website-logo-dark website-logo-light
  • Services
    menu-item-icon
    SEO Services
    Become unmissable in search results.
    menu-item-icon
    Local SEO Services
    Start dominating your local market.
    menu-item-icon
    Ecommerce SEO Services
    Sell more products with SEO.
    menu-item-icon
    Website Design Services
    Make your website a memorable experience.
    menu-item-icon
    Link Building Services
    Build authority with high-quality backlinks.
    menu-item-icon
    Franchise SEO Services
    Grow and protect your franchise brand .
    menu-item-icon
    PPC Management Services
    Reach consumers when they’re ready to buy.
    menu-item-icon
    Facebook Ads
    Target your ideal audience on Facebook.
    menu-item-icon
    Google Ads
    Dominate with targeted search and display.
    • menu-item-icon
      SEO Services
      Become unmissable in search results.
    • menu-item-icon
      Local SEO Services
      Start dominating your local market.
    • menu-item-icon
      Ecommerce SEO Services
      Sell more products with SEO.
    • menu-item-icon
      Website Design Services
      Make your website a memorable experience.
    • menu-item-icon
      Link Building Services
      Build authority with high-quality backlinks.
    • menu-item-icon
      Franchise SEO Services
      Grow and protect your franchise brand .
    • menu-item-icon
      PPC Management Services
      Reach consumers when they’re ready to buy.
    • menu-item-icon
      Facebook Ads
      Target your ideal audience on Facebook.
    • menu-item-icon
      Google Ads
      Dominate with targeted search and display.
  • About
    menu-item-icon
    About Us
    Learn what HigherVisibility is all about.
    menu-item-icon
    Management Team
    Leadership helping to drive our clients success.
    menu-item-icon
    Contact Us
    Need to get in touch with us?
    Client Reviews
    See what our clients are saying!
    • menu-item-icon
      About Us
      Learn what HigherVisibility is all about.
    • menu-item-icon
      Management Team
      Leadership helping to drive our clients success.
    • menu-item-icon
      Contact Us
      Need to get in touch with us?
  • Learn
    menu-item-icon
    Blog
    Learn tips, industry news, and research insights.
    menu-item-icon
    Free SEO Tools
    Access our public facing tools for better SEO.
    menu-item-icon
    SERP Snippet Optimizer
    See how your webpage looks in Google SERPs.
    menu-item-icon
    SEO CTR Grader
    Write Title Tags that increase your CTR.
    menu-item-icon
    Bulk Keyword Generator
    Automatically generate localized keywords.
    menu-item-icon
    Keyworddit
    The only Reddit keyword research tool.
    What is SEO?
    The Beginner's Guide to Search Engine Optimization
    • menu-item-icon
      Blog
      Learn tips, industry news, and research insights.
    • menu-item-icon
      Free SEO Tools
      Access our public facing tools for better SEO.
    • menu-item-icon
      SERP Snippet Optimizer
      See how your webpage looks in Google SERPs.
    • menu-item-icon
      SEO CTR Grader
      Write Title Tags that increase your CTR.
    • menu-item-icon
      Bulk Keyword Generator
      Automatically generate localized keywords.
    • menu-item-icon
      Keyworddit
      The only Reddit keyword research tool.
  • Who We Help
    menu-item-icon
    Franchise Brands
    We produce results for your brands!
    menu-item-icon
    Lawyers
    Get more clients for your law practice!
    menu-item-icon
    Ecommerce Businesses
    We can grow your Ecommerce sales!
    menu-item-icon
    Automotive Companies
    We drive new customers and revenue!
    menu-item-icon
    Financial Services
    Banking, Personal Finance, or Fin Tech!
    menu-item-icon
    Home Builders
    Sell more homes with our digital solutions!
    Other Businesses
    A sustainable future for your website.
    • menu-item-icon
      Franchise Brands
      We produce results for your brands!
    • menu-item-icon
      Lawyers
      Get more clients for your law practice!
    • menu-item-icon
      Ecommerce Businesses
      We can grow your Ecommerce sales!
    • menu-item-icon
      Automotive Companies
      We drive new customers and revenue!
    • menu-item-icon
      Financial Services
      Banking, Personal Finance, or Fin Tech!
    • menu-item-icon
      Home Builders
      Sell more homes with our digital solutions!
phone-icon
888.598.4449
Get a Free Quote
  • Home
  • SEO
  • Insite Blog

