What do you believe is the most important thing to get right to attract new visitors to your blog or website?
I expect many of you will have given ‘content’ as your answer.
But guess what? Content isn’t always king.
There’s something that just about every visitor will read first before deciding whether to read a blog post.
Why top-notch blog post titles matter…
“On average, 5x as many people read the title as read the body copy. When you’ve written your headline, you’ve spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”
David Ogilvy
Yes, it’s all about your blog post titles. Give your blog posts amazing titles, and you will see lots more new visitors flocking to read your posts or visiting your website.
Why Blog Posts Titles Are Like The Titles Of Books and Movies
I look at blog post titles like I do the title of a book or movie. If they entice me, I’ll start reading the book or watching the film.
Blog posts titles are as important as the content of blog posts. Get both right, and you’re on to a winner.
If your blog post title isn’t enticing, how many visitors looking at it move on without stopping by to check out your post?
I do it all the time. I look at a blog post title and move on quickly if it does not entice me to click on the ‘read more’ link.
Okay, I could be missing out on reading some great content, but ask yourself how many more visitors to your blog or website are like me and move on quickly?
Tip – When creating titles for your blog posts, ask yourself what title would make you want to click on the ‘read more’ link.
How To Make Your Blog Posts Titles More Enticing
Certain words in blog post titles entice readers to want to find out more. Here are a few –
- How
- How to
- When
- Have
- Have you
- Don’t
- Did
- Do you
- This
- This is
- Who
- Why
- What
- Where
Other things you can use in your blog post titles to entice readers
Numbers
Yes, numbers work just as well as certain words do. For example, which of these two blog post titles do you think have more of an impact?
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According to blogging guru Janice Wald of MostlyBlogging.com, odd numbers do better than even numbers in blog post titles. And prime numbers do even better.
Odd numbers generally perform better than even numbers in blog post titles because they appear less conveniently packaged than even numbers.
It’s why you’ll find the majority of my blog posts titles (that contain a number) have an odd number in them.
Tip – When using numbers, make sure you use a numeral rather than spelling out the number. Digits stand out better in headlines and take up less space.
Hashtags
Do hashtags work in blog post titles? Yes, they do. Not only can they help boost your blog post on SEO sites such as Google and Bing, but they help catch the eye of visitors who may be looking for specific information.
It’s certainly worth checking out what hashtags are trending at the time of publishing a blog post. Twitter is an excellent source for checking out trending hashtags, but never add a hashtag that has nothing to do with the subject of the post.
Warning – using too many hashtags in a blog post title can result in SEOs considering your post as spam. As with adding hashtags to tweets, don’t add more than three hashtags in a blog post title. More than three will make your tweet or blog post look spammy.
Twitter Usernames
If you’re adding the name of somebody who has a Twitter account to the title of a blog post, always include their Twitter Username. Why? Because every time somebody shares your post on Twitter, the person you’ve included gets a Twitter notification. In turn, they may retweet your tweet to their followers, giving you and your post more exposure.
Here’s a great example from author and blogger Graeme Cumming.
See what Graeme’s done? He’s included three Twitter usernames of those mentioned in his blog post.
Word Count
According to CoSchedule.Com, blog post titles around 55 characters long tend to earn the highest click-throughs. Blog post titles between six to ten words also tend to achieve the highest number of click-throughs.
To get you started creating some great blog post titles, here’s some suggestions.
- How To ______
- How To Find _____
- How To Completly Change _____
- How To Create _____
- How To Use _____
- How To Get Rid Of _____
- How I Made _____
- How To Save _____
- How To Help _____
- How To Develop _____
- What To Do With _____
- Here’s How To _____
- Where To Find _____
- What No One Tells You About _____
- (#) Questions You Should Ask Before _____
- (#) Secrets To _____
- (#) Signs You Might _____
- (#) Rules For _____
- (#) Facts About _____
- (#) Ideas For/To _____
- (#) Essential Steps For/To _____
- (#) Foolproof Tips For _____
- (#) Handy Tips For _____
- (#) Tricks For _____
- (#) Key Benefits For _____
- (#) Reasons You _____
- (#) Wrong Ways To _____
- (#) Most Popular ______
- (#) Tips For _____
- (#) _____ Mistakes You Won’t Make Again
- (#) Things I’ve Learned While Writing My Book This Month
- Why My Weekend Was Amazing
- You’ll Never Believe What Happened To Me Last Week
- Why This Is The Only Chocolate Chip Recipe, You’ll Ever Need
- Meet _____ _____ Who Reveals Their Secrets About Writing
- Why I’m Recommending These (#) Television Shows To Fans Of _____
- Book Review: (#) Reasons Why I’m Giving _____ by _____ _____ (insert Twitter username here) 5 Stars
Insert a number where you see (#)
I’ve already used some of these titles and had great results from them. Many of my blog posts’ titles also include words that entice readers to want to find out more.
