How to Write Good Titles for Blog Posts

You have just written a killer article. It’s clear, It’s deep. It will change the way people think and behave. Now comes the hard part – the title. Title is the first thing that will encourage people to click and read the post. A killer article with a useless title is an utter waste. In this post, I will be sharing my tip on writing Good titles for posts, which will help you to get more clicks on your blog posts.

Writing Blog Post Title that Rocks

When a user search anything on Google, first thing he sees is the title and meta description. A catchy along with useful title, can increase your CTR and you will be getting more click on your post.

For example, which title more likely to click on:

• 21 Amazing Ideas for your Next post title
• Next post title learning tutorial

In my scenerio, I will click on the first one and may be on the second one if required. So, why don’t you be the first one to get clicked by using a catch blog title and make your content more reachable.

3 Killer tips to write Good Titles for Posts:

Unlike print headlines, which often rely upon catchy word-play or figures of speech to pique the interest of readers browsing the publication, titles written for the web need to be specific and literal to attract readers.
Tip 1: Think like you’re searching

Put yourself in the shoes of a person searching for the information you provide in your article. What words would they use to describe what they’re looking for? The closer your title is to your reader’s search query, the more likely your article will show up on the first page of search results, and the more readers you’ll get. Remember, your title is not just a title. It’s also the thing you want people in the world to click on.

Suppose your article is a recipe for a spicy red pepper soup.

This won’t work: Some Like it Hot

Although clever and creative, these words are not what a reader would use when looking for a soup recipe. They would be more likely to enter the search query “some like it hot” if they were looking for information about the Marilyn Monroe movie.

This is great!: Spicy Red Pepper Soup Recipe

A reader looking for such a recipe would probably enter a search query like “spicy red pepper soup recipe.” If you’ve written a title like “Spicy Red Pepper Soup Recipe” or “How to Make Spicy Red Pepper Soup,” the reader will be led to your article.

Tip 2: Watch the competition

This actually applies to your entire article, body and all. Before you write, or at least before you pull the ‘publish’ lever, do a search for other articles on your blog and even in other blogs. If you find matching articles, you’ll want to make sure yours is different. Headlines (and indeed whole articles) that are substantially like another will tend to compete with one another, and will tend to cannibalize each others’ share of readers. Keywords matter, but so does uniqueness.

So what do you do? There isn’t a formula here, but try these as means to differentiating your titles/articles from the others:

• Get specific: zero in on a particular aspect of your topic, find a fresh angle.
• Mix it up: can you rephrase your title to make it stand out?
• Don’t get too hung up on a keyword phrase: search for alternative phrases and related concepts. Google’s AdWords Keyword tool can be invaluable here.

Tip 3: Be specific and precise

Keep your title specific and precise, and where possible use your most important terms at the beginning of your title. The keywords that search engines encounter first tend to have greater search impact.

Let’s say you’ve written an article about the financial appreciation of antique furniture.

This won’t work: Why it’s a Good Idea to Collect Antiques

It’s too general, and the phrase with the most weight (“collect antiques”, albeit a vague term) is at the end.

This will work: Invest in Chippendale Furniture for High Returns on Your Antiques

Be explicit! Now you have a detailed, clearly expressed title that tells your reader exactly what they can expect to find in the article, with the main keyword phrase (“Chippendale Furniture”) placed close to the beginning.

Tip 4: Don’t keyword stuff

Don’t stuff your title with keywords in an effort to improve your article’s search ranking. This is an old, dirty trick — and one that is spectacularly ineffective. Select one to two keyword phrases and use natural prose to ensure that the title reads well.

Let’s say you’ve written an article about finding the best business rewards credit card.

This won’t work: Business Rewards Cards Cash Back Cards Secure Cards Credit

Read the title aloud. If it sounds unnatural, it’s a bad title.

This will work: Business Rewards Credit Cards – Compare Cash Back Offers

Don’t lose sight of the fact that ultimately you’re writing for readers, not search engines.

Tip 5: Use the concepts from your article

Make use of the proper nouns, places, names, and brands that are featured in your article. Use adjectives to modify nouns in order to make them more specific and provide context. The more precise you can be, the more traffic you’ll get.

Let’s say you’ve written an article about family travel to Disneyland.

This won’t work: Going to Disneyland

This is far too general. Your article will get lost in the millions of pages that appear in a reader’s search results when they look up anything to do with “Disneyland.”

This will work: Disneyland Family Vacation Packages for All Budgets

Now you’ve narrowed the search down by identifying where the destination is, who the article is for, and the price points explored.

Do let us know what tip do you have to write Good Titles for Posts?

This is a guest post by Mukundan who blogs at Webfroze.  If you like to write for Shoutmeloud, do read Shoutmeloud revenue sharing program.

Article by Mukundan Srinivasan

Mukundan has written 3 articles.

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