If you believe that first impressions are important, then you know how crucial your blog titles can be. In fact, a good title can mean the difference between a post which is not only widely read, but widely shared as well and a post which gets only minimal exposure. If you have any doubts regarding why blog titles matter, consider that the titles appear in search engine results, links from other bloggers, social media sites, RSS feeds and on your blog archives. In many cases, your blog title may be the only thing people see and the single factor readers will make the decision whether to read your blog or move on. If you have a truly engaging and effective title, then readers will want to read the first sentence of your article and if they read the first sentence, they will want to read the first paragraph…and on and on.
Because your titles are of the utmost importance, you should never rush when developing the title of each blog. If you spend little time crafting your title, then the time you spend crafting the blog post could be wasted. There are several different ways you can develop an engaging and effective blog title including:
- Convey a benefit to your readers. When a potential reader sees your title in search engine results, the titles which promise to meet a specific need are those most likely to get clicked.
- Set the scene for strong opinions or debate. Controversy is notorious for drawing readers’ attention and creating curiosity, therefore a blog title which seems to create controversy can bring in scores of readers. Remember, such a title (along with a controversial blog post) is likely to attract strong opinions, so be prepared for the comments you may receive.
- Direct a question at your readers and make it personal by using the word “you” in the title.
- Use words which are considered “power” words such as easy, free and secret. One thing to remember when using these words is that your post must live up to your title or your readers will feel cheated. In the same vein, make a promise in your blog title—but be prepared to back it up.
- Using humor in your title can either attract readers or the title you thought was hilarious could fall flat on its face, so use caution when using humorous titles.
- Use your primary keywords in your blog titles whenever possible; keywords tell search engines what your blog is about and will help you rank highly for those words. Keywords introduced at the beginning of the title tend to have more SEO impact than those at the end of the title, especially if the title is particularly lengthy.
- Grab attention through your title whenever possible. Depending on your subject you may be competing with thousands or millions of results, so use those few words in your title wisely.
- When possible, keep your title short and simple. Search engines tend to prefer titles which are 40 characters or less and a title this succinct will also ensure the entire title appears in Google search engine results.
Think of your title as a “mini-advertisement” for your blog post and it becomes a bit easier to come up with an engaging and effective title. In order to determine whether your blog titles are truly successful, you must check page views, post sharing and the comments on your blog posts. Comments indicate you have engaged your audience in the conversation and created an interest or a curiosity among your readers. In the end, your title can make or break your blog post, so treat it with the respect it deserves.
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