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7 Types of Blog Headlines That’ll Increase Your Traffic (Even if You’re a Beginner)

Last Updated on July 26, 2019 By Catherine Nyorani 47 Comments

Blog headlines

So, you’ve managed to create and post epic articles on your blog, but how do you get people to actually read them?

It’s unfortunate that there’s such a huge number of quality blogs out there that never get read by searchers. This is because quality content is not enough to make people read your blog: you have to get them to click on your link, to begin with. This means increasing your site traffic.

So what’s the secret?

It’s all in the blog headlines. Some types of headlines attract traffic to websites while others are just not clickable.

Here are a few types of click-worthy headlines you should be writing for your blog posts. And guess what? I’ll even tell you how you can write such compelling headlines, even if you’re a complete beginner.

Let’s dive in.

1. ‘Skimmable’-Content Headlines: Use Odd Numbers

Research by HubSpot shows that 43% of people skim through posts. That’s a big number of people seeing that only 29% take the time to thoroughly consume the information. Therefore, by showing readers (using your headline) that they can easily skim through your content and get quality information, you increase the chances of getting them to click.

One way to achieve this is by the use of numbers in your headlines. First of all, numbers have a way of standing out on a page. More to that, using numbers to show how many takeaways are in your post means the reader can easily skim through, find the X number of points and move on.

Use numbers to create catchy titles

But not just any numbers will do the trick. It’s said that odd numbers are catchier than even numbers.

Now you understand why so many pro bloggers use headlines that read “9 Tips to,” “5 Ways,” “7 Tactics,” etc

2. Instructional-Content Headlines: Add “How To” in Your Title

These are what I’d like to call “timeless headlines”. As long as humanity exists, there’re always going to be people searching for instructions on how to carry out tasks they don’t know or achieve specific results.

If your content is in any way explaining ‘how to’ do something go ahead and add “How to” to your title. You’ll get people clicking on your headline in no time.

This doesn’t mean your article has to be a complicated tutorial of some sort or an expert guide; you can easily convert most titles into How-to titles. Let’s take some examples:

  • “Get a Niche for Your Blog” can be “How to Choose the Perfect Niche for Your Blog”
  • “Lose Weight Fast” can be “How to Lose Weight Fast”

After this, make sure to follow through with content that actually delivers answers as promised in the title.

3. Intriguing Headlines: Incorporate “Buzz Words”

Buzz words in your blog headlines

Everyone likes to be wowed, more so in this time and age when our attention span has so drastically dropped, thanks to technology.

For you to grab the attention of readers and make them click on your blog, you’ve got to excite them with your headline. Make them pause long enough for them to click.

Incorporate “Buzz Words” in your title to create an intriguing headline. These are words that arouse certain emotions in people and cause them to be drawn to the text. They also stand out from the many words that one reads on a page.

Examples of “Buzz Words” are “Super,” “Fast,” “Free,” “Effortless,” and so on.

The thing about this type of headline is that it resonates with people’s intrinsic desires or feelings. Most people want solutions that are easy, and therefore effortless, quick, or free. Find variations of these words and use them in your next headline.

4. Authoritative Headlines: Include Social Proof

Authoritative headlines tell your readers your content is credible. They get the feeling that the results promised in your title are attainable because someone else achieved them. 

Including social proof is one way of focusing your title on the ‘who’ and boosting credibility. Do thorough research on your topic to be able to quote specific outcomes based on the information you are giving.

Here are some examples:

  • “7 Content Marketing Tips That Will Rank Your Blog Like Neil Patel’s”
  • “1000 Bloggers Used These 5 Tips to Increase Their Email Lists”

Can’t get such high-quality authorities? No need to worry. You can simply use your own successful experiences to give social proof e.g. “Top 3 Optimization Tactics That Ranked My New Blog in 1 month.”

The fact is, your readers are more likely to click on your blog if they think they can trust your content. Social proof greatly increases people’s trust.

5. Headlines with Visual Variety: Use Parentheses

When you open a search engine page looking for articles you obviously see a bunch of words and maybe a few images. You have to filter through the many words before you decide to click on any particular link.  This is what your potential readers have to go through before they get to your post. Not very exciting, is it?

It’s obvious that routine things can get pretty boring really fast – that’s why artists use contrast to create variations in their artwork. As they say, variety is the bliss of life.

But we’re talking about headlines. How can you possibly create visual variety in a bunch of letters and sentences?

Well, that’s where punctuations come in. And not the usual commas and full stops, those are found in every kind of writing. I’m talking about parentheses or brackets. These have a way of breaking text to create that visual variety your potential reader is subconsciously looking for.

Start using headlines with visual variety and browsers will begin clicking on your blog simply because it cuts their boredom. But ensure you don’t end up disappointing them with boring content.

More to that, a study by HubSpot showed that headlines with brackets improve traffic because they clarify content.  

