Copywriters preach the importance of great headlines, because your audience will only read your copy if they first click on the headline.
Yet, writing a great headline is tricky because:
1.) There isn’t a single way to write a headline. There are plenty of tips on writing headlines, like using power words, mentioning benefits, and adding intrigue. So which one should you choose?
2.) Using good tips on a fundamentally flawed headline (which I’ll discuss in more detail below) won’t boost clicks. You need to have a sound headline before you can optimize it for clicks.
Instead of just giving you generic tips to write a great headline, this post outlines a simple three step framework to create a great headline and then provides tips you can incorporate into your workflow so you feel confident that your final headline is stellar
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How To Write A Great Headline (3-Step Framework)
There are plenty of copywriting tips that are designed to help you create a more compelling headline, but applying these tips to a headline that ignores one of these three questions will still bomb. Therefore, ask yourself these three questions before generating any headline ideas.
Step 1: What Does The Content Deliver?
Once you decide that your content needs a better headline, your first reaction is probably to think of a way to make it as clickable as possible.
While you probably know that it’s best to avoid clickbait titles (i.e., titles that make false promises exclusively to earn clicks), it’s not uncommon for copywriters to create titles that don’t communicate what the content actually delivers.
For example, I wrote an article about someone’s experience as an Airbnb host. The article’s original title was “How This Superhost Makes $84,000 per Year On Airbnb.”
At first glance, that is a decent title. It’s certainly intriguing.
The only problem is that the article itself focused more on the host’s story of selecting and renovating her home. The last part of the article includes information on her revenue, but it’s not the article’s focus.
So, even though the title technically delivers information about her finances and revenue, it’s still a somewhat misleading title as revenue isn’t the article’s primary focus.
In addition, a revenue-focused title will attract a more entrepreneurial-minded reader interested in the economics of an Airbnb business, so they’ll likely leave your content as soon as the article focuses on the host’s renovation journey. These people also probably won’t read or watch your future content because they were disappointed with their first experience with your content.
Unfortunately, these negative user signals tell algorithms that your content is unsatisfactory, which can cause your future content to drop in the rankings.
Therefore, I changed the article’s title to “This Airbnb Superhost’s Renovation Journey: Was It Worth It?”
This title aligns much better with the information the content actually delivers. However, it will likely appeal to a smaller audience and attract fewer total clicks.
For this reason, I encourage you to brainstorm titles before writing the content to make sure that you can maximize traffic to your content.
Step 2: What Is The Goal Of Someone Consuming This Content?
The first step to writing compelling copy is understanding your audience avatar and then crafting your content to solve their pain points and help them achieve their goals. If your content isn’t helping them achieve their goals (assuming you’re creating educational content rather than entertainment content), then there isn’t really any incentive for them to consume it.
So after defining what value your content delivers in step one, the next step is to define the goal of a reader searching that topic.
For example, the goal of someone searching “how to write a headline” is likely increasing clicks to their content.
That’s why I decided to title this post “How to Write A Headline That Makes People Click.”
In step one, I determined that the content is about writing a great headline.
Then, I determined that the goal of someone searching for content on improving headlines is to increase clicks.
As a result, I landed on the title idea “How to Write A Headline That Makes People Click.”
I also want to mention that someone might have multiple goals for reading this content. For example, you might want to increase clicks, but you probably also have other goals like:
- Ranking higher in search engines
- Generating more brand awareness
- Spending less time writing headlines
- Feeling more confident that your headlines are good
However, you probably aren’t searching how to write a headline if your primary goal is ranking higher in search engines or increasing brand awareness.
In addition, you might want to spend less time writing headlines, but that’s probably not as critical to you as getting more clicks.
Therefore, always select the primary goal of a reader/viewer searching for your content.
Step 3: What Is The Element Of Intrigue?
Adding intrigue is often the first tip mentioned when discussing how to write a great headline, but it’s actually the least important.
This is because the ultimate headline hack is communicating to the viewer that your content is the solution to help them achieve their goal/solve their problem.
If you’ve already mastered steps one and two, your headline is already 85% of the way there.
