You may have a great piece of content and a well-designed website. But you see that your traffic is not going anywhere up. You wonder where could be the problem, wondering why your page views aren't performing as expected.
A good looking website is a must because design is what catches the eyes first. But having a great copy itself won't do much good if people aren't attracted to your content's headline. Without a compelling headline, the links you posted on the web won't be clicked.
Headlines are the first thing that people read. If your content's headline is posted on the web, they should be attractive so people will click it. If people do click on it, it still needs to be compelling so people will actually read.
When you have your contents published, the next thing you want it having people to read them. A lot of websites and blogs on the web are struggling to get people to read their contents, and what most have done wrong is having a poorly crafted headline.
Below is a list of tips you can do to improve how your headlines look like, increasing their chances to be seen.
Using Numbers
People love numbers in one way or another. Using numbers on your headline isn't revolutionary, but it is highly related to how effective your contents can be.
In terms of catching the wandering potential visitors, seasoned marketers often use numbers on their headlines to describe some tips and tricks. For example, "Top 10 Tips For Travelling In Indonesia" can give a whole new meaning if compared to just "Top Tips For Travelling In Indonesia".
The reason for this is the number in the headline that made the topic more descriptive.
Using the word "top" further suggest that the said "10" tips list nothing but the best information. Along with numbers, an added adjective can encourage people to read your post.
The Sense of Curiosity
Have you ever wondered why you can sit hours watching your favorite TV series without being bored, while sitting in front of your computer doing your work at the office seems like forever? The answer is watching your favorite TV series drives your eagerness for more; keeping you craving for many more to come. And at the same time, you're enjoying it.
Your headline should be simple as possible. But at the same time, it should have the ability to stimulate curiosity. Curiosity is so powerful that it can increase your CTR (click-through rate) and average visit duration.
How you can drive this sense of curiosity depends heavily on your content and your niche. For example, "You'll Never Want To Leave Indonesia After Reading This".
Beside making people curious and eager to read your content, your headline can also be controversial. A headline that opens a topic of debate is always hot, and be a great way for your link baiting strategy.
State And Solve
People browse the web for a reason, and some of the wandering potential visitors are those that have questions in mind. Your headline should address that by stating their problem, and solving it somewhere in your content.
Stating people's problem on your headline can't get more descriptive. People on the internet are hungry for contents, and to satisfy their needs, they consume information rapidly. Using the internet, people are hoping to get an answer to their problem, and your content, and your headline, should be relevant.
The technique in creating the state and solve headline is by knowing the two elements: one, stating the problem, and two is showing the way for them to find the answer.
For example, "No Money For Travelling? Get Your Discounted Airline Tickets Without Compromise.
"Easy, Simple and Free"
Who doesn't like those three words? The picture they describe is totally obvious: convenience, and everyone loves convenience.
On the mobile world, what made apps' development came into a boom is because of users can download them for free. Despite they're actually in-app purchases and ads throughout the app, users won't bother.
Free things may not be totally free. People may need to do something in order to get that free stuffs. However, people do notice those words more often than others, and tend to like them despite they know that they'll be probably tricked somewhere in between.
The words are somehow "spammy" because they're used more than often, and people are abusing them even more. But there is no denying that the sense of convenience still drives clicks and traffics.
Conclusion
Contents alone won't make people see you because headlines are the ones that attract them first. Since your headlines is at the forefront, they should be as great as they can be.
Playing with the combinations of the many words in the dictionary, using them to create your distinctive vocabulary, and putting them all together to create a single meaning, have limitless possibilities. Never shy in trying new things because you'll never know how the words can play with the minds if you're doing correctly.
The next thing you need to do is to convert all those traffics into actual buyers, making them click on ads, or just browse to more of your pages.
Further reading:
The Importance of Content Writing
Writing a Good, SEO-Oriented Articles for You to be Seen
Writing to Increase Your Website's Organic Search Traffic
Creating a High Conversion Landing Page