Catchy Titles for Articles – 21 Formulas That Work Like Magic

Writing catchy titles for articles is a key part of on-page SEO. Catchy article titles result in a higher click-through rate (CTR) from the search results.

This article gives you 21 tried and tested formulas for getting clicks from your blog post titles.

While CTR from the search results may not be a direct ranking signal, it more than likely affects ranking indirectly, as Larry Kim shows in this article.

In a nutshell: the more people who click on your SERP snippet, the higher your page will rank.

And that’s why the SEO title is the most important part of your article.

So how do you write catchy SEO titles?

Here are some examples:

But let’s look at it in more detail.

In this article, I’m going to show you 21 headline formulas that are used over and over again in online marketing.

Why do people keep using these formulas?

Because they work!

How To Write Catchy Titles for Articles

I’ve spent hours analyzing successful titles to better understand the psychology behind click-worthy headlines. From my research I’ve distilled these 21 formulas that will help you unleash the power of words and make your articles impossible to resist.

So, buckle up and get ready to master the art of writing catchy titles that grab the reader’s attention!

#1. Use Numbers

This is the key ingredient in writing catchy titles for articles: use numbers! Numbers produce order out of chaos (God made the world in 7 days). They also promise something people can read quickly, as in a list post: 

Further Reading: 5 reasons using numbers works in article headlines

#2. Include the Word ‘Guide’

Guides usually cover a topic from A to Z, so the word ‘guide’ suggests your article is authoritative. That’s going to help you get more clicks:

#3. Create a ‘Curiosity Gap’

One way to write catchy titles for articles is to create a curiosity gap. A curiosity gap is where your reader is left wondering what something is. Here’s an example:

On one level, you probably know that this is a ploy to get you to click on the link. But on another level, you’re wondering what Tip #3 is: it could be a tip that you’ve never heard before. And there’s only one way to find out – so you click on the link.

Here’s another way of creating a curiosity gap. Whenever you insert the word ‘the’ before a number, it implies that these are not just any tips but very specific tips. Again, the reader wonders what these particular tips are.

Here are some examples (as you read them, try them without the word “the” and you’ll see the difference):

Further Reading: The Curiosity Gap: How to Entice People to Click Your Emails and Read Your Content

#4. Titles That Solve a Problem

When people find your pages in the Google search results, it means they have a problem they’re trying to solve.Use the word ‘How’ in your title and you immediately signal to the reader that you’re about to solve a problem:

#5. Avoidance of Pain

Avoidance of pain is an even stronger motivator than the pursuit of pleasure. If your title suggests your reader could avoid loss, cost, or pain, you’ll likely get more clicks:

#6. Promise Change

We’re all looking for something that will change our lives. And it doesn’t have to be something huge:

#7. Use Fear of Failure

One of our greatest motivators is the fear of failure, so if you want to write catchy titles for articles, you should consider invoking fear of failure.Unfortunately, it motivates people more than the desire for success:

#8. Use Negatives

You would think we are more attuned to positives than negatives.But the reverse is true: our survival instinct picks up on negatives much quicker than positives. That’s why the newspapers are full of bad news – bad news sells.

Here are some examples:

Further Reading: New Outbrain Study Says Negative Headlines Do Better Than Positive

#9. Use The Unusual Insight

An unusual insight is where a lesson learned in one field of activity is applied to a completely different field of activity. These kinds of headlines grab people’s attention because they offer a completely new perspective on something.

Here are some examples:

#10. Make Bold Statements

Bold statements stop people in their tracks and grab their attention.

Here are some examples:

#11. Make a Prediction

We’re all worried about the future. Even if what we’re doing now is working, will it still work in 5 years’ time?

#12. Offer Help

We all want to be helped and nurtured. Use the word ‘Help’ in your title.

Here are some examples:

#13. Use FOMO

This is a huge trigger for human behavior. Fear of missing out is so basic to human nature that it has its own acronym. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) is simply the fear that others are getting something you’re not.

