Last updated on February 25th, 2023 at 10:24 pm
If your big dream is to be a famous blogger then your seemingly best article titles could be the one thing that is preventing your blog posts from going viral.
Article titles should be carefully chosen to both include a keyword phrase and be enticing to the scanning eye.
One of the best article title writers of all time was Victor O. Schwab, who is still revered and admired as being the most famous and best direct-marketing copywriter ever.
He created Dale Carnegie’s book title, “How to Win Friends and Influence People“ which made the book a best-seller in the 1930s.
In a series of 5 articles titled, “How to Write a Good Advertisement,“ Victor Schwab outlined his 5 step copy-writing formula for great headlines and titles:
1. Get Attention
2. Show People an Advantage
3. Prove It
4. Persuade People to Grasp This Advantage
5. Ask For Action
Create Viral Titles and Articles Tips:
Remember that the first 2 words in your title give you the most search love, so make sure your title starts with your search term — if you can. You do still want your title to flow naturally. Check keyword terms and phrases for your titles at a keyword research tool.
√ 8 Articles on Writing Great Post Titles:
• Darren Rowse: 4 Post Headlines that are Guaranteed to Get Readers Excited
• Lawrence Bernstein: 100 Good Advertising Headlines (by Victor Schwab)
• Brian Clark: How to Write Headlines that Get Results
• Brian Clark: 10 Sure-Fire Headline Formulas That Work
• Catherine Hughes: How to Create a Top Blog Website
• Mashable: How to Optimize Your Headlines for Google and Humans
√ 48 Examples of the Greatest Titles/Headlines of all Time:
1. THE SECRET OF MAKING [what, who] LIKE [what, who]
2. A LITTLE MISTAKE THAT COST A [what, who] $ [dollar amount] A YEAR
3. ADVICE TO [who–e.g. “teachers”] WHOSE [type of thing–e.g. “children” “husbands” “pets” “students”] DON’T [do what–e.g. “sit still” “listen” “follow directions”]
4. THE [who, what, where] WHO WON THE [feeling] OF ALL
5. ARE YOU EVER [problem/fear] AT A [name event/situation]?
6. HOW A [discovery, person, place, thing] MADE A [amazing thing]
7. HOW TO WIN [person, place, thing] AND INFLUENCE [person, place, thing]
8. THE LAST [number of–e.g. “hours/miles/steps/places”] ARE THE LONGEST AND THOSE ARE THE [e.g. same number + hours/miles/steps/places] YOU [ result–e.g. save/get back/win/own/love]
9. WHO ELSE WANTS [something amazing–e.g. “to learn Italian in 30 days”]
10. DO YOU MAKE THESE MISTAKES IN [name subject]
11. WHY SOME [problem–e.g. “dreams die”] IN [where/when the problem happens–e.g. “in your heart” “in the first 30 days”]
12. [Person/place/thing] THAT WILL LOOK [better/worse/description] IN [short time frame–e.g. “24 hours”] OR [what will happen–e.g. “a full refund” “I’ll eat my shoe”]
13. YOU CAN LAUGH AT [something serious–e.g. “money worries”] IF YOU FOLLOW THIS SIMPLE PLAN
14. YOU CAN LAUGH AT [name serious situation] IF YOU FOLLOW THIS SIMPLE [idea for solving situation]
15. WHY SOME [person, title–e.g. “dreamers”] ALMOST ALWAYS [something great–e.g. “make big money”] IN [what they do–e.g. “their dream of taking baby photos”]
16. WHEN [someone successful–e.g. “Presidents” “CEO’s” “Researchers”] FEEL [name feeling–e.g. “successful” “fulfilled” “rich”] THIS IS WHAT THEY DO
17. WHEN [name famous person–e.g. Oprah] FEELS DEFEATED THIS IS WHAT [e.g. “he” “she”] DOES
18. IT SEEMS INCREDIBLE THAT [name what you think is incredible–“mountain climbers”] CAN [name incredible thing–e.g. “sleep hanging from a mountain’s edge”]
19. IT SEEMS INCREDIBLE THAT A [name something less than expected–e.g. “a high school student”] CAN [name the unexpected–e.g. “make 100k a year”]
20. THE 5 MOST FAMILIAR [type of troubles/problems–e.g. “negative thoughts”] YOU WANT TO OVERCOME
21. WHICH OF THESE [something wonderful] DO YOU WANT FOR ONLY [name cost time/money]?
22. WHOEVER HEARD OF A [person/place/thing-doing something–e.g. “landscape photographer photographing bears”] AND ENJOYING [something else–e.g. “eating food” ] AT THE SAME TIME?