And I always prioritize clarity over cleverness. If the headline doesn’t instantly communicate the value viewers will receive from your content, they won’t click.
Note: That isn’t to say that you can’t create a “curiosity gap” (e.g., “this is the strategy I used to double my clicks”). In this case, the curiosity gap is “the strategy” as readers want to know what “the strategy” is. Curiosity gaps tend to work better for YouTube videos or news style articles that don’t require a keyword. Nevertheless, the value the reader will receive is still clear – they’ll double their clicks.
After completing steps one and two, you can make your title more compelling by incorporating an element of intrigue.
Here are some of my favorite ways to make a headline more intriguing:
- Mention a benefit: Ask yourself what benefit the reader will receive by reading your article.
- Example: How To Write A Headline That Increases Clicks
- Mention a pain point: What problem is the audience currently facing that drove them to search for this in the first place?
- Example: Why Nobody Clicks Your Headlines (And The Solution)
- Answer an objection: If someone has already tried to solve the problem, why didn’t it work? Or if they’ve already searched this problem, why did the advice not work?
- Example: 7 Headline Tips That You Haven’t Tried Yet (The objection here might be that most people have already heard all the headline tricks in the book, but they still aren’t working).
- Provide proof: This works particularly well for case study posts.
- Example: The Headline Formula That 10xed My Channel In 30 Days
You’ll notice that I don’t include an element of intrigue in the headline for this blog post. This is because the title was too long (I’ll discuss title lengths later on), and clarity is more important than intrigue.
I would have loved to write a title like “How To Write A Headline That 10xes Your Clicks,” as that would have checked the “provide proof” box and would have been a more compelling title than the one I selected (“How To Write A Headline That Makes People Click”). However, this post isn’t actually a case study of 10xing clicks, so using a title like that would have broken the rule I laid out in step one – accurately setting content expectations.
Also, for SEO purposes, using a case study wouldn’t have made sense as someone searching “how to write a headline” wants a guide – not a case study.
Tips To Write Headlines That Get More Clicks
While the framework above will help you master the 80/20 of writing a great headline, there are a few other things to consider to improve your headlines.
1. Consider The Knowledge Level Required To Understand The Headline
I learned this strategy from Ed, the founder of Film Booth.
He asked this question in a recent email:
So why is that?
Ed eloquently explains later in the email that the first title is only interesting to people who know what VidIQ is and what a tag is.
On the other hand, the second title doesn’t require you to know anything—it appeals to anyone who feels the pain of not having enough video views.
Therefore, the more advanced concepts you introduce to your titles, the fewer people your title will attract.
That said, there are some scenarios where it does make sense to include more technical concepts in your title:
- You have a new website and are trying to rank for low-difficulty keywords: If you’re writing blog posts exclusively for SEO, it wouldn’t make sense to use a broad pain point in the title because the search difficulty will likely be far too high. Additionally, the search intent behind a keyword like “how to get more views” is a list post of multiple ideas – not just one title tip. As a result, if Ed turned that video covering this one title tip into a blog post, it probably wouldn’t rank for the keyword “how to get more views.” Yet the YouTube algorithm works differently, and this title clearly performed well in the browse and suggested content.
- You only want to attract an advanced audience: Including technical terms is a great filter to only attract advanced audiences.
However, if you’re writing social media content, new headlines, email headlines, or YouTube titles, using a broad pain point in your title and excluding any terms that require advanced or additional knowledge to understand will help you earn the most clicks.
2. Build A Swipe File
“Headline formulas” can be a trap because every audience and platform has its own nuance. So a headline formula that works for one platform and audience might not be as effective on another platform with a different audience. For example, a great YouTube title is very different from a great SEO title, and a title that would attract a college student will probably have a different feel than a title that would attract an investment banker.
Instead, the best way to improve your headlines is to build a swipe file of the top performing headlines for your audience on your platform.
For example, if I had a YouTube channel on architecture and design, I would look up the top architecture and design channels on YouTube, sort by “Popular,” and then create a swipe file of the top-performing videos on each channel (the videos with the most views obviously earned the most clicks, and the click is mainly attributed to the thumbnail and… title!).
