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5 Easy Tips That Will Help You Write Better Blog Headlines

by Filed Under: BLOG, Blog Advice, SEO

Have you ever wondered how to come up with the perfect headlines when writing blog posts?

I think most who write online are wanting to have their content read.  But in order to do so, articles must be ranked higher in search engines to be more visible.

So how can your article ranked higher in the likes of Google’s search engines?

Getting more eyes on your articles has so much to do with your final title or headline that you choose, because this is what gets picked up first and foremost in search engines.

Simply put, you have chosen the best headline that you can, because it is this headline that could make or break it as far as getting those views.

Want to learn how to write better #blog post headlines for SEO rank? #blogging

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So back to my original question and how can decide upon the perfect headline.

Here are 5 surefire steps to write better blog post headlines:

How_Write_Better_ Headlines_All_Blog_Posts

1. Have some working headlines.

When you are drafting your article, you will want to at the very least to come up with workable headline(s) that make sense with your article topic or main idea.  Think about this article here explaining how to write headlines for blog posts.

Take for instance when I first began this article here, I knew I wanted to convey ways to write and title a blog article.  A working headline that I could have began with is as follows: “Writing Headlines for Blog Posts”.  This is definitely the main idea, so why not at the very least make sure your title gets that across.

So make sure at the very least to have your article headline include the article’s main purpose.

2. Make your headlines exciting.

Once you have the main topic done for your headline, now you want to add a bit of glitz and make it a bit more intriguing to turn heads to read your article.

In order to do this, you can utilize a few different writing styles, such as:

  • Alliteration, which make it a bit grander to the reader, such as “Hot Headlines”.
  • Strong Language, which can add a much needed punch or powerful assertion to the article at hand, such as “Best Headline” or “Better Headline”, “All Blog Posts”
  • “How to” or “list” titles, because they seem to perform better and give the article title a clearer message.
  • Also try to focus on who the article is for.  Adding the word, “You”, such as “How You Can Write Better Headlines”, seems to grab readers attention as though you are speaking directly to them.
  • Use numbers possibly when the article has clear steps or tips involved and you want the reader to know the actual numerical amount that you are discussing, such as “How to Write Better Headlines in 5 Easy Steps”.

3. Keep your headlines short but sweet

However, don’t make your headline too wordy, because you still must keep in mind for Google and search engines that shorter is better as far as ranking is concerned.

So for ranking purposes, you want to keep the title under 70 characters as more than this gets cut off in search engine results.  As far as word count, for social sharing that is another story, but usually too wordy seems to not perform, as well either.  So try to keep the headline title to no more than 14 words and no less than 8 if possible.

4. Make sure it is SEO friendly

Now that we dealt with character and word limits, you will also want to make sure that your title contains searchable key words, such as for this current article title, we have used, “Headlines”, “Blog” and “Posts”.

Since right now blogging is a pretty big market, having at the very least “Blog” in my headline as a keyword is definitely a plus in this example.

See it is knowing what readers are interested in reading right now and thus making it as marketable as possible, when you do come up with headlines for your articles.

5.  Use CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer for all headlines

If you are still at all in doubt about any of the above steps, you can always use CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer, which is a FREE blog post headline analyzer that will actually score your overall headline and then rate its ability to result in social shares, increased traffic, and SEO value.

This literally takes the guess work out and helps to let you see how your headline will rank overall to allow you to decide upon the most captivating headlines to grab your audience’s attention, as well get shared and thus be viewed more.

It is so very easy to use.  You just type your headline in the white box and then select, “Analyze Now”.

CoSchedule_Blog_Post _Headline_Analyzer

From there, you will get a score back and each part of your headline will be broken down to let you know how your headline scores as well as if and where it can be improved upon and even how to do so.

Trust me this tool is amazing and will most definitely help when writing blog post headlines.

See for yourself and take a look at the screenshot below of how I came to the above title for this article:

Blog Post Headlines Analyzer at Work

Now, you have all the tools at your disposal for writing better blog post headlines.  

Also, hope you will try the above website out and if you still have any further questions on how to write better blog post headlines, please feel free to contact me or leave a comment below.

