Wednesday 23 January 2013

Tips and Tricks for Writing Excellent Blog Headlines



According to certain statistics, it is said that as many as 5 times people read your headlines, as compared to your content or anything else on your page!

But even if the authenticity of that claim is arguable, it is still a well-known and a well-established fact that perhaps the first thing a potential visitor looks at, when he or she stumbles upon an article, a post or a page on your website or blog, or finds your website on Google, is your headline.

Another stat also speak about the average time it takes for a first-time visitor to decide whether or not to stay on your website, or close the page/go back to the search results – which is said to be not more than a few seconds.

All of which essentially boils down to this: your headline is THE most important thing to your website/blog, and it is what will ultimately convince potential readers, customers or clients to click on your link, stay on your website and buy from you.

Your headline will determine whether a visitor comes to your website or not.

Here are some tips and tricks for writing excellent blog headlines for your blog:

1. Your headlines should be to-the-point and precise. They should immediately tell a potential visitor what your article is about, and should accurately reflect upon the content, the subject-matter and everything about the article itself. It should not undersell or oversell the article, or inaccurately describe the contents of the article.

2. Headlines should be short. Stating the obvious here, but headlines need to be short – ideally not longer than 60 characters. Think of writing headlines as writing a Twitter Tweet: keep it short, and precise, so that readers quickly get an idea of what the article is all about, and are not forced to read through a whole paragraph of text in order to know what the article’s about.

3. Headlines should work on attracting potential readers to your blog. Headlines should immediately grab the attention of a reader, and should actually make him/her want to click the link and read your post/go on your blog. There are tons of articles on the internet on writing attractive headlines, as a quick Google Search will reveal.  

4. Try writing headlines as one of the last things that you do, before hitting the publish button. Write headlines after you’re done with writing the article. Often times, it makes it easier to write short, precise and accurate headlines after you’re done with the writing part!

5. Numbered headlines are known to be much more attractive, and grab the reader’s attention immediately. For instance a post such as ‘5 Ways to Get More Traffic on Your Blog Instantly’ communicates the benefit of the post to the reader immediately, and tells him or her the benefit that they will get by clicking the link or going into the post.

6. Look at how some of the other people in your niche craft their headlines. Don’t blatantly copy their headlines or their styles, but try getting an idea of how they do it, and see how you can apply some of those best practices with headlines on your own blog.

7. Be direct and straightforward with your headlines; don’t beat around the bush. Headlines should not be obscure, unclear, vague, or ambiguous. They should be direct and straightforward – ‘right in your face’ – so that your points comes across as effectively as possible.

8. Be sure to include your keywords in any and all headlines that you write. This means adding a single relevant keyword in your headline, which is relevant to the article or the page, as well as relevant to the blog. Doing so allows search engines to properly index your article, and provides human readers a clue on what the article is really about.

What are some of your tips for writing effective headlines for blogs and websites? How do you craft titles and headlines for your blog? What are some of the best practices for writing blog headlines? Leave me your comments in the comments section below!

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