You can also create a separate playlist for top performing videos in different industries.
For example, I could create a playlist of top performing videos across photography channels, fitness channels, cooking channels, and other unrelated topics.
It’s easy to see which headlines are most effective because YouTube publicly posts view counts.
However, if your primary platform is email marketing or even SEO, determining top performing titles can be a little trickier.
In that case, simply save the headlines that grab your attention.
You can create a swipe file using Google Sheets, or if you want to get fancy, you can use a tool like SwipeFile.com to save your favorite headlines.
Then, you can break these titles down into formulas that are proven to work in your industry and on your platform.
For example, you could take a title like “Is this the Best Modern House In California? (House Tour)” and turn it into a formula.
The formula here is:
- “Is This The (Top Subject) In (Location/Qualifier)? (House Tour)”
So I might brainstorm other titles like:
- Is This The Most Sustainable Garden Home In All Of Northern America? (House Tour)
- Is This The Best Log Cabin In Switzerland? (House Tour)
- Is This The Most Underrated Airbnb Property In Florida? (House Tour)
3. Test And Update Your Headlines
Testing copy and titles is common in paid advertising, but it’s rarely done in organic content marketing.
So before you post a piece of content, you can “pre-test” it by asking friends for feedback. You can either text it out to friends or drop it in a Slack or Discord group.
For example, Jon Youshai has a free Discord group that allows people to ask and provide feedback on members’ thumbnails and titles.
Once your content is published, you can continue to test different variations and see if it impacts its rankings and engagement.
If you find a particular headline formula or style that works well for one piece of content, test your other titles using a similar format.
4. Respect Platform Title Length Limits
It won’t matter how compelling your title is if it gets cut off and people can’t read it.
So look up the title length limits for your platform before you start brainstorming different title ideas.
Even after publishing your post, double check that the headline isn’t cut off.
For example, the title length limit for SEO is up to 70 characters, though Google often cuts them off shorter than that limit.
For example, the title “How To Get More Followers On Twitter (Avoid These Mistakes)” is only 59 characters and should show up fine in search results. Yet when I checked it in the SERPs, I saw that the title was cut off.
5. Write At Least 10 Variations of Your Headline
I used to only write two or three variations of my titles.
Then I took George Blackman’s scriptwriting course, and he recommends writing at least 15 titles. Being forced to think of more title ideas was probably the single best hack I’ve used to improve my headlines.
If you’re feeling stuck and can’t think of more headline ideas, here are a few of my go-to strategies to think of more ideas:
- Ask ChatGPT to create more variations.
I have a two-step process for using ChatGPT. Here’s the first prompt I use:
Then, I pick my favorite title, tell ChatGPT some common pain points/objections and ask it to rewrite the title based on them:
- Refer back to the swipe file of headlines/headline formulas you’ve collected.
- Run through these questions: You already did this with ChatGPT, but sometimes it can help to do it manually as well.
- What’s the pain point I’m helping them avoid?
- What’s the benefit they’ll receive from this content?
- What’s the objection they might have to reading my content (maybe why other advice didn’t effectively answer their question or didn’t work for them)?
As you’re brainstorming each headline idea, make the meaning behind each one different. For example “How To Write A Headline That Makes People Click” and “How To Write A Headline That Encourages Clicks” is more or less the same meaning.
On the other hand, “How To Write A Headline That Makes People Click” and “How To Write A Headline That 10xes Your Content ROI” communicate two different meanings.
6. Write Your Headline Before The Content
Many content creators preach that you should write the headline before the content, but I always ignored that advice.
Then, I learned the hard way why it’s so important.
When I wrote an article about an Airbnb host, I focused the entire article on her journey renovating her house. When it was time to write the title, I realized that a title that included the revenue number would be far more compelling.
By then, I couldn’t use the revenue number in the title because it wouldn’t accurately set the reader’s expectations for what the content covered, so I was forced to use a title that I knew would attract a smaller audience.
Therefore, brainstorm your title first, and only once you’ve identified the most compelling angle should you create the content.
7. Deliberately Decide If You Should Use Keywords
If your main goal is to rank a blog post in Google, you should definitely use a keyword in your title. This is important because it helps search engines understand what your content is about and helps searchers immediately identify that your content is the solution to their problem.
