We all spend hours writing our blog posts but once written it can seem like they are swimming amongst a sea of other similar posts, with so many blogs around it can be hard to make your post seen. A good blog title can not only help to get that post ranked well in search engines but also encourages readers to actually click on that post and read. A little time and effort really does go a long way – good keywords will help the posts visibility in searches and capturing the readers attention will help make them click through to your post.
Step 1…
Firstly, you’ll need to decide on the topic you are writing about – personally I write my posts first and then go back to add a title once I am finished.
Step 2…
Next you should do a little keyword research – don’t run away and hide, it really doesn’t have to be intense – just head over to google and search for the topic you are writing about. Take note of the top auto suggestions which come up while you are typing – this shows you what others are actively searching for: For example; if I type in “UK holiday destinations” the following suggestions will be displayed below my search
• UK holiday destinations
• UK holiday destinations 2017
• UK holiday destinations December
• UK holiday destinations Winter
• UK holiday destinations in March
Step 3…
Now think about your niche and what you will be writing about and try another search based on one of the above, for example “UK holidays for families” – these are the auto suggestions for that search
• UK holidays for families with babies
• UK holidays for families luxury
• UK holidays for families cottages
• UK holidays for family and dogs
• cheap UK holidays for families
Step 4…
What the above shows you is that more people are searching for the top result “UK holidays for families with babies” than the bottom one “cheap UK holidays for families” – you can now try to combine both searches to help write your blog title. Numbers always do well in blog titles as do ‘how to’, ‘top tips’ etc – these are the types of posts people will be actively looking for. Here are a few ideas:
• Top UK holiday destinations for families with babies
• My top 10 UK holiday destinations for families and dogs this winter
• Places to visit in 2017 – holidays in the UK for families and dogs
• 5 places I want to visit – Holidays in the UK for families
• 5 essentials to pack when holidaying in the UK with a baby
• Top tips for travelling with a baby – UK holidays for families
You get the idea hopefully. Numbered titles work well on Pinterest too so remember to add a pinnable image to your post which has your title on too. Write your blog post, either go back through the post you’ve already written or start from scratch (whichever way you work), remembering to add your keywords into the first paragraph and then again a few times within the post.
Top Tips from an old timer…
Try to avoid click bait titles
Yes you want to grab the readers attention but drawing them in under false pretences isn’t going to keep them as a reader long term, nor are they likely to recommend your post to others or share it. Try to put yourself in the readers place, which blog title would you click on if presented with a few to read? Ones which are unclear what the post is about or ones which are clear from the off and grab your attention.
Don’t forget your Images
Use at least one image and add a description of the photo including your keyword in the ALT tag section – ALT tags are used to describe an image so use something relevant to your title or keywords, don’t spam all your images as they are primarily used to describe the image to the blind or visually impaired, you can read up on this over on Yoast.com