Click It or Stick It. Create Titles Your Readers Have to Click

Click It or Stick It. Create Titles Your Readers Have to Click

It’s a marketer’s dream to always have clickable article titles users flock to, but it’s as much an art as a science to figure out exactly how to create content with a viral reach. While you might not always hit a home run with your titles, knowing the essential elements for a clickable title allows you to get as close as possible every time you put out a new blog article or case study.
SEO Chat looked at more than 23 million visits to determine which of their titles got the most tracking, as well as the types of titles that work out best. The data provides a way to learn more about users’ clicking and reading habits on the Internet, providing invaluable information for crafting your own campaigns.

The Best Types of Titles, and Why They Work

Some types of articles and posts are easier to situate for success. These titles include how-to articles, numbered titles and insider information.
How-to articles work well because they provide the user with an immediate benefit. This is practical information they use to make their life better in some way, and it’s likely they click to see whether or not your information gives them exactly what they’re looking for.
Numbered titles refer to articles with titles such as “The Top Five…” or a similar title. This type of title tells the user exactly how much information they are getting, whether it’s five quality items, or a broad overview of 100 different items. This also gives the user an impression of how long the article is going to be, to gauge their interest levels. Even if the top five list is longer in word count than the top 100, a user still perceives the smaller number as a faster, more succinct read.
Insider information piques a user’s curiosity. It makes them wonder whether you have information that is protected and valuable, even if it’s something as innocent as the insider’s secrets to the grocery store deli counter.
You can set up your page titles through a content management system provided through your virtual private server or web hosting service provider, and change it on the fly if it doesn’t work out as well as it should be.

Keyboard with Click Me Now button

Keeping Length in Mind

Your page titles are displayed on search engines, on your website, and at the top of the browser window or on the browser tab for your page. You want to stand out among all of the other distractions your users have on a daily basis in order to maximize your potential of getting clicks.
Search Engine Watch reports that Google only supports 70 characters maximum in title tags, so keeping at or under that amount is essential to avoid parts of your titles getting cut off in the web browser.
Keep your most important keywords at the front of the title, the compelling bits of information that indicate what the piece is about. That way, when your viewers are looking through the massive amount of browser tabs they have open, they remember they need to check out your article and share it around.
What makes you click on articles? Leave us a comment below.
If you want tips on how to make good content, check out our slideshow: Defining Good Content.