However, if you’re primarily posting content on YouTube or social media, you may not need to use keywords in your content.
If you publish primarily entertainment content or content designed specifically for your core audience, prioritizing intrigue over keywords may make more sense.
Here’s YouTube strategist Paddy Galloway’s take on keywords:
However, you’ll notice that he isn’t saying that keywords are “bad.” You just need to deliberately decide whether or not it makes sense to target keywords.
In general, if you’re publishing primarily educational and tutorial-based content, it often makes sense to include keywords so that people can quickly identify that your content answers their questions.
Additionally, if you offer a specific product or service and are using educational content to help new customers discover your solutions, it often makes sense to target keywords so that new people can find your brand.
Get More Help Writing Your Headlines
The guidelines in this article are the 80/20 of great headlines.
However, if you want to master the art of writing great headlines (and general copywriting), the key is to practice as much as possible and get feedback from peers and mentors.
Finding peers and mentors can be difficult, so we created the Copyblogger Academy. Inside the Academy, you’ll have access to a network of peers, many of whom are quite advanced and willing to help those just getting started.
You can also get direct feedback from Tim Stoddart, a copywriter who owns multiple seven-figure businesses built on copywriting, and Charles Miller, a personal branding expert who has helped many entrepreneurs turn their words into seven figures. You’ll also have access to eight courses on various topics, including copywriting, content marketing, personal branding, and other fundamental skills you can use to turn your words into dollars. You can sign up for the Copyblogger Academy today, and if you aren’t 100% satisfied, we’ll give you a full refund in your first 30 days.
Reader Comments (278)
Michael Martine says
There’s an SEO/AdSense component to this, too, because your post title becomes the single page title, and titles are of the utmost importance in search. They’re important for AdSense, too, but AdSense also pays attention to your meta tags.
Jeff Goins says
Interesting, Michael. I never thought of that aspect to this, but it makes perfect sense.
Esoos Bobnar says
Great advice; you can never underestimate the importance of a good headline.
It’s unfortunate that headlines that work best for direct marketing or link baiting often are not the ones that work best for search engines. With search, you generally want to target a keyphrase, then have it appear early in your headline, phrased exactly as you would expect someone to search for it. Tends not to create the catchiest headlines.
Just another case of SEO running headlong into good copy. It can be a bit of a balancing act to get them to work together, but (especially when blogging) it’s generally best to go with the title that will bring you the most readers and links, and perhaps sacrifice that keyword-optimized title.
Yayson Potter | Build Internet Business says
This is completely true. It’s odd that Google is trying to determine good content with a headline and then look for a keyword or phrase when this can be very difficult to get in a title that would actually attract a reader. But I guess as time goes on Google’s search engine will get better and the two will mesh more.
Brian says
The funny thing is, I get lots of search traffic to this very post, because people search for “how to write headlines,” and a nice bunch of links have me high in Google for that phrase.
Often things just work out if you write for people first.
John Dilbeck says
Brian,
I’m enjoying this Copywriting 101 series.
The advice you’re giving about headlines reminds me of what I read years ago. Unfortunately, much of it has leached out of my tired old brain in the meantime.
I look forward to following this series and learning some new skills.
All the best,
JD
anirban says
[…] How To Write Headlines That Work […]
Roshawn says
This is awesome stuff. I forget how I found your site, but I’m sure glad I did.
I never knew that headlines meant so much. Definitely a great resource for a newbie blogger like me. 🙂
Congrats and keep up the good work!!
Petit says
This is really good stuff, thanks!
I believe I found another catchy category of headline:
The offensive or strange statement.
I remember how I jumped at the headline:
“HTML Considered Harmful”. I was really curious and a bit offended by this statement, and immediately read the article.
The original seems to be a statement about programming “Goto Considered Harmful” by Edsger W Dijkstra.
Custom Web Design says
I am searching for 2 hours now and this is the best resource I found about headlines.
Great Website 🙂
Michael says
I just found your blog, I really like it (and I’ve subscribed to the RSS feed). The reference to Seth Godin (whom I follow almost religiously) was awesome!
