How To Write Attention-Grabbing Headlines That Convert

Did you know that a title determines up to 80% of the visits that a website receives?

A well-written title can make a big difference between search results. It is the first step that allows you to attract the user’s attention and give visibility to the content you have created with so much effort.

The title is intended as an element of an email, a landing page or an article. No matter what the context, it is essential to find something interesting that makes the user think:

“This is exactly what I need and what I was looking for. I have to absolutely read it.”

Whatever type of content you have, a powerful and eye-catching headline should go with it, but first you need to determine what type of headline you’re going to use.

The Two Types Of Titles: SEO Titles And Clickbait Titles

The Two Types Of Titles: SEO Titles And Clickbait Titles

When you have a blog or a website, you basically have two types of headlines:

SEO Titles

SEO titles are written for search engines and for that they usually include keywords related to the search intentions of the target audience.

In fact, these keywords make it easier for search engine algorithms to grasp headlines. And since the latter seem more relevant, they have an advantage in the search engine rankings.

But the problem is, if your title is stuffed with keywords, it might come across as mechanical or robotic. Although such a title may rank well in the SERPs, it may not attract readers since they will not be able to read it naturally.

Clickbait Titles

Clickbait titles, on the other hand, are meant to entice the reader by giving an interesting statistic or shocking revelation.

In reality, it is its ability to arouse emotions that allow it to receive a lot of clicks from readers. In addition, these titles are more conducive to sharing since they provoke strong emotions and reactions from readers.

But while these titles often work well, sometimes they don’t get much popularity as they are sometimes manipulative and very sensational.

NOTE: It is also important to note that if this kind of title is misused, the image of your brand can be seriously damaged.

SEO Titles Vs Clickbait Titles

As for the question of which of the two performs the most, the opinions of marketers are quite different. The good news is that a deep analysis reveals that you don’t have to make a choice between either of these titles.

In fact, it is possible to satisfy both search engine algorithms and Internet users. To do this, you just have to mix it up to have a good “SEO clickbait title” and here is the best way to go.

Steps To Follow Before Creating Captivating Titles

Steps To Follow Before Creating Captivating Titles

Writing great SEO clickbait titles isn’t as difficult as you might think, as long as you put yourself in the reader’s shoes. Once you know what your target audience is looking for, you’ll present your topic in a way that will capture their attention and interest them.

Step 1: Know what you’re writing about and who you’re writing for

The catchiest headline in the world won’t do you any good if you don’t understand your topic or know your target audience well. This first step is the basis for all the other steps:

Step 2: Determine Your Topic Keyword

The second step in writing a catchy title is to determine the main keyword for your topic. Once you master your audience, you know what kind of words or phrases are going to be particularly effective.

Step 3: Determine the Benefits Your Content Offers

Before you sit down to start creating headlines, think about the benefits your article or product offers to the readers. Ask yourself questions such as:

Keep in mind that whatever benefit you give to your readers, make sure your content actually delivers on that promise.

Step 4: Choose an approach for the title

Almost every copywriter has their own approach, but here are some of the common approaches that can help you get more readers:

1. Sensationalism

As in journalism, this type of headline aims to produce a strong impression of surprise, admiration or interest, which tends to quickly pique the curiosity of readers.

2. Controversy

Taking a stand on an important issue or expressing your opinion can be very effective in attracting readers and increasing click-through rates.

However, the use of controversy bothers some people. Avoid subjects related to religion or politics. They are extremely sensitive topics and you don’t want to get a bad reputation and offend people.

3. Problem solving

People read your content and buy your products because they want to solve their problems, improve their performance, or take advantage of certain opportunities.

Make sure you state in your headline that you are offering a solution to their problems.

4. Use of formulas

Proven formulas make it easy to create titles. Instead of going all out on your own creating your headlines, you can use effective formulas to grab attention and encourage clicks. When you run out of inspiration, headline formulas are secret weapons you can use.

Step 5: Write several titles

Don’t stop at just 1 or 2 titles for your content. Write as many as possible: Before, during and even after creating your content. Try different formulas, words and phrases.

Writing more titles takes time, but it also allows you to be more creative and choose the best title you can find.

Characteristics Of A Powerful And Eye-Catching Headline

Characteristics Of A Powerful And Eye-Catching Headline

The main purpose of the title is to get the readers to click on your article to read the content. The goal is to offer catchy titles and sub-titles that arouse interest in reading and push them to read the rest of your content in more detail.

1. Make your titles unique

Having unique titles simply means that they are different from others or one of a kind. The big question is how to stay different. The easiest way is to type your title on Google and surround the title with double quotes.

In Google search returns with “no matches found” it means that the phrase is unique and has not yet been used as a title.

The idea is to simply write a headline that no one else has written yet.

2. Write ultra-specific titles

The second rule for your headline to grab attention is to be ultra-specific. Headlines that are ultra-specific give the readers an idea of ​​what to expect when they click to read the content. So, be specific and get straight to the point to avoid confusing your readers with fuzzy headlines.

The key to being ultra-specific is knowing your audience and writing headlines that will meet their needs.

For example, if your keyword is “chocolate”, you can have the following variants:

3. Convey a sense of urgency

It’s about creating a fear of losing out on an incredible deal in the mind of the readers. Without this sense of urgency, readers may postpone reading your content for another time with the risk of never coming back to it again. The idea here is to get your audience to click on your title “now”.

When you use urgency, people aren’t going to ignore your headline because they’re not going to want to miss what’s on the other side of the headline. And the only way for them to find out is to click and read your article.

