Guide to writing powerful headlines

According to CopyBlogger, “80% of people will glance at the headlines of content, but only 20% of people go on to read the article or content.” It’s a basic statistic, but it emphasizes the bigger picture of why powerful headline is a must-have for successful and positive ROI for SEO content and blog posts. Even though a headline is usually only 5 to 10 words, it is the most important part of an article. For SEO purposes, a headline is also a page’s Title Tag. Google wants Title Tags to be fewer than 70 characters. So how can I make a headline fit all of these requirements and still be captivating?

• When writing a headline, keep benefits in mind.  How will reading the content help the reader?
• Use powerful hooks, imaginative phrases that make the reader visualize or entice them to read further.
• Know your audience and go for the pressure points.  For the automotive industry, everyone needs: oil changes, everyone wants to save money, everyone wants things easy and pleasant, and everyone wants things fast.  An example headline could be: “Secret to getting a fast oil change while saving money”

To sum it up you only have to write 5 to 10 words at 70 or less characters, sounds easy right?  Knowing exactly what to say in those few words can take longer to write than the entire article.

Content Motive has been creating powerful SEO content for dealers for years.  We know what works and what doesn’t.  Let our team of SEO dealer experts overhaul and fix your SEO strategy.

Further reading:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2013/09/05/the-online-marketers-guide-to-writing-high-converting-headlines/
http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/7570/how-to-nail-a-killer-headline/

Daniel Chase
Senior SEO Strategist