Warning – Don’t forget to add a title to your blog post. Any title is better than none. WordPress replaces blank blog post titles with a five-digit number. How many visitors would click the ‘read more’ link if seeing a random five-digit number in place of a post title? Not many!
Let’s wrap it up
- Blog posts titles are the first thing visitors read, so make them as enticing as you can.
- Blog posts titles are as important as the contents of your blog posts.
- When creating a blog post title, ask yourself what would make you click on the ‘read more’ link.
- Get the title of your blog post wrong, and you could be missing out on hundreds of new readers, likes and comments.
- Make sure you’ve given the post you’re about to publish a title. Any title is better than no title at all.
- Use specific words such as How, How To, Why, Where, in your blog posts’ titles to entice readers to click on the ‘read more’ link.
- If using a number, odd numbers generally perform better than even numbers in blog post titles because they appear less conveniently packaged than even numbers.
- When using numbers in blog post titles, use digits rather than spelling out the number.
- Don’t add more than three hashtags in your titles. Doing so makes blog posts look spammy.
- Adding Twitter usernames to blog post titles help get your post noticed on Twitter.
How do you come up with titles for your blog posts? Do you have any tips for creating them that you’d like to add to my list? Do you have any questions about creating blog post titles? Share them in the comments section.
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Hugh's Views & News 
Thanks Hugh for writing on this important subject. Our JULIE has chosen it to be featured in the next Blogger’s Pit Stop.
Kathleen
Thank you so much for the great news about this post being chosen to feature, Kathleen.
I can always count on you, Hugh, for good, practical advice. Today I found your post on Bloggers Pit Stop. I clicked on your post over the others precisely because of the title. It works!
Thanks for confirming how important the titles of our blog posts are, Christie. I’ve had great success since learning how important they are.
Great tips, Hugh. Long post titles look messy to me on WordPress (on my blog – if they’re more than one line long, they smush together), but I should get over it, I guess. You are always sharing a wealth of good advice. Thank you!
I’m not a fan of long blog post titles, especially when they contain far too many hashtags that aren’t even hashtags that are trending, Diana. However, saying that, I occasionally have to use long blog posts titles (My recent true story posts are one example) because I need to include the name and Twitter handle of the person who has written the post. Including the Twitter handle helps because my guest then gets a notification every time somebody retweets the post. So long as all your blog posts are not too long, then I think you’re doing a good job.
And what do I mean by long? No more than 14 words in the title. It’s the same as the rule about the number of tags and categories on a post. No more than 14 combined; otherwise, WordPress and SEOs look at the post as spammy.
I notice that about 5 words will fit in one line of the WP title before it starts going to a second line and looking squishy. Lol. Maybe it my OCD. Lol.
I guess it all depends on how long those words are.
The whole SEO thing confuses me. Thanks for these tips, Hugh, now to incorporate them!
I can’t tell you how much more pleased I am in the extra traffic I get to my blog since changing the way I title blog posts, Jacquie. It’s also resulted in some extra book sales, so I’m not complaining.
Great advice. Who knew about odd numbers were so clickable?
I know. But it seems to work for me. If I see an odd number in the title, my eyes are instantly drawn to it.
Great article, I like the list of example titles you provided. They definitely add a good start to brain storming read worthy titles.
Thank you. I’m delighted the post is helping so many of those who have read it.
More great advice and helpful tips, thanks very much Hugh. I know there is a set formula to writing titles and places you can go to check how catchy the title is, and I have played around with them in the past. I probably miss out on engaging some readers by going off known key words, and I do like many of your suggestions which could fit in well many of my posts. I try to work out what would catch my interest in a title and mix it up a bit, having said that some posts just work well for whatever reason. I sometimes can’t work out why some posts get attention and others miss the boat. I’m always happy to see your thoughts and those of your readers in relation to their blogging experiences, so thanks for the opportunity to learn from one another 🙂 Have shared on Twitter.