23. CAN YOU PASS THIS [name type of test–e.g. “relationship” “love”] TEST?
24. HOW I IMPROVED [person/place/thing] IN [name quick amount of time]
25. DISCOVER [something wonderful] THAT LIES HIDDEN IN YOUR [obscure place]
26. [Who/group/place–e.g. “Research”] PROVES [whatever numbers you want–e.g. “2 out of 3” “7 out of 10”] [people/place/thing–e.g. “women over age 40”] CAN HAVE [something amazing–e.g. “a new life”] IN [short amount of time–e.g. “30 days”]
27. HOW I MADE [something happen/change] WITH A [foolish idea/something simple/little money]
28. HOW OFTEN DO YOU HEAR YOURSELF SAYING: [“statement”]
29. 8 WAYS TO [name item]
30. HAVE YOU EVER SEEN [name person/place/thing] [name feeling–e.g. “cry” “belly laugh” “growl”]?
31. HOW TO DISCOVER A FORTUNE LIVING HIDDEN IN YOUR [name item–e.g. “basement” “writing” “photography”]
32. THE LOWDOWN ON [name item]
33. HERE’S A WAY TO [name item] THAT HAS NEVER FAILED
34. HOW TO GET A GRIP ON [name item]
35. [A number–e.g. 8, 9,10, 50, etc.] HEART-WARMING [items/statement]
36. [Person/place/thing] PROVE [number–e.g. “2 out of 3” “4 out of 5” etc.] [person/place/thing] CAN HAVE MORE [something wonderful] IN [number of days/time]
37. HAVE YOU THESE SYMPTOMS OF [something valuable or something opposite]
38. HAVE YOU THE [number–e.g. “8”] WARNING SIGNS OF [name item–e.g. “procrastination“]
39. EVERYWHERE [name person–e.g.”women” “doctors”] ARE RAVING ABOUT THIS AMAZING [item/breakthrough/statement]
40. [Number–e.g. “8” “10” etc.] TYPES OF [type of people/group–e.g. “procrastinators”] WHICH ONE ARE YOU?
41. THE CRIMES WE COMMIT AGAINST OUR [person/place/thing/statement]
42. THROW AWAY YOUR [item/negative feelings]
43. HOW MUCH IS [something negative] COSTING YOUR [something you want/value]
44. IT’S A SHAME FOR YOU NOT TO [name something positive] WHEN [name person/group] DO IT SO EASILY
45. ANNOUNCING: THE NEW [something desirable] THAT MAKES [something undesirable/more desirable]
46. SNEAKY LITTLE [type of item] TRICKS THAT [something desirable] TO [type of readers] LIKE YOU
47. SUPPOSE THIS HAPPENED TO [your dream/item/something desirable]
48. NOW: [do something desirable] THIS EASY WAY
√ 10 Best Titles That Encourage Visitors to Click-through to Your Posts: (by Doug Karr)
1. How to… More, Better, Faster — utilizing a How to in combination with a great result.
2. Top 5, 10, 100 Lists — Not too many… unless you’re trying to make a big point. Readers love a good list.
3. Question? Answer — Ask a question that everyone asks and then hint at the answer.
4. Amazing, Essential, Ultimate, Surefire — Utilize words that evoke a strong emotion that it’s the best information anyone could get anywhere.
5. Free — Yup, people still love a free deal.
6. What the Best, Famous, Rich Know — You want to know what they know, don’t you?
7. Secret Guide, Formula — If it’s a secret, our curiosity gets the best of us.
8. Quick, Fast, Timely — We don’t have a lot of time these days, use words that set expectations that the info can be retained quickly.
9. Big Numbers, Big Percentages — Readers are attracted to big numbers.
10. Overcome, Conquer, Win — People hate to lose. Show them how to avoid it!
On a search engine results page, you’re met with a title and a description — that’s all.
