Blogging is still one of the most viable ways to create content. But are your titles sabotaging your work?
Creating a great blog post title is harder than it looks.
Want some great tips to help you create a good title every time? Then make sure to keep reading, as we walk you through four quick hacks you can use to create eye-catching headlines!
1. Choose the Right Keywords
In this case, the ‘right’ keywords follow search engine optimization (SEO) guidelines and tell the reader about the topic. SEO determines your website’s ranking on search engines, and you can find out more about how it works at the link.
For today, though, we’ll focus on how to choose the best possible keywords. You’ll be happy to hear that doing so isn’t as tough — or expensive — as you might think.
On the contrary, there are ways to generate SEO-friendly keywords for free! Google’s Keyword Planner tool is a great starting point.
2. Alliteration Always Accentuates
Alliteration is a literary technique where the writer uses words beginning with the same letter or sound. It’s a technique that’s been used for centuries, dating back to the 6th century with “Beowulf.”
So why does alliteration make for such intriguing titles?
It has to do with the way our brain processes information. Our eyes gravitate toward words that look alike, and when we process them, it creates a pleasing sound.
While alliteration is a fun and useful tool, make sure not to use it too often, or it can become grating. Try and use it once, or twice at most, per blog post.
3. Keep it Short
Remember that scene in “The Office” where Kevin explained his preference for using as few words as possible? While you won’t want to go as far as he did (ie., keep your titles coherent), there’s a valuable lesson tucked into the silly scene.
Most blog post titles that work well are short and to the point.
There’s some debate among SEO experts as to what constitutes a short title. In general, though, do your best to keep your titles to around 10 words or fewer.
4. Check Your Title’s Score
The frustrating thing about optimizing your blog post titles for SEO is that it’s often hard to tell how your title will rank. Fortunately, there are several ways you can test your title before hitting ‘publish.’
One such resource is Capitalize My Title. Aside from, as the name suggests, capitalizing your title for you in a variety of different styles, the site now has a built-in tool allowing users to check their headline’s SEO viability.
The tool also includes a score for features like readability, so you can play around with the wording of your title to increase your total score.
Pick the Perfect Blog Post Title Every Time
Before you head off to write your own awesome blog post title, let’s take a look back at what we’ve learned today.
When it comes to the perfect title, you’ll need to use the right keywords so search engines pick up your content. You’ll also want to keep it as brief as possible, and with alliteration. Finally, you can check your score online to see if your title still needs work.
We hope you found these tips helpful. Check out our blog for more great content!