Paul says
great tips!
Krista Johnson says
Brian-
I thoroughly enjoyed you installment of 10 blogs for Copywriting 101. You provide a lot of great content as well as another opinion for my readers to gain knowledge from. Thanks again!!
The Opinionated Blogger says
Great post. I have really had a hard time drawing in readers and I am going to try titling my posts more adequately to grab some fresh readers.
Justin says
Really nice and very useful I will be back.
Jason says
I keep meaning to get that book… =)
John Carlton says something like, “The best headlines are the ones where the skinny guy wins a fight over the big guy, the one legged golfer can drive a ball further than a two-legged golfer, the dork gets the girl.” I found that to be insightful…
I also liked your last post about speaking simply and clearly. I think it’s something we need to do more often. Eugene Schwartz calls it “Speaking to the chimpanzee brain.”
Minh Hieu says
Great site! It’s much helpful to me. Thanks!
Affiliate Marketing Guide says
Thanks for the excellent post!
I have always been a fan of the How To & 7 Reasons Why headlines. Those are my personal favorites.
Cheers!
Internet Marketer says
What a great post! Headlines are the key to everything pretty much, getting and grabbing the readers attention. Headlines are very important as well when coming down to Google Adwords and creating the customers interest to click and read more.
Definitely a great blog on copywriting. Will definitely stop by again and let people know where to get some great advice on it and how to write effective headlines.
Great work!
Sincerely,
Jamie Boyle
Internet Marketer
CopywritingGuy says
Excellent points from Bob Bly about the 8 categories of headlines. The Copywriter’s Handbook is one of those classics I consult all the time.
I agree totally with your point about the importance of headlines. Victor Schwab put it like this in “How to Write a Good Advertisement” (published in 1962):
“The headline of an advertisement is like a flag being held up by a flagman alongside a railroad track. He is using it to try to get the immediate attention of the engineer of an approaching train–so that he can give him some kind of message. In the case of advertising, on that flag is printed the headline of an advertisement.”
-John
Hillel says
The headline is like the gate keeper
Mike says
I just wanted to say thanks for all of your excellent advice. I actually took the advice in this post and used it for a few projects. I can say my titles received a huge amount of traffic in internet forums. HUGE – which in return I got more sales.
I am by far no expert but there are many lessons to learn here.
Thanks again.
Undiagnosed says
A catchy heading will always win ! great article with some excellent tips thankyou.
la lng says
how should that help me win a headline making contest?…… -_-
Sandy Rivers says
Hot tips! Being creative can be easy as using a Thesaurus.
Evan says
You forgot teaser headlines!
That’s what I was looking for.
APOShopper says
These tips are absolutely timeless. The guy I bought the book from bought it a long time ago. I think it’s absolutely amazing how helpful it was when I read it and I think that you hit the nail on the head with this post.
Freedrinx says
Headlines hurt my head, but you make it seem so much easier. I’m definately going to put these tips to work. Thanks.
Kimroddy says
Going through the headlines is always increase traffic but in my view its good to updating the contents and post in regural interval, thanks any way for the info
S.K Sharma says
Headlines can catch the reader into its well(Content)
Daniel Johnston says
Definitely the headline is one of, if not the most, important aspect of your blog posts. I’ve written about that, but I’ll just say it again here that the title is key, because that’s what people see first.
With all the blogs out there now, if you have headlines that don’t interest people or catch their attention, chances are good that you’re not going to do very well.
Your tips definitely help a lot, it all depends on your content and your personality which title you choose. Thanks!
Kesar says
I read your blogs on a daily basis and it helps with all the ads I write thanks! Keep up the good work.
Cindy Kim says
This type of information is invaluable as more marketers understand the new role of content. I recently wrote my blog on How Bad Headlines Can Kill Good Content and found a great deal of inspiration from your blog. I think headline is equally important as the content that you’re trying to market to your audience. Without a great headline to capture the audience, there is a great chance that readers can bypass reading the entire material. This is true for blogs, whitepapers, ebooks, newsletters, podcasts, webcasts, etc. Marketers are in the business of publishing content and without the support of a good headline, you can kiss that content goodbye.
