The best way to create content is to start with a good SEO optimized headline. The headline can inform not only the reader what’s inside, but it can inform you about what you’re going to create so that you stick within the bounds of the information and don’t get off track But, first you need to know how to write a fully optimized headline. Let’s go over it.

Use Numbers

Studies show that people like when numbers are used in titles. It can be a number to show how many ways, a number that shows a percentage, a number that shows how many influencers and so forth.

Examples

• Raw Food Health Benefits: 10 Experts Explain
• 10 Healthy Raw Food Tips
• 10 Raw Food Breakfast Recipes
• 10 Raw Food Banana Recipes You’ll Love

Get Formulaic

There are some formulas that work very well for headlines. However, be aware that these formulas can wear off if they’re used too often without delivering results. How many times have you clicked through “breaking” news to find out it was from two years ago?  When you know your subject simply add these to the title in some way.

• How to Write Headlines That Compel Your Audience to Click
• The Secret to Headlines that Get Clicks
• How to Lose Weight Without Hunger
• Write Clickable Headlines Like Seth Godin
• What You Need to Know About Writing Clickable Headlines

Know the Keyword or Keyword Phrases You Have Chosen

Before you even start to write your headline know the keyword you want the content to rank for. Automatically put that keyword in your headline and move the word around so that you can figure out the best place for it. Keep in mind keywords are best in the first few words of the headline but that isn’t a rule that can’t be broken. As you notice in the examples above, sometimes the keywords come last but are the focus of the meaning of the sentence.

Keep it Shorter Than 69 Characters

You want the whole headline to show up in search results. But, if you use too many words in the URL or the title it might cut it off strangely. One way to check is to use a plugin if you use WordPress like Yoast SEO to help you create your meta description better. That way you can see what shows up and adjust as necessary before you publish.

Choose Your Adjectives Wisely

Adding adjectives to your headlines can help get people thinking about your topic and being more curious. But it’s important to use them wisely and don’t overuse them either. Using headlines such as Surprising Ways to Create Clickable Headlines but nothing inside is surprising, then you’ve used the wrong adjective.

Don’t Use Clickbait

We’re all familiar with clickbait. That means that the headline is disingenuous about what’s inside the content. It might even tell you the opposite of what’s in the content. It may even use the wrong names, the wrong information completely, yet people will click it because it seems interesting. But, if you train your audience that you’re not honest by using clickbait you’ll really regret it. Better to avoid using clickbait titles completely.

Make the URL Pretty

Your title and your URL will be the same unless you manually fix it in self-hosted WordPress. The best thing to do is to use only the keywords in the URL instead of the whole long title. That way the URL looks attractive and gives some information to the search engines as well as your users as to the topic that will be discussed.

The headline and title are so important because without a good title or headline no one is going to open your emails, click through to read your articles or answer questions that you ask. A good headline leaves no mistakes about what’s inside or how far it goes to help the people with that topic.