How to Write an SEO Title Tag that Actually Clicks

Adam Heitzman
Adam Heitzman
November 14, 2013
magnify

Writing a great title tag / or headline has been something small business owners have worried about since before search engines existed, and rightfully so. A headline is one of the biggest ways that you can draw in your audience and get them spending time on your page. Even if you’re promoting something cutting-edge or cool like an infographic or video, the headline is what’s going to initially bring those readers in and earn you clicks.

So how hard could writing a headline really be? Unfortunately, because it seems so easy and so insignificant many people today don’t bother to research how to write a good headline. The one you come up with might seem to do the job, but with a headline-writing strategy in place, you could do a much better job.

Top Characteristics of a Great SEO Headline

According to an article on ProBlogger, “an average of 8 readers out of 10 will read a blog post title, while less than 3 out of the same 10 readers will read the rest of the article.” In other words, a great headline does have a lot of power. A few characteristics of a great headline include:

  1. Urgency. You don’t want something that leaves room for a reader to think they can maybe come back later and read. You want it to seem urgent.
  2. Focused and Short. A long title is going to turn your readers off. Don’t be too vague in your title so as to confuse people, and try to keep it at a short length.

Example: The title “How to Write an Enticing SEO Headline” is better than “Writing a Headline for Readers and Google Bots: How to Keep it Enticing.”

  • Evoke Curiosity. It’s important to stay focused and specific (our last point), but you also want to keep readers guessing. If you give it all away in the headline, there won’t be much need to continue reading.

Example: A vague question like “Why People Hate Writing Headlines” still stays specific (headline writing) while evoking curiosity (does everyone hate writing headlines?) and making people want to read.

  • Special Characters. This is another tip from ProBlogger that doesn’t occur to most people writing headlines. You want to pay special attention to the special characters you’re using in your post titles.

Example: You can use special characters like a dash (-), colon (:), question mark (?), exclamation mark (!). You should not use special characters like ampersands (&), greater than or less than symbols (< and >), the “at” symbol (@).

  1. Show You’re Unique. You want to try and let your readers know that what you are offering with your article is something that other articles are not offering. Whether it be your information or your solution, you’re the only one who has these thoughts.
  2. Emotion. Part of understanding your readers is understanding their emotions. If you can create a headline that pulls at the heartstrings (not only something that’s sad, but something that might make the reader angry or passionate in some way), you have created a solid headline.

Note: It’s hard to come up with an example for every single point because a headline should cover a few of these points. A headline that shows you’re unique might not be enough to draw in your readers. You need to show that you’re offering something unique while still staying focused and still being urgent. A good rule of thumb is cover at least 4 of the characteristics above.

Where to Start When Writing an SEO Headline

The first step is always determining what it is your reader wants to know. Create something that is just too good to pass up in your industry. Answer a very odd question and really think about the selfishness of each of your readers. In other words, know what he/she wants and then create a headline that almost gives it to them.

It’s also a good idea to write your headline first. Many experts in the industry, including Upworthy, say that you should spend 50 percent of your content creation on your headline. Writing your headline first will help you stay focused when writing your article, but furthermore your article won’t be swaying your headline one way or another. You can be sure that you have a clear mind when writing the headline, so you can be sure you’ll use a few of the characteristics discussed above.