I think trying to work out what words readers would use if searching for your post is a great tool, Debbie. The same goes for what tags we add to our blog posts, although we should never add any that do not have anything to do with the post’s subject. Doing that can seriously get some readers agitated, and they’ll probably never come back.
I see drafting titles as fun as writing posts. I always enjoy trying my best to develop titles that score the highest points on the headline analyzer that I use. It’s a great challenge that seems to work the more you use it.
Thanks so much for joining the discussion.
My pleasure Hugh, you always engage me with your posts and your comments. It’s fun seeing what others think too and chatting to them on a deeper level.
Some good reminders! I learned a lot about post titles when I wrote for Lifehack. I don’t like my titles to be as obvious as theirs, but incorporating some of the elements does help.
Titles are so important, and the best ones always get the most visitors. I’m always looking for new readers, so titles play an important part on my blog.
Thanks so much for joining the discussion, Bethany.
I saw this post a few days ago in my reader and was very eager to read it. You are spot on the money there Hugh with blog titles. A good blog title is the first thing people usually see when they come across your post – and whether they click on the link depends if the title speaks to them. The clearer your title is at explaining the purpose of your blog post, the more it will encourage someone to read your post.
That is interesting to hear off numbers do better in blog post titles. Now that I think of it, some odd numbers roll off the tongue more easily than even numbers. I feel how many numbers you put in your blog title can be an indication of how long your post may be to others. So if someone were wanting to read something short, they may gravitate to a post titled ‘7 Reasons To….’ as opposed to ’21 Reasons To…’.
I like your list of blog title suggestions there and thank you for sharing. I have used some of those titles in the past on my blog and they have had a good effect on reader engagement. That said I do feel these titles are suitable for certain kinds of topics – more so everyday lifestyle topics or a certain activity. At the end of the day when you write a catchy blog title, it’s important to make sure your blog content matches what the title is about.
Thanks so much, Mabel.
I learned early on about the benefits of putting numbers into blog titles. I agree they can indicate how long a blog post will be, but I have seen some with large numbers in them that only took between 5 and 10 minutes to read. I once wrote and published a post titled 71 Ways To Slowly Kill Your Blog. It’s one of my most viewed posts and has over 350 comments. Reading time is about 7 minutes.
I agree that most of the titles I suggested are geared more towards certain blogs, but I also came up with some for other blogs. For example, the last one was for book bloggers. It can be great fun making titles out of keywords. I also like the challenge.
Thank you for adding to the discussion. It was great to read.
Thanks, Hugh. You really did write a great blog post on a topical topic. I think you have a very engaged audience there who don’t mind reading longer posts that are more than a five minute read.
Yes, it is like a fun challenge coming up with titles for pretty much any post. As bloggers, it can be a fun challenge for us 🙂
Hugh, this blog post title was “perfect”. Thanks.
You’re welcome, Aletha.
Sound advice Hugh. Certain kinds of content lend themselves well to the trigger words you’ve highlighted (How, Why etc). The challenge I run into with my book reviews is that you can’t really do a post title with those words AND include keywords like book title and author name.
Thank you. Never say never, Karen. Have a look at number 37 on my suggestions list. I find that playing around with key words soon produces a list of titles I can use using some of those words in certain titles. I’ve found that using a headline analyser is also of great help.
Thanks for the suggestion Hugh. Last year I played with different options of headlines for review posts. Trying to get some kind of emotion in the headline (as per recommendations I saw from numerous ‘experts) and also keep within the guideline for headline length was challenging to say the least. For non review posts, it was much easier and I made good use of the tips you included about numbers and How To .
What headline analyser do you use?
I’m glad this post has been so useful to many who have read it, Karen. I find making titles up not only challenging but fun too. Whenever I’m drafting them, I always think of what I would put in the search bar if looking for information on what the post is about. The same thing goes for adding tags to blog posts.
I use CoSchedule.Com for my titles.
I dabbled with Co-Schedule early last year – you’ve reminded me to give it another go
I like it, so I’ll be sticking with it rather than looking for another one.