How To Write Great Headlines That Earn Clicks

Writing eye-catching headlines is an important part of small business web design. Here's how to write great headlines that earn clicks.

By Claudio Pires
Updated on July 25, 2022
How To Write Great Headlines That Earn Clicks

The headlines that you choose for your content are one of the first things that people see. Whether they find you through a search engine or you share your content on social media, they will read your headline first to get an idea of what the content is about. In this article, you’ll see how to write great headlines that earn clicks.

This makes it essential to have eye-catching headlines that encourage people to click on your links. Your headlines need to be intriguing and they need to offer readers something valuable. What are they going to get out of your content? If you want to improve your click-through rate, you need to master headline writing.

How To Write Great Headlines That Earn Clicks

This guide will give you some of the most valuable tips for writing amazing headlines that get more people to click on your content.

Make It a List To Write Great Headlines That Earn Clicks

If there’s one thing that’s easy to notice, it’s that many headlines focus on the content being a list or numbered article of some kind. People like an article where the information has been broken down for them, into easily consumable chunks. It makes it easy to take in smaller pieces of information and they can even switch between reading the content and doing something else. This is something to consider before you write your content so that you can write a numbered article or “listicle”.

When you put a number at the beginning of your headline, it immediately catches the eye. You can see the difference between “A Few Ways to Improve Your Website Design” and “10 Ways to Improve Your Website Design”. It shows the reader exactly what they’re going to get.

Be Specific To Write Great Headlines That Earn Clicks

Speaking of showing the reader what they’re going to find when they click on your link, it pays to be specific and clear about what your content contains. If it’s unclear, it could be easier to ignore, especially if the reader finds it confusing or doesn’t get any real information about what the content focuses on. If your headline leaves the reader with questions about what they’re about to read, it’s not doing its job properly. Even worse, they might click on it thinking that they will find one thing but then realize that it wasn’t what they expected and leave.

Try to be detailed when you write your headline, while also keeping it snappy. Be as clear as you can so that your readers don’t have any chance of being confused.

Tell Your Reader How They Benefit

People want to know what they’re going to get out of it if they click on a link. How are they going to benefit from clicking? Your headline should let them know what they’re going to learn or how they’re going to be entertained. What reason do they have to click on your link?

You should let your reader know how your content is going to be useful to them. The headline might tell them what kind of useful information your content contains, such as a guide to doing something. It might also let them know what sort of knowledge they’re going to gain, whether it’s reading about the latest news story or an industry secret that everyone should know. Another way to attract your readers is to offer them a clear reward, such as a free download, when they click on your link or sign up for something on your landing page.

Address the Reader To Write Great Headlines That Earn Clicks

Speaking directly to the reader is generally the best way to go when you’re writing headlines. You should use the second person and address your reader using “you” and “your” to make your headlines more personal. Don’t just tell them that your article will show them “5 Ways to Save Money on Energy Bills”, let them know you have “5 Ways You Can Save Money on Your Energy Bills”. While this might seem like a subtle difference, it can read very differently and speak directly to your reader.

Keep SEO in Mind

It’s always important to think about SEO with small business web design and marketing. When you’re writing headlines, you should consider search engine optimization. Your content needs an SEO meta title, which will show in search engines, and a heading 1 title that will show on the web page itself.

Your headline should contain keywords that you want to target. Preferably, you should use long-tail keywords to make your headline more specific. Including appropriate keywords will help your content to show up in search engine results and rank higher too, which should help to increase your click-through rate. WebX360 can help you with all of your SEO needs to ensure your headlines are optimized for search engines.

Make Your Headlines Unique

A unique headline will stand out from other content that might be similar to yours. There are lots of ways you can make your headline a little more eye-catching. So, you can use unusual phrases, puns, and plays on words, alliteration, or other linguistic techniques to make your headline seem more interesting. As a result, a great way to write headlines that earn clicks.

If you can make people laugh or get them curious about what you have to offer. In addition, you could get their attention and tempt them to click on your content.

Write Headlines for Social Media

Another important thing to keep in mind is that you might be writing headlines for different purposes. Including email marketing and social media. If you’re posting your content on social media, you can write different headlines for each channel. This allows you to adapt your headline to different audiences. Moreover, our followers on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter could all be slightly different. It also means you can post something unique to each channel, instead of just copying and pasting the same headline. Different channels can have varying character limits too, so you can avoid having your headline get cut off.

A great headline will get people to click on your content. Don’t underestimate how powerful a well-written headline can be. So, you could start seeing a rise in your click-through rates if you concentrate on writing captivating. So, valuable headlines that make promises to your readers.

Claudio Pires

Claudio Pires is the co-founder of Visualmodo, a renowned company in web development and design. With over 15 years of experience, Claudio has honed his skills in content creation, web development support, and senior web designer. A trilingual expert fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, he brings a global perspective to his work. Beyond his professional endeavors, Claudio is an active YouTuber, sharing his insights and expertise with a broader audience. Based in Brazil, Claudio continues to push the boundaries of web design and digital content, making him a pivotal figure in the industry.