Where Keywords Come Into Play When Writing a SEO Headline

As you can surely see we’ve been using the term “SEO Headline” as opposed to any regular-old headline. One thing to keep in mind is that how you write great headlines for a newspaper or news organization could be different than how you’re going to write for your blog or your website. Headlines that you want to appear on search (which is the majority these days) do need to focus on keywords.

It’s true that Google is trying to move away from putting so much weight on keywords, but they haven’t been able to completely destroy them just yet. Today, a post or page title with 10 words that has at least 2 keywords is considered a good headline for SEO. The biggest thing to remember is not to overdo it or stuff too many keywords into a title because it won’t look natural to readers or to Google. This is a big reason you should always write your headline first.

So why don’t headlines always work? The reason that sometimes headlines don’t work is because they’re written as a way to summarize the entire article or they try to be too creative. Being creative is good, but a headline needs to have a few of the characteristics described above—and sometimes this isn’t creative and it’s not the best summary of the article.

For a great article full of headline statistics, visit the Heidi Cohen Blog.

How do you make sure that your headlines are drawing in your readers? Let us know your tips and tricks in the comments below.

Table of Contents
  • Top Characteristics of a Great SEO Headline
  • Where to Start When Writing an SEO Headline
  • Where Keywords Come Into Play When Writing a SEO Headline
chart-bar
Want a Free Digital Marketing Strategy Customized to Your Business?

Enter your email to get strategic insights, a plan of action, and pricing options.

Please provide a valid email address.

From Our Insite Blog

We believe that SEO requires an all-encompassing approach to ensure a sustainable future for your site and achieve your goal…. conversions.

magnify
SEO
Adam Heitzman
SEO Specialists: What They Do + Steps on How to Become One
map
Paid Search
Adam Heitzman
PPC for HVAC Companies: PPC Services that Generate Leads
magnify
SEO
Adam Heitzman
Is SEO Worth It in 2021? Analyzing the ROI of Organic Search Campaigns
map
Paid Search
Adam Heitzman
PPC for SaaS Companies: 9 Proven Tips & Strategies
browser
Guide
Adam Heitzman
Lead Generation for Plastic Surgeons: Tips + Best Practices
headphones
Conversion Optimization
Adam Heitzman
25+ SEO and Website Conversion Stats: Why SEO Leads to More Sales on Your Site
avatar

Nothing is guaranteed in marketing but I'm happy to know that a company like this is not about the bottom dollar - and instead values the ability to deliver results.

Ryan Cox, Director of Marketing
Get My Free Quote

Want a Free Digital Marketing Strategy Customized to Your Business?

Enter your email to get strategic insights, a plan of action, and pricing options.
Please provide a valid email address.
Send My Custom Strategy
check-yellow
Talking with other Digital Marketing Agencies? Contact us to learn what makes us the best!
facebook twitter LinkedIn youtube
website-logo-dark
HigherVisibility’s focus is to drive conversions through laser-focused targeting combined with an optimal post-click experience.
Get a Free Quote
Services
  • SEO Services
  • PPC Management
  • Website Design
  • Local SEO
  • Link Building
  • Ecommerce SEO
Services
  • Franchise SEO
  • Facebook Ads
  • Google Ads
  • SEO Auditing
  • Conversion Optimization
  • Reseller Program
Company
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Blog
  • Free SEO Tools
  • Memphis Location
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us
Who We Help
  • Franchises
  • Lawyers
  • Ecommerce
  • Automotive
  • Financial Services
  • Home Builders
  • Other Businesses
Call Us Toll Free : 888.212.4458
Email Us : info@highervisibility.com
6070 Poplar Avenue, Suite 760, Memphis, TN 38119
© 2022 HigherVisibility · A leading digital marketing agency.

phone-icon Prefer to call?

888.212.4458

Feel confident in the process and proud of the results. See why 100’s of businesses have trusted HigherVisibility since 2009. Our digital consultants are ready to discuss your needs.

You’re Custom Strategy is
One Step Away

Complete the form and get strategic insights, our plan of action, and pricing options.