Here are some examples:

#14. Use Insider Information

We all want to get ‘inside’ information that is not available to the masses. That’s why these kind of titles get masses of clicks:

#15. Use ‘Secrets Of The Experts’

Most people believe that experts never share their best secrets, so this is another kind of title that will trigger a response:

#16. How To Do This Without Doing That

It’s a fact of life that most of the things we want involve doing something we don’t want, hence the saying: “no pain, no gain”. And that’s why this kind of title has such a strong appeal – it promises the result without the pain. This title formula takes the form of ‘How To Do This (Positive Thing) Without Doing That (Negative Thing)’.

This technique has the added benefit that it allows you to include a secondary keyword in your title:

#17. Be Controversial

The Internet is swamped with free content that basically regurgitates advice that’s already available in hundreds of different blog posts. And that’s why controversial or contradictory titles get clicks. You’re telling the reader: “This is something different”. Here are some examples:

#18. Things I Wish I Had Known

We all know that learning from other’s mistakes can save us months, if not years, of frustration. So this is another type of title that people click on:

#19. ‘I Did It and So Can You’

One of the fears that people have on the Internet, especially when they are starting out, is that the people giving advice are successful because they have some advantages that the reader doesn’t have. So if you can assure people in the title that they can get the same result you did, that’s going to get clicks.

Here are some examples:

#20. ‘Things You Didn’t Know’

When people read a title, they’re trying to decide (in a split second) if this is information they already have. And that’s why this kind of title gets so many clicks. Because you’re telling them, upfront, that this is information they definitely don’t have.

Here are some examples:

#21. Start With The Word ‘Why’

When you begin your title with the word ‘why’, it tells the reader you’re about to give them a reason. And reasons have a powerful effect on human beings.

In 1977, American professor of psychology, Ellen Langer, conducted an experiment where she got students to jump the queue for a photocopy machine. The students gave three different reasons for jumping the queue:

• Version 1 (request only): “Excuse me, I have 5 pages. May I use the Xerox machine?”
• Version 2 (request with a real reason): “Excuse me, I have 5 pages. May I use the xerox machine, because I’m in a rush?”
• Version 3 (request with a fake reason): “Excuse me, I have 5 pages. May I use the xerox machine, because I have to make copies?”

It was version #3 (which is not actually a reason) that was the most successful in getting people to agree to the queue jumping.The takeaway? Reasons are so powerful in human psychology that even a meaningless reason will work. You can read more about this experiment in James Clear’s article: The One Word That Drives Senseless and Irrational Habits.

A Tool to Help You Write Better Titles

If you want help writing your headlines, try Co-Schedule’s Headline Studio.

This is a powerful content marketing tool designed to help you create compelling and engaging headlines for your online content. Whether you’re writing a blog post, social media updates, email subject lines or any other form of digital content, Headline Studio will help you craft attention-grabbing headlines that resonate with your audience.

There’s a paid version and a free version but the free version works just fine.

Headline Studio evaluates your headline based on various factors such as word balance, length, sentiment, and emotional appeal. It provides a score and suggestions for improving your headline to make it more captivating and attention-grabbing.

I’ve been using it for a couple of years – I find it a great way to get the juices flowing.

Start off by typing in your basic title (don’t worry if it’s not very good – the tool will tell you how to improve it).

Then just keep following the suggestions until you get a score in the 80’s. And then you’re good to go!

To access Headline Studio click on the link below and then scroll down to ‘Our Products’ and click on ‘Headline Studio’:

Co-Schedule’s Headline Studio (free tool for writing better headlines)

Conclusion

The title of your article has a huge impact on whether people click on your snippet in the search results. Yet for many bloggers, the title of their blog post is an afterthought. Titles make or break your articles. And that’s why it’s worth spending some time writing a compelling title.

Try using just some of these title formulas on your next blog post and watch as it rises up the search results.

And if you’ve got a moment, go back to your old blog posts and see if you can use these formulas to come up with better titles for them as well.

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