Article titles – 9 proven tips for creating the most effective ones

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Articles titles are the most important element of any text, because it determines whether the reader will want to visit a given website and read the content posted there. But, how does one create article titles that are catchy and intriguing? We present proven methods for creating compelling H1 headings!

Article titles – rules of creation

Even the best written text can be skipped by users if its headline is not intriguing and attractive enough. So there is something to fight for – after all, you want your texts to be clicked and read. Today, we have compiled a list of the most important guidelines that you should follow when creating an article title. Get to work!

Create short titles

A meta title should be a short and concise reflection of what is contained in the article. If the title does not match the topic of the article, the user will leave your website very quickly. However, you do not have to describe the entire content of the post in the headline – try to extract the essence of the topic.

A good article title should contain about 50-71 characters. The discrepancy is caused by the fact that the width of the text in pixels counts here, not the specific number of characters.

Example

The uppercase letter “W” is definitely bigger than the lowercase letter “i”.

If you exceed the maximum title length, it will be shortened and only part of it will be displayed in search results. It is believed that a headline that is too long does not have a negative impact on positioning, but it can definitely have a negative impact on the user experience. A truncated title does not look very good and can effectively discourage clicking.

The worst-case scenario is when the key phrase is at the end of a long headline and is cut off – the user does not even know what the article is about and simply skips it. And here we come to the next point…

Place keywords at the beginning of the title

Properly selected keywords affect the ranking of articles in search engines. They should, therefore, be placed ed in the title and in the headings (mainly H2), in the introduction and occasionally in the body – both in the inflected and uninflected form, as well as using synonyms.

However, the most important keyword phrase should be included in the title of the article, preferably in its initial or middle part, to avoid cutting off the ‘essence’ of the topic.

It is believed that placing keywords at the beginning of the title can have a positive effect on ranking – but is this true? We will probably never know.

How to find keywords

You can use paid tools such as KWFinder, KeySearch or Ahrefs. They will help you not only in finding keywords, but also determine the number of searches per month, related phrases and competitiveness.

A free solution is Google Keyword Planner. Although it was created mainly for people dealing with Google Ads advertising, it can give you a lot of useful information, especially if you cannot afford paid tools.

Respond to the needs of your readers

Think about what the people who will potentially read your article want or need. For example, if you are writing a an article about weight loss, your readers feel the need to lose a few extra pounds. You can then use the title “Learn how to lose weight quickly before the holidays!”

The prospective reader will probably identify with this slogan and will want to learn more so that they can quickly lose weight and feel better..

Create lists

Step-by-step instructions, lists of inspiration, checklists – all of these forms are very popular and increase the chances of arousing readers’ interest. There is a reason for that – lists give the readers a guarantee that they will find specific information, proven methods or instructions to follow in a given article.

These types of articles are usually presented in a concise, bulleted form, which makes it easier to quickly scan the content. And as we know, long and boring blocks of texts do not encourage reading.

Use questions

This formula can contribute to the popularity of your article, because the title in the form of a question gives the user a hint that the article they are about to read will answer the issue they are interested in.

In the headline, you can include questions starting with: how, why, when, what, in what way, for what, etc. The choice is yours! Each of these suggestions can be equally attractive and effective.

Use numbers

Using numbers in the title of an article is a good way to arouse the interest of readers. The use of numbers will distinguish your article from other search results and suggest to the recipient that they will find a specific amount of advice, possibilities or solutions in this text.

An example of using a number in the title of an article could be “6 ways to save water“. The Internet user knows what to expect in the content by merely reading the headline.

Use language of benefits

This method is based on extracting the features and advantages of a product or service combined with emphasizing the benefits that the user can obtain for themselves.

The language of benefits is widely used in sales and advertising, but it works just as well when creating titles, because it has a specific impact on the readers and presents them with a real profit. An example of this type of activity could be “Discover recipes for delicious dinners that will help you stay in shape!” Attractive, right?

Present professionalism or expert knowledge

We like to gain knowledge from specialists in a given field – this gives us a guarantee that the information obtained will be reliable and substantive. Nowadays, the amount of content on the internet is huge and we can often come across false data, fake news, etc.

Presenting an article as specialist knowledge obtained from an expert in a given field can build trust in the eyes of the readers and encourage them to read the whole thing. How to create such a title? Here are sample titles: “Doctor suggests how to survive the heat safely” or “Google specialist advises how to recognize a good SEO agency“.

Use an information gap

An information gap is, to put it simply, a shortage of information on a given topic. Wondering how to create information gap? Simply ask a question to which the reader does not know the answer, but would like to know it.

By using this mechanism in the title of the article, you can very easily create a hunger for knowledge in the reader, which will probably result in visits to your website. An example of the use of the information gap could be the headline “Our new house – how long does the renovation really take?”

Summary

  • The title of the article determines whether readers will want to visit a website and read the content posted there.
  • A good title should be around 50-71 characters long and include the most important keyword.
  • Lists, numbers, questions, language of benefits, expert knowledge, exploiting the information gap – all of these elements used in the title of the article can help increase the clickability of your article.

Toyin Emmanuel

I am a creative & seasoned writer who has an internationally recognized flair for weaving keywords to produce engaging and informative content. I believe that written and analytical skills are fundamental to a website's success and possess top-notch prowess in Search Engine Optimization(SEO), WordPress, and Google Analytics and how they apply to content creation. In addition to being a successful writer on Upwork, I also hold various certifications from respected platforms(like Udemy and Coursera) so you can be confident in working with a professional Web Content Writer and Copywriter.

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