Here are some examples of headlines with parentheses:

  • “Best Way To Make Money Online (For A Beginner) In 2019”
  • “How to Raise Your Freelance Writing Rates (With Scripts!)”
  • “How I Built My Freelance Writing Business (And Earned $2793 Last Month)”

6. Optimized Headlines: Use SEO Keywords

This should have actually been first on this list because optimized headlines are the ones that make it to the top of search engines.

SEO optimized blog headlines

As a writer, one of the most important skills you need to have is search SEO (search engine optimization) writing. 

According to Enquisite, organic search results generate 8.5 clicks more than paid search results. Therefore aiming for organic ranking clearly pays off.

Use keywords in your title. Well researched keywords. And be tactful when selecting them for your blog posts – go for those that are easier to rank and not the highly competitive ones that will take you years to appear on the first page of search engine results.

That’s why many bloggers go for long-tail keywords. Consider injecting this in your headlines to rank your post.

7. Time-Based Headlines: Specify ‘When’

Time-based headlines are attractive to most readers because they promise results within a specified period of time.

This kind of title works like the ‘Intriguing headline’ if the time frame quoted is surprisingly short e.g. “5 Ways to Lose 20 Pounds in 1 Month.” But of course, it should also be believable.

Specifying the timeline in which your readers can expect to get certain results will make your headline more click-worthy.

Follow up Your Catchy Blog Headline with Quality Content

Now that your readers are finally clicking on your link on the search page, go on and wow them with the amazing content we spoke about at the beginning. This will mean you can now move to the next level of converting them into your subscribers, buyers, fans, and brand ambassadors. And that’s how your web traffic will continue soaring even higher.

Practice writing different catchy headlines every time you write a post and you’ll soon be able master at it.

Have you tried these types of headlines? Do you have other powerful suggestions? Leave a comment below and let us know.

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About Catherine Nyorani

Catherine Nyorani Wafula is a skilled freelance writer who offers blogging, ghostwriting, and copywriting services to B2C and B2B businesses. Her specialty is in digital marketing, blogging and freelance writing. Being a versatile writer, she can easily tackle a variety of other niches as well.

Comments

  1. Nancy Waweru says

    June 2, 2022 at 4:56 pm

    Thankyou so much, it is highly informative

    Reply
  2. DINAH MIARA says

    May 9, 2022 at 11:31 am

    An excellent read with some very powerful insights. However, I seem not to make sense of point number 6,SEO. Anything more on this that would shed some more light?

    Warm regards
    Beata Dinah M

    Reply
  3. David Simiyu says

    April 6, 2022 at 10:57 pm

    Thank you very much for sharing these priceless pearls of wisdom,

    Reply
  4. Cissy says

    January 20, 2022 at 12:19 pm

    Am blown off with this, its hard but i know i will get there. thanks Walter for this knowledge you have shared with me in particular

    Reply
  5. Chris says

    November 25, 2021 at 8:28 pm

    This is an eye opener for newbies like me.I am grateful

    Reply
  6. Monicah Kamani says

    November 13, 2021 at 1:41 pm

    Very Helpful and Informative.

    Reply
  7. caro says

    June 28, 2021 at 10:49 am

    highly informative. Thank you!!

    Reply
  8. Eliud says

    June 6, 2021 at 1:05 pm

    Very resourceful information. Thank you.

    Reply
  9. Sheila Sanga says

    May 18, 2021 at 5:28 pm

    Awesome piece Cathy.I will definitely implement.

    Reply
  10. Wilson Gitau Njoroge says

    May 5, 2021 at 12:13 am

    The message is home let’s work on it

    Reply
  11. Gertrude Ochowa says

    April 28, 2021 at 12:05 pm

    Thanks Catherine,

    It is strong and good info to build newbies like me. Thank you.

    Gertrude Ochowa

    Reply
  12. Betty Adhaya says

    February 19, 2021 at 11:59 am

    Very informative, good learning skills.

    Reply
  13. Mirrie says

    February 8, 2021 at 6:59 am

    Awesome content. Thanks Cathy.

    Reply
  14. Edna Abala says

    January 30, 2021 at 12:14 pm

    Such a good way for a fresher like me to start

    Reply
  15. Bruno says

    January 17, 2021 at 10:34 pm

    The article is informative. I will definitely apply what I have learnt from it in my writing. Thanks,

    Reply
  16. Dickson says

    January 11, 2021 at 4:18 pm

    Thank you very much Catherine for the useful info on writing catchy titles. I personally didn’t realize I prefer opening articles with a short but realistic timeframe. Everyone would like to lose weight in one month.

    Reply
  17. Leonard Rono says

    November 22, 2020 at 2:07 pm

    Awesome piece of content Catherine. Quality content with poor blog titles is like introducing a new awesome product into the market but with unattractive, inappropriate packaging, and poor marketing. You will be lucky if it does well.

    Reply
  18. Jacqueline says

    November 17, 2020 at 1:37 pm

    Hi Catherine, this is really wonderful information. Thanks.