Comments

  1. Seana turner says

    I have recently been hearing that my headlines should less creative and more specific about the content. Writing creative headlines is more fun, but I guess I need to be clear enough about the content that people will want to click through!

    • J9 Designs says

      Sean, I know I have been now more focused on what I am writing about when indeed sharing my titles. But still try to incorporate some creativity and yet it is a fine balance that we have to try to hold onto here.

    • Chris Desatoff says

      Hi Sean, I often made that mistake when I first started writing online. “Creative” headlines can work great for print articles and book chapter titles, but they are almost worthless for blog post headlines — nobody coming from Google will click on them if they have no idea what the post is about (judging from the headline alone).

      Like Janine says, you gotta make them seo-friendly ?

  10. Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom says

    I need to get better at writing headlines (I know this is my shortfall when it comes to blogging). Plus my headlines are often LONG!

    I do use the CoSchedule Headline Analyzer though… I love CoSchedule!

    Thanks for sharing (and for linking up to the #SHINEbloghop).

    Wishing you a lovely Easter weekend.
    xoxo

    • J9 Designs says

      Jennifer, it isn’t always that easy, but I agree about co-schedule and very thankful if all else fails, I can use it to double check myself. Have a happy Easter this weekend once again, too xoxo 😉

  11. Julie @ Logger's Wife says

    Thanks for this. Writing headlines is my downfall. Writing the post; easy. Making graphics: easy. Writing the perfect headline, the shortest part: sooooo hard!!!! I had never heard of the headline analyzer website before. Thanks for sharing it. 🙂 #ShineBlogHop

    • J9 Designs says

      Thank you for pinning, Katie and I know truly do quite a bit of overanalyzing with coming up with titles. So finding this website was a huge help to me and once again so happy to share here 🙂

  14. Chris Desatoff says

    Hi Janine, good tips! I immediately loved the idea of trying out multiple possible headline ideas, like you mention in your Killer Blog Post Outline. Even after four years of online writing, I still tend to just barf out the firat title that comes to mind and then hit PUBLISH.

    I definitely need to work on that.

    One tip for headlines I picked up from Claire Smith a few years back: try an “allintitle” search on Google, using your potential title…especially with quotes around the title. Google will then tell you EXACTLY how many other web pages out there have used that same exact headline, and you can tweak yours to make it more unique, if you want.
    Chris Desatoff recently posted…aotw: how to make $1,000,000 on kindleMy Profile

    • J9 Designs says

      Chris, I love that advice and definitely am going to have to try that now in the future, too. So thank you seriously so much for sharing with me here tonight 😉

  15. George says

    Great tips Janine. Keeping it short and trying to make it a bit of mysterious or intrigue is what it takes to make a title that will catch reader’s eye.

  17. Linda at Mixed Kreations says

    I know a good headline is important to get the reader to click on through to the post. I’m always struggling with writing a good headline for my blog post so these tips will come in real handy. Thanks!

  20. candace says

    I’m really working on this right now. I used to try to come up with cute, short titles but finally learned that’s not the best route. Thank you for these awesome tips. I love CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer. It’s become like a game for me to try to get the highest score I can :). Pinned!
    candace recently posted…How to Philippians 4:8 Every Negative ThoughtMy Profile

  21. Janet Vinyard says

    When I first started blogging I tried to come up with clever, catchy titles. Then I read an article like yours and the main point I came away with was the reader has to understand what your post is about to want to read it! Some of my previous titles were some that only people in my specific age group would truly “get” so I have changed my ways, hoping that everyone will understand from my titles what my posts will be presenting. Thanks for sharing this information! Blessings, Janet

    • J9 Designs says

      Very happy to share and like you I did the catchy titles, too in my early blogging time, but I have learned, as well. So, I am just glad I can share my learned lessons here. Thanks Janet 😉

  22. Diane Roark says

    Janine,

    I am so sorry I missed this post somehow! I have never heard of Coscheduler Headline Analyzer. I am so glad I found it today. I cannot wait to start using it.
    MANY, MANY THANKS!!
    Diane

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