Guidelines For Creating Traffic Boosting Headlines For Your Content

Have you ever read great content after seeing a headline that didn’t really cut the mustard? You likely have, but most of the time a headline isn’t worth your time, you decide the content isn’t either. That’s why traffic boosting headlines that can easily go viral are so important. You’ve spent all that time developing important content, but the headline can ruin things at the starting line if you don’t get creative.

One of the best suggestions, in my opinion, is to begin your headlines with action verbs when applicable. This isn’t always going to be how you kick off a headline, but it’s a go to tip on many occasions. Action verbs are motivating to readers, and when included in a headline, they motivate visitors to read what you have to say.

Leave out the colon and use the dash. If you’re writing a professional article, the colon is okay to use, but it still represents an academic standard that can seem boring to the reader. Besides, you don’t really want extremely long titles. You may think longer titles are going to catch a reader’s attention, but they often get dismissed.

Instead of using the colon, use a dash. Two-part titles are great, but you still need to focus on keeping them short. When kept short, they provide you with two chances to capture the attention of your visitors. The two parts will be related, but they are often two separate thought processes. Short and to the point, and headline with a dash separating two ideas is a winner.

Now let’s talk about how important the question mark can be to a good headline. It’s one thing to make a statement using a title and captivate your readers, but if you want to draw them in and make them think, ask them an important question. Now, you can’t just say anything and stick a question mark at the end, expecting your readers to be interested. A valid question must be asked, a creative one that really gets them to thinking about how the content they’re about to read would relate to their own personal lives.

Writing Headlines

Read More 5 Proven Ways You Can Instantly Grab Your Prospect’s Attention!

How many times have you searched for something on the web and been presented with results that provide you with tips, lists and set numbers? For example: ‘Top 10 Attractions In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.’ This is a generic example of a title that has surely already been used, but you get the idea.

Creativity is a must when coming up with titles. If you’re used to writing about the same things all the time, you’re going to likely get a little redundant with your titles without focusing on creativity. You’re trying to drive traffic to your site, so those titles are very important, for readers and for search engine purposes.

One way to get creative with your titles is to use different descriptive words. If you get creative in this area, your titles will have better descriptive words than your competitors. This is a place where many people fail when they are trying to develop interesting titles. Think about using certain literary devices, too, such as alliteration. When you can incorporate alliteration, assonance or imagery into your titles, you are going to help grab the attention of your readers for sure.

Make sure that your title helps give readers a good idea of what they are about to get from reading your article. Readers are looking for something, and you have to know what you’re going to give them. The title mentioned earlier would be giving readers 10 places to have fun when they are on vacation in Myrtle Beach. Do yourself a favor, and take a look at some of your recent titles to see if you as a customer or site visitor would know what you’re going to get from a title when reading an article.

Does the content of your article have anything to do with something people should be skeptical or feel negatively about? One site I was looking at says to ‘breed distrust,’ but I don’t like that way that sounds one bit. Instead of breeding distrust, you want to inform people why they shouldn’t be so trusting of certain things if its what your content happens to be about. This is a tone that articles take at times, so be sure you capitalize on it when you’re creating your headlines.

When writing on a subject, you’re thinking about what your audience wants to read. So what can you think of saying in your headline or title that will tell them what they’re in for? Think of keywords related to why those visitors are there to read your content. What do they want to see? What do they want to know?

Remember that while titles and headlines need to be truthful, they can sweeten the pot a little. For example: Myrtle Beach Vacations – The Most Fun You’ll Ever Have! Surely, there are places in the world where you can have just as much if not more fun, especially depending on where you like to vacations. In fact, the most fun you’ve ever had might not even be on vacation. Still, that title embellishes a little without straying from the truth. It is about grabbing the attention of site visitors and captivating your audience.

Headlines written in the third person are often necessary, yet sometimes you need to take advantage of how you can address your readers in the second person. You also need to come up with more than one headline when you are trying to decide. Remember how important this step is, and you don’t want to sell yourself on a mediocre headline that sounds ‘good enough.’

For important content, brainstorm those headlines, and then after some time, pick the best one. Know why you are picking that one, too, based on the suggestions above and other guidelines for choosing headlines wisely. Be descriptive, provide information your readers need and let that creative headline do its job.