Bani Online says
Another effective technique is called the Reason Why Headline. Your body text consists of a numbered list of product features or tips, which you then incorporate into the headline, such as Two Hundred Reasons Why Open Source Software Beats Microsoft. It’s not even necessary to include the words “reasons why.” This technique is actually the underlying strategy behind the ubiquitous blogger “list” posts. I like this!
Mark A. Griffin says
All great ideas. I am bookmarking this page, surely I will get writers block. I like using the “Reason Why Headline”, it draws the reader in nicely by giving them a reason to read the list, and I also like the “Question Headline” example: Do You Close the Bathroom Door Even When You’re the Only One Home? That catches people as well. I think the hardest aspect for me is to shift from corporate writing style to blog writing style, although I realize writing in blog style actually is more natural than the way we are trained to write in the corporate world as presented by our universities.
shannon says
you have taught me a great deal about copywriting, i have tried several headlines for my gym marketing. the best one i have found yet is one that tells everything we are and makes them curious enough to go to my website or come into the gym, it is “24 hour fully automated gym with FREE 24 hour automated Tanning included with every membership at Temple Gym”,
I also have great success with funny headlines for my gym, like “do you look like you shoved 20 lbs. apples into a 3lb. bag?” or “when you get onto the weight scale, does it say please one at a time?”
My wife says i may offend someone, but no one has come forward yet, EXCEPT to sign up!
I even started teaching my own gym marketing copywriting how to at my website at fitnessmarketing.tv thanks to you getting me interested in copywriting. thanks.
Link Building says
I really like the Reason Why Headline. It’s always made sense to me to start any pitch, email or blog posts(if applicable) like that. Somehow, it’s easier to just write down the features and justifications than it is to do a classic sales pitch.
Great one!
Cheers,
Joe
Flipping Websites says
Great tips on writing a headline. I’m trying to come up with a few headlines for a banner on my site to recruit guest post bloggers so I found this site searching for headline ideas.
All of these headlines sound great so how does a guy know which one to use??? I wish there was a resource that explained when and why you would use a certain type of headline.
Travis
Northwest Indiana Website Design says
I think its a great part of your series. Coming up with headlines can always be a challenge, and breaking it down like you did is incredibly helpful. Thanks!
Matthew Loop says
Good post, Brian… You could have the best email content in the world, but if no one opens the email, it doesn’t matter. Same holds true for a blog post people find on Google search.
Using these headline insights is guaranteed to give you higher open rates 😉
Rabbi Issamar Ginzberg says
Really enjoyed this article… although I’d advise people shy away from question style headlines, because if the answer might be “no” to the question in the headline, you would be elimination a substantial portion of the prospects visiting your sales page.
When the question-headline is “Would an additional $347,822 in passive income make a difference in your life?” then at least it’s a fair assumption that most people, no matter how wealthy, would answer yes. but in many cases question headlines are killers…..
Indianapolis SEO says
Thanks for the excellent post!
I have always been a fan of the How To & 7 Reasons Why headlines. Those are my personal favorites.
Cheers!
Timber Shelton says
Thanks so much for the great tips! Still, if I see one more “Want to Get Rich Quick?” headline, I will barf.
Juliette says
If there is one blog I love reading every day, it’s this one.
Thanks a million for your inspiring articles.
Luca says
Thanks, Brian!!!
This article is great resource for a newbie blogger like me.
Your blog is my inspiration.
Peavy says
Brian,
Thanks for all of the positive advise you provide to me and other Bloggers, it really pays to listen and learn!
Gerald from Gold-Goldbarren.com says
Actually i use usually the direct headline and the “how to” headline. You post makes me think also about using the other techniques more often. I think it always depends on the topic of blog or website you have what headlines i use.
Mark says
I’m so happy I found copy blogger. I first found about CB from Pat Flynn on his smart passive income site. I started listening to the podcasts because my day was so hectic I didn’t always have time to read the posts. It’s addictive because every time I listened or read an article I found new things to help me write. Thanks!
