One of the most important elements of a post is your title. Crafting the perfect article is one thing but it will do little good if no one ever reads it. A great blog title is what brings in the viewers. Your titles are important for a variety of reasons. It’s good for SEO, it draws the reader in, it says what your post is about, it works when people share on social media, it helps other bloggers link to you, and it can even affect how your posts show up in RSS feeds.
Here are some tips on how it’s done:
- Start with a working title – Don’t stress over the title so much in the beginning that you get hung up writing your blog post. Sometimes the direction of the post will even change as you’re writing it and a better title or more suitable title could come to you. So create a working title and then tweak it as you work on your post.
- Keep it accurate – It’s important both to SEO and also to your human readers that your blog title is accurate. It should be what the post is about. Sounds obvious, and yet it’s so often mistaken. If your blog title is “5 Ways to Bathe a Cat”, it should list five ways to bathe a cat. If your blog title is “How to Make the Cat Love Water” then you should very clearly explain in the post how to get your furry feline friend to enjoy the water. Most people don’t intentionally create inaccurate titles; they just get off track or they keep it too general. A broad title won’t really narrow down what your post is about.
- Short and sweet – Search results cut off your headline after 65 characters. Studies have shown that the perfect length for a title s around 6-8 words. People scan titles quickly and take in the first and the last three words so make them impactful and attention-grabbing.
- Include the reader – When possible, include the reader in your blog title. How is it relevant to them? Using interesting adjectives and show them why they should care about your post.
Statistics show that 8 out of 10 people will read your headline but only 2 out of 10 people will read the rest of your post. You can greatly increase the number of people who will read your post if you craft the perfect headline. You can use negative wording, which taps into the reader’s insecurities. Things like “Never Make these Mistakes Again” or “Stop Making this Mistake with Your Baby” are good examples.
Using numbers and lists in your blog titles is also a helpful technique. People are busy these days. When you put it in a numbered list, it says them time and it makes reading more efficient. People are much more likely to click on something they think is in a numbered order for them.
Now that you know these tips for crafting the perfect blog title, you’re all set. You can begin these techniques today. There is nothing you need to sign up for, nothing you need to buy, and no special requirements. So all that is left is to get started. In time, and with practice and intention, you will continue to improve your blog titles.