    Reply
  19. Michelle says

    November 13, 2020 at 11:16 am

    Hey Catherine, this blog is very well written. You’ve given me a standard to aspire to. Thank you so much for your work!

    Reply
  20. Lewis says

    September 15, 2020 at 11:58 am

    Great post, very informative

    Reply
  21. Raymond says

    September 6, 2020 at 4:34 pm

    Hey Catherine,

    This is an awesome piece!

    Thank you.

    Reply
  22. Zeddy Kibet says

    August 8, 2020 at 2:56 pm

    Hey Catherine,
    The article is really informative, I have learn a lot.
    Thank you

    Reply
  23. Shem says

    July 21, 2020 at 3:32 pm

    Hi Catherine,
    This is very informative to me as I begin this journey of writing. Thank so much and I look forward to receiving more coach sessions and your hand in this is required.

    Be blessed

    Reply
  24. Peter Wao says

    May 20, 2020 at 1:40 pm

    For me, this is a real eye-opener. Thanks.

    Reply
  25. Weimi says

    May 14, 2020 at 6:00 pm

    Hi Catherine,

    This article opens my eyes. I have never imagined of the odd number thing!! Very interesting.
    What you left me looking for more is about the ‘SEO’ headline writing. I needed examples or hand holding to get it right. Otherwise this is awesome

    Reply
  26. Ruth says

    May 14, 2020 at 1:18 pm

    Very Informative.
    Thank you.

    Reply
  27. Caroline Njue says

    May 12, 2020 at 12:42 pm

    Very informative piece ,it has enriched me.

    Reply
  28. Loyce Mary Atekit says

    April 21, 2020 at 5:01 pm

    Catherine, I am a faithful admirer of this blog. I can’t believe I’ve never come across this advice.
    This has truly openned my eyes. Thankyou Catherine and Walter.

    Loyce Uganda.

    Reply
    • Catherine Nyorani says

      April 22, 2020 at 10:11 pm

      Hi Loyce,

      You’re welcome.

      Yes, this blog is full of great information. Glad this post has been an eye-opener for you.

      Reply
  29. Wamuhu says

    April 13, 2020 at 1:04 am

    Very informative indeed Catherine. Your guidelines will be used in my first assignment as a newbie.

    Reply
    • Catherine Nyorani says

      April 21, 2020 at 6:08 pm

      Hi Wamuhu,

      That’s wonderful. Implementing what you learn is one of the best ways to experience progress.

      All the best.

      Reply
  30. Sam says

    March 19, 2020 at 2:13 am

    How do you describe this style?

    5 Easy to Ways to Lose Weight Fast (Three That’ll Definitely Waste your Time )

    Reply
  31. Susan says

    January 30, 2020 at 10:20 am

    Very powerful information for a beginner like me. Looking forward to learning more and being a skillful writer.
    Be blessed.

    Reply
    • Catherine Nyorani says

      April 21, 2020 at 6:03 pm

      Hi Susan,

      Glad it’s been of help.

      Be blessed

      Reply
  32. Joshua Nyabinda says

    December 11, 2019 at 7:32 am

    This article is just super. I must implement them. Thanks so much Catherine.

    Reply
    • Catherine Nyorani says

      December 21, 2019 at 1:05 am

      You’re welcome Joshua 🙂

      Reply
  33. Esbon says

    November 9, 2019 at 7:51 am

    Very informative. I am not going to let such gold slip by without giving it a try.
    Thanks, Catherine and all the best.

    Reply
    • Catherine Nyorani says

      November 11, 2019 at 8:29 am

      You’re welcome Esbon. Glad this has been helpful.
      All the best.

      Reply
  34. Truphena says

    September 2, 2019 at 11:56 am

    Very informative Catherine, may try it.

    Reply
    • Catherine Nyorani says

      September 2, 2019 at 8:50 pm

      Hi. Thanks for reading.
      I’m glad you’ve learned something from the post. All the best implementing these tactics.

      Reply
  35. Patrick says

    July 26, 2019 at 6:02 pm

    That’s a great read. Love it Walter.

    Reply
    • Catherine Nyorani says

      July 26, 2019 at 8:40 pm

      Hope you’ll be implementing some of these ideas Patrick. 🙂
      Thanks for your feedback.

      Reply
    • Caroline Adhiambo says

      November 13, 2019 at 3:40 pm

      Very insightful! Thanks

      Reply
  36. Keli says

    July 26, 2019 at 5:31 pm

    Great insight. I will definitely put these into practice

    Reply
    • Catherine Nyorani says

      July 26, 2019 at 9:15 pm

      Thanks for your feedback Keli.

      Reply
  37. Boniface Kisina says

    July 26, 2019 at 3:38 pm

    Awesome Walter. And by the way, many people create awesome content but getting people to read it is what remains a challenge.
    The trick is in the title.
    Catchy titles equal to more clicks.

    Reply
    • Catherine Nyorani says

      July 26, 2019 at 4:38 pm

      That’s very true Boniface. A title may take up a very small percentage of an article and yet its impact is huge.

      Reply

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