So you’ve come up with a really great idea for a blog, you know exactly which angle your blog will be written from and you’ve started to do your research. But the one thing you’re missing is a catchy title that will get your readers thinking.
It’s one thing being able to write substantial content, but unless you have a title that is going to do well on search engines, your post is going to get lost in a digital sea.
Luckily we’ve come up with some useful tips that will take the pressure off and make generating blog titles much easier.
1. Include numbers in your title
Have you ever noticed when you’re searching for a topic that you’ve often come across titles that say things like, ‘7 reasons your business needs Facebook advertising’ or ‘6 essential content marketing rules’.
Well, there’s a reason for this!
Using numbers in your title is a good way to help you structure your blog. It also promises the reader something specific which means they are more likely to open the blog and begin reading.
There’s no set rule on which numbers are the most successful, but using obscure numbers like 17 or 28 might catch the reader’s attention a bit more than using safe numbers like 5 or 10. The specificity is intriguing to the reader and formatting your blog in a list makes reading much easier.
2. Keep it snappy
Google has a display limit of 70 characters so it’s a good idea to keep your title relatively short so that the full title will be visible on search engines. Shorter titles are also better for Twitter posts allowing you to fit the title easily in a single tweet without having to struggle shortening it further to fit the 140 character limit.
Sometimes it’s difficult to come up with a short title if you need to include a few keywords, but that’s where the process of elimination comes in. For example, take a look at the title below:
‘17 of the best content marketing campaign ideas that are effective enough to boost your brand’s online presence’
It’s evident that this is far too long. Not only is it one long sentence but you almost forget what you started reading by the time you get to the end of the title. Instead, you need to whittle it down so it’s much more punchy:
‘17 content marketing ideas to boost your brand’s online presence’
Here you’ve included all the relevant information, you’ve added a number and you’ve demonstrated that your blog will offer a solution to the reader which is ultimately what they’re looking for.
3. Insert relevant keywords
Following on from the previous point, including keywords in your post is a good way to emphasise what you are going to be talking about. This will help you to rank highly in search engines and readers are more likely to click on your link if you’re on the first page at least.
Google Adwords has a keyword tool that can be very helpful in this instance. This tool will tell you how popular a keyword is, how often it’s being searched and from these statistics you can see whether or not your search term will fit in with your content.
For example, I have used ‘6 ways to come up with catchy blog titles’ for this post because it reflects what I am talking about. If I’d used ‘How to come up with catchy headlines’, readers may assume I am talking about newspaper headlines/articles which wouldn’t be accurate and you could lose potential readers this way.
4. State why the blog is positive
Certain buzzwords are key for getting your blog noticed. After all, this is what readers will see before they read the content. Readers like to find answers to their questions so a good title that reassures them that they’ll find what they are looking for in your blog will instantly make them feel satisfied.
Here are a few words that will do the trick:
- Effective
- Benefits
- Advantages
- Tips
- Reasons
- Ways
These kinds of words add a little more dimension to your title. For example, ‘6 benefits of using social media for your business’ is much better than a vague title such as ‘Using social media for your business’ as it doesn’t really demonstrate what angle your post is coming from, it’s too broad and readers might not find what they are looking for.
5. Check out your competitors
There’s nothing wrong with having a look at what your competitors are doing, especially when it comes to successful blog posts. See what they’ve done with their titles, which titles work well and who knows, you may have used similar blog topics when doing your own research.
You could even come up with a few titles that have been inspired by your competitors and then run them by your manager/colleague to get their opinion. It’s always a good idea to get a fresh set of eyes to look at your work in case they notice something you don’t.
6. Write your blog first
Opening up a blank document and trying to come up with a title can be tricky. If you already know which topic you’d like to write about and you have done your research, try writing the blog before the title. Writing the content first might help you to come up with a title that relates to your blog as you’ll be able to read your work and see what your post focuses on.
Some blog titles can be misleading and although this doesn’t necessarily prove that the titles were thought of before the blog was written, you can come up with a more accurate title for your blog if you’ve already written the content.
So there you have it! Coming up with catchy titles for your blogs doesn’t have to be impossible if you adopt these tips during your thought process. Remember to do your research, try a few different options and think about what it is your readers would find beneficial.
If you have any other useful tips for coming up with titles and you’d like to share your wisdom with us, why not tweet us at @theukseo and let us know!