engines. It might be difficult but it is a great approach. If you think your blog title is too long, try shortening it by eliminating the extraneous words without making the title awkward. Read the titles out loud to ensure that they are digestible for your audience. The less mouthful your blog title can get, the better.
- Work with Someone Else
Now that you have completed the title, it is now the right time to bring another human being into the process. Title brainstorming is a crucial process because it gives you the perspective of other people. In everything, there is always room for improvement and chances are that the other person will further refine the blog title.
Though the greatest work is in creating brilliant or amazing content, there is great importance in creating a blog title that will attract readers to the blog post without creating any false perception that might lead to mistrust.