Those are the only two components that a reader sees before deciding whether or not to click and visit your site. The title is taken from your page title element. If you’re writing a blog post, that typically coincides with your blog post title. Your description can be taken from the page content, but if you have a meta description tag, the search engines will often take that content instead.
√ 19 Top Titles From Oprah Magazine:
When you aren’t sure of the type of titles that work with your demographic, buy magazines in your niche and look at what you see on the cover. National Enquirer and gossip websites are another place to find inspiration for great titles.
1. 30 CREATIVE [e.g. “dreams, goals, cameras, travel destination”]
2. LET YOUR INTUITION BE YOUR GUIDE TO UNCOVERING [e.g. “your dream” “perfect photo opportunity”]
3. [Type of] SECRETS FROM READING [name of the book, website, article]
4. THE [e.g. “dream seeker” “world traveler” “famous photographer” “best-selling author” “motivation”] VOICE WITHIN
5. [Subject] LIKE YOU MEAN IT
6. [Subject] LESSONS 101:
7. FROM DAY DREAMING TO GOAL SETTING
8. THE BRAVE SHALL [will do what]
9. THE POWER OF [e.g. “goal setting” “meditation” “traveling alone”]
10. GET DOWN TO BUSINESS AND START [e.g. “traveling” “dreaming bigger” “learning Italian”] TODAY
11. UNLEASH THE KILLING FORCE AGAINST PROCRASTINATION
12. PLAY TO YOUR [e.g. “creative” “artistic” “goal setting”] STRENGTHS
13. 3 COMMON [e.g. “big dream” or substitute something to do with a big dream] MISTAKES
14. AN EXCITING NEW WAY TO [e.g. “dream big” “solo travel” “make money” “launch an online product”]
15. THE SCIENCE OF SUCCESSFUL [e.g. “dreams come true” “product launches” “goal setting” “book publishing”]
16. AN EYE-OPENING GUIDE TO [e.g. “dreaming big” “taking professional Smartphone photographs” “hiking through Europe”]
17. YOU DREAM OF [e.g. “writing a book” “traveling to Peru” “becoming a triathlete after age 40”] AND WHY YOU DON’T GO FOR IT
18. ATTENTION [name audience–e.g. “big dreamers”]: 5 STEPS THAT WILL JUMP-START YOUR SUCCESS
19. IS YOUR DREAM OF [e.g. “making money online” “becoming a top photographer” “publishing a book”] HARDER THAN YOU THINK?
√ Two Goals to Writing an Effective Title:
1. Catch a reader’s eye and encourage them to read.
2. Help search engines and help readers searching to find your article.
It’s that simple, and that difficult.
Your post title or headline must attract readers. It must motivate the reader to click. It must encourage them to move their eyes past the title to the text. Then it’s up to your storytelling and writing abilities to lead the reader through the rest of your story. Article titles today do more than just encourage readers to read. Search engines use them in their search results to help the searcher find information on the web.
From among a long list of links, your post title must jump out and scream:
⇒HERE! This is the information you are seeking! Click here! Read this!⇐
Your post title becomes a critical component to helping people find you in a search engine, directory, link list, and more.
√ 35 Power Headline Words:
Do you
Amazing
At last
Bargain(s)
Little-known secrets
Life
Breakthrough
Only
The truth about
Now
Sale
How would
Advice to
Love
Facts
Discover
Inside-secrets of
Announcing
Yes
Amazing Secrets
New
How much
This
Which of
How to
You
Free
Hot
Top 8 (or any #)
Best 8
8 top
8 best
8 tips
√ Maximum Length of Article Titles:
Different search engines have different limits and these limits keep changing. The current guidelines are:
• W3C recommends a maximum of 64 characters for page titles.
• Bing recommends a title between 5 and 65 characters long.
• Google doesn’t have any guidance for content publishers, but recommend a maximum title length of approximately 60 characters for Google’s own pages.
√ Characters that Never Belong in a Title:
! @ $ # & ^ * ( ) + = ” ‘ < > , . { } ; / | \ ~ •Characters you can use in titles: % – :
We hope this helps you with your top blog and sharing your voice on the Internet dreams.
Catherine Hughes
