With great chefs, there is always that secret ingredient that turns their dish into a masterpiece. The same goes in the world of blogging. A title is an essential ingredient that will help you drive more traffic to your WordPress site. It is one thing to come up with fantastic content, but it’s another thing to have it read and appreciated by your target audience.
When it comes to titles, people do judge a book by its cover. It is what represents your content in search engines. You have to nail the title for users to click on your post.
We’ve listed five tricks that will enable you to write eye-catching post titles to entice your audience:
Make the Most of Numbers
Have you observed that a lot of blog titles tend to begin with numbers? We bet you have! The reason why numbers get used is that they have a high tendency to lure people to click. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that numbers are a lot faster to read and understand, making a headline interesting.
Regardless of whether you add numbers by way of prefix or suffix, your title will become impactful and capture the reader’s attention immediately.
Siege Media reported a 20 percent increase in CTR for blog titles which include numbers. You can do a quick experiment the next time you visit your grocery store. In the checkout lane, scan some of the magazines that are there. The article headlines on the front page of any magazine will use numbers to start the headline.
Take a look at the examples below:
- “Dogs are Wonderful Companions”
- “19 Remarkable Reasons Why Dogs Make Wonderful Companions”
In the first example, we can all agree that it comes off as pretty dull and not that engaging. In the second example, it optimizes and transforms the title of the blog making it more engaging.
You can go an extra mile by adding fractions and percentages which help to convey essential data.
Keep It Short and Sweet
Sadly, there often are times where a blog title can get lost under a pile of hundreds of other titles because it’s too long, hence failing to engage the reader. To cut through the hundreds of other titles, make it a point to ensure that yours is short, distinct, and attractive, making it search engine friendly.
To avoid your title getting cut off in search engine results, try and keep it under 60 characters. If your headline is longer than the 60 characters, then readers will not be able to read the entire title which is, in fact, a turn off to many.
When the title is short, it will guarantee that your post ranks well in search results.
Also, readers are often skimming search engine results, and your purpose should be to grab their attention fast with your precise and powerful words.
Stay Accurate and Specific
You know you have a great title when it accurately lets the reader know what the content contained in the post entails. Some readers search for specific information and would only click on an article with a title that accurately addresses the particular information they are looking for.
You should be able to meet the clear expectations of your readers. Always bear in mind that the title you come up with should in every sense respect the experience of your readers. It is the only way you will gain their trust. If you’ve set high expectations, follow it up with content that meets the title.
Give clear examples that support your facts, in other words, avoid crappy click bait headlines. They can work for a minute or two, but they never work as a long-term strategy.
An example of an accurate and specific title would be:
“9 Trends That Drive the Future of Marketing”
That title would sell best as opposed to being vague as the example below:
“What Your Business Needs To Know”
Ask Questions
According to Income Diary, readers are likely to generate a response once they read an article that has posed a question. It is crucial for you to know who your target reader is so that the question you ask would be relevant and resonate with them.
Using questions as titles is an effective way to hook your readers while generating their interest. If you are covering a topic on the best business apps, a perfect example of the title would be:
“Have You Downloaded These Useful Business Apps Yet?”
Go for literal questions as they are more successful instead of rhetorical ones. You can prove this yourself if your article succinctly answers those questions. Most readers have lots of questions and look for quick ways to get their answers. From your question, a reader already has an idea what the article would cover.
Add a Sense of Urgency
Want to grab the reader’s attention, right? Well adding a sense of urgency to your title is a great start. Nobody wants to feel like they are left out on valuable information on an article.
Such a title would be:
“Are You Making These Costly Financial Mistakes?”
When a reader sees such a headline, it is only natural for them to stop and ask themselves, “Uh oh, am I making terrible financial mistakes?” And they will end up reading the article. But like previously pointed out, your content must be of high quality and match the title to meet the reader’s expectations.
Conclusion
Understanding and respecting the importance of the title is the first step of coming up with a great one. It’s the first thing a reader will see and have a clue on what your post is about.
Some writers would use headline generators, but the truth is your title should not come off as too generated. Sometimes you also have to consider the use of keywords but remember to include a sense of your personality on your site and those of your target audience. The success of your WordPress site has a lot to do with the titles that you will create. Thankfully with the above 5 tricks, your headline will jump out and grab the attention it deserves.
Have any of the above tips ever worked on your WordPress site? Feel free to share with us your personal experiences in the comments section below.
Charles Ebert
Charles is a career mentor, content coordinator for www.edubirdies.org, motivational speaker & human resources consultant with over 10 years of experience in HR sector. Apart from career mentoring, he loves photography and football. Find him on Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook & Google+.
The post 5 Tricks to Write Eye-Catching Titles That Make Your WordPress Site Viral appeared first on Torque.