Alastair says
Brian,
As a journalist I’ve always found writing feature article headlines fairly easy but for some reason scoring the “right” headline that grabs the targeted audience while copywriting has presented a challenge. Many thanks for your insight. Very helpful. I’ll be checking out David Ogilvy’s book too.
Brian M Connole says
I have built a fairly successful blog by following the techniques laid out here on this site. In fact, 80% of my income comes from my blog. The best part about it all … it doesn’t cost a thing. The information you’ll find on this site is just as good, if not better, than anything you’ll find in a those make money online ebooks.
Thanks Copyblogger –
Brian Connole
HCG Diet 411
Abdul Cholik says
I agree with you that the headline is very important to attract visitor to read the article. There are many tips to write a good headline.e.g headline should be consist of keyword and also begin with that keyword. Is that right ?
Thank you
Rowena says
I totally laughed when i read the bit about angelina jolie 😉
Martin Malden says
Hi Brian,
I just finished the Magnetic Headlines webinar with Jeff Sexton (I just bought Premise 2.0) and have a question:
Is there a problem if you make your META title different from your actual post title?
Using those fascination and relevance triggers won’t always work well as META titles, so I’m thinking about making my META titles SEO friendly and my post titles human friendly – would that cause any problems?
Thanks!
Martin.
Sonia Simone says
Martin, that’s what we do. Just remember that the title information is also visible to users, so don’t make it incomprehensible for human readers. But as a rule of thumb, the title tag is for the search engine bots and the headline is for humans.
Martin Malden says
That’s great, Sonia, Many thanks!
Mark Simchock says
Actually, Sonia that’s not quite 100% accurate.
If the concern is SEO then there should be relevance and consistency between article title (most likely wrapped in tags), meta title, URL, image file names for the article, and then keywords in the article.
Can display title / headline and meta title not match? Yes, that’s doable. However, they should still be close, at least in terms of keywords. Also keep in mind that (for example) WordPress will take the display title / headline and automatically create the post’s URL “slug”. You can change the slug, provided you don’t forget.
Mark Simchock says
I think it’s worth mentioning that no matter what you write, the content should live up to the promise (read: expectation created) of the headline. You’re only doing your readers and your brand a disservice if the info-consumer finishs your article and believes they didn’t get what they expected.
For example, “How to Write Headlines That Work.” With all due respect, this article/post isn’t as much about how but about what. Perhaps it’s just me but there’s more words devoted to defining the various types of headlines than there are devoted to the promise. That is, how to.
Sonia Simone says
We 100% agree with your first paragraph.
We’ve tried hard to keep this resource incredibly useful and to, in fact, keep the promise of our own headline. Sorry this one didn’t work for you.
Mark Simchock says
Thanks Sonia. Understood.
None the less, it’s still true that the article is 25% How to and 75% definitions. Regardless of intent and/or wishful thinking the headline of this page stands to be much more accurate.
Sanna says
Hi,
Copyblogger is such an amazing place for amazing content!!! I forget to go here. Everytime I´m in here I think to myself “this is all you need”………and then I get overwhelmed by other things and forget………
I get stuck in the headlines often. How do I write a good headline that also is SEO optimized? I always feel limited by my wanting to write freely, but need to think strategically as well……….My restraint!
Thanks again for inspiration!
Swedish greetings,
Sanna
Trung Nguyen says
Thanks for great guide on write headlines that works, it’s really useful for me on blogging journey.
Mako says
In my opinion, even two word headlines may take attention of readers if they are interested on topic. I always try to use headlines less that 40 characters and so far it works.
Sachin says
Thanks for the detailed guide as content marketing strategies emerge every day, it becomes difficult to focus on what works and what does not for a blog. Thanks a lot!
Christopher Sheridan says
Fantastic article, Brian! This info is going to be super helpful for our marketing newsletter and for our blog. Thank you!
Alison Ver Halen says
Thanks for the great tips! I’m always a fan of the “How to” headlines, as well as the “What is/are” headlines. I’ve even been known to combine them.
Beatious says
Wow! Congrats! I like your article. It brings out something extremely valuable. I have learnt a lot from this article. Thank you for being a solution to my problem!
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