The Two Blog Title Traps You Need to Avoid to Succeed

Sick of seeing the same blog titles over and over again?

Me too.

Unless you're willing to let your website traffic and potential leads slip through your fingers, it's time that you stop leaning on bad blog title practices, and start making a conscious effort to provide value.

With the proper techniques and a clear understanding of what your audience is searching for, it's entirely possible to rank high for the specific keywords and queries you know your readers are interested in. 

There's already tons of cutesy, uninspired blog posts circulating the web. Don't add to the mix by falling into the two traps outlined below, as that market is already saturated. 

When brainstorming blog titles, marketers fall into two traps:

1. Getting cutesy

Sure, witty blog post titles are fun to come up with, but they're completely self-serving, and unless you have a large audience no one is ever going to find it. Compromising the behavior of your audience as well as SEO best practices for a cutesy title is extremely risky, and a common downfall for many blogs that are not getting read. 

2. Over­-optimized

Keyword optimization is a catch-22, as while you can't ignore it altogether, over-optimizing your post based on search engine data can be a slippery slope toward turning off your audience. Instead, optimize for your ideal persona or reader based on the questions they need answers to. 

Before you write another blog title...

Keep brainstorming

Don't just settle for the first thing that comes to mind.

Some of the best blog titles that have ever graced our blog have been the result of a collaborative brainstorming session. In fact, we believe in the power of brainstorming so much so that we created a tool to help other people organize their thoughts just the same. 

If you're feeling uncertain, try coming up with a list of 10 different working titles and share it with a friend. You don't have to be married to them all, the goal is to just get them out so that you can see them. From here, work with a co-worker or team to make cross outs, switch words around, get rid of fluff, and add value. 

Ask a question

Consider the way in which your audience is conducting their search queries. 

With conversational search becoming the norm, it's important that your business is creating and editing existing content so that is is reflective of the questions that your buyer personas are most likely to search for. 

By working questions that align with what your business can bring to the table, you are essentially making it easier for users to pull up one of your site pages in their search.

Focus on the reader

Reader-centric blog titles are going to get read. 

While it sounds like common sense, you'd be surprise how many bloggers create titles that they love, with little regard for their actual readers. 

When possible, incorporate the word "you" so that there is no question who you are trying to reach. By spinning the language to focus on the reader and their interests, you're effectively enticing them to click through.

Be clear 

You're competing for time, so make sure the audience knows why they're going to give you five minutes of their time up front. 

When it comes to creating content for readers with pint-sized attention spans, it is critical that you make the benefit known immediately.

If you choose to wait until the first sentence of your blog to address the value, it’s likely that you’ll be a sentence to late.

Do a little research

On the fence regarding what keyword to use?

Google Trends gives users an opportunity to uncover the topics that are trending, as well as the search volume for specific keywords and terms.

If you're stuck, use the 'Explore' feature to compare up to 5 different keywords at once. This option allows you to investigate where specific topics of your choosing stand in terms of search volume. 

But like I said before, don't get hung up on search engine data. Optimize for your personas first, then search engines.