For example, if you are a public speaker and want to help other people become better speakers, you can try the following variations:

4. Make your title useful

To make your headline grab attention, you need to make it “useful” to readers. If the title seems irrelevant to the reader, no matter how unique, specific, or urgent it is, it will not be clicked on.

The term “useful” can mean several things:

The main thing is to help readers solve their problems with your content.

5. Choose an ideal length

Between a title consisting of sixty words and another of ten words, which one will you choose? The second title seems more concise and will have every chance of being more successful.

In fact, a long headline can seem boring or give the impression that you don’t know what you’re writing about. Be concise and to the point.

In addition, Google tends to truncate titles when they are long. A title that is too short, on the other hand, may seem too generic and will not make readers want to click. So, what is the ideal length for a title?

To answer this question, Buzzsumo carried out a study of 100 million article titles and noticed that titles with 15 words or between 80 to 90 characters generate much more engagement, especially on Facebook.

6. Write headlines that are simple and easy to understand

Make sure that the reader does not have to re-read the meta description before they understand what you are talking about in your content. Remember, the point of the headline is to get readers to click.

Do not use words or phrases that are not common since they tend to confuse readers. Unless you are running an educational blog, it is best not to use overly technical or complex terms, and to make your content understandable to as many people as possible.

For example:

Instead of: 12 meticulous savings tips for a finance lover
Use: 12 Effective Tips to Make More Money by Saving

Instead of: How to annihilate inflammation of the skin due to adverse weather conditions
Use: How to Get Rid of Acne, as well as other bothersome skin infections

The Essential Elements For Viral Titles

The Essential Elements For Viral Titles

According to a study by Buzzsumo, the typical structure of a viral title contains three or more of the following:

In addition to the characteristics, you now know which structure to adopt to make your titles captivating.

9 Proven Tips For Creating Rock-Solid Headlines

9 Proven Tips For Creating Rock-Solid Headlines

Let’s go a step further with tips that will allow you to write powerful headlines that will generate clicks and qualified leads for your business.

Tip 1: State the unique reason why your content should be read

The “reasons” can come in many forms. These include, among others:

For example:

Tip 2: Ask a question

Writing a title as a question has a psychological effect on the readers’ minds. The inherent lack of completeness of the questions arouses tension and interest among readers compelling them to click.

It can also improve SERP ranking because the natural language of a complete question helps Google understand the usefulness of the article.

For example:

Tip 3: Include numbers in your title

Using specific numbers or data in your headline is a great way to make it catchier. In this regard, studies have been carried out and have revealed that headlines containing numbers generate 73% more shares and engagement on social networks.

For example:

Tip 4: Use parentheses or square brackets

Using parentheses in your headlines is a very interesting approach that has even been adopted by some very popular editors around the world.

Hubspot and Outbrain conducted a study on more than 3 million links and the finding is that titles with parentheses are 38% more efficient than those without.

These two symbols have a rather attractive visual variety and allow you to:

Tip 5: Use colons or hyphens    

The same study from Hubspot and Outbrain indicates that using a colon or hyphen can increase your headline click-through rate by 9%. Like parentheses and square brackets, these two symbols also add a visual effect that makes your titles attractive.

The simplest structure for using colons, or hyphens, is to place your keyword at the start of your title and add a compelling phrase after the symbols.

For example:

Tip 6: Test negative headlines

Studies have found that negative superlatives like “never” or “worse” get 63% more clicks than positive superlatives like “always” or “better”.

The reason for this preference for negative words is because positive words have been overused and sometimes lead to broken promises. In addition, these superlatives easily arouse fear in readers who will tend to click for information.

You can, therefore, consider writing negative versions of your titles to have their performance tested.

For example:

Tip 7: Take inspiration from the competition

One of the top tips for finding great titles is researching your competition. To do this, check if they have written content on the same or a similar topic before. If they have already done so, then you can look at the headlines of the most successful articles.

In fact, researching your competition will also give you an idea of ​​which titles are ranking highest on Google. Looking at these titles will give you a better idea of ​​how to create your own. After all, your goal should be to stand out.

Tip 8: Use catchy adjectives

Using adjectives in your titles is a very effective practice. These words allow you to add additional information to another term and when put in the right place they can have a very powerful effect.

Goinswriter has counted a few adjectives which have the quality of playing on the emotions of readers. They are:

For example:

Tip 9: Use Power Words

You already understood it, all words are not equal. While some words have the power to spur action or change, others only reaffirm the status quo.

As proof, certain words can easily annoy some people, but others can provoke laughter. These kinds of words are referred to as Power words and here are a few that will help encourage your readers to take action:

Using powers words in your content can increase your conversion rate by 12.7%, which is definitely not to be overlooked.

For example:

Final Thoughts

Currently, the amount of content published daily on the web is simply colossal. This amount is only increasing day by day and internet users are constantly inundated with a ton of information.

Therefore, you have no choice but to think of the best way to capture their attention and one of the main options you have is to create compelling headlines.

To make things easier, you can also use online tools for creating and optimizing titles. The tools that have the reputation of being the best include – Hemingway, HubSpot Blog Topic Builder, CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer, IsItWP Headline Analyzer, Sharethrough, Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer, SEOPressor’s Blog Title Generator, Linkbait Title Generator and BuzzSumo.

Vaibhav Lall

With more than 12 years of experience in digital marketing and consulting, Vaibhav is passionate about helping businesses grow through the strategic use of digital marketing best practices. When he's not busy advising startups, Vaibhav takes delight in listening to Jazz or John Mayer and Coldplay songs. He is also an avid proponent of the practice of mindfulness and starts his day with a calming meditation session. In his free time, Vaibhav can be found in quite corner, reading a Simon Sinek or Ben Horowitz book.