Your website or page title is typically the first thing users see on search engine result pages (SERPs). SEOs have always known that the right title is important, and there is now data that shows how they affect click-through rates and ranking. The right SEO title achieves this by capturing a user’s attention and showing them that your page has what they are looking for. In this brief guide, we will look at some things you can do to improve your SEO titles and therefore your conversions.

Include Your Primary Keyword

Your primary keyword is the phrase you want to rank for and that you know people will search to find and get to your page. While it is a bad idea to stuff your titles with keywords, it is a good idea to include one main keyword in the title.

Ensure that the keyword appears near the front of the title to ensure search engines and users see it. Doing so also helps it from being cut off in case your title is too long and needs to be cut.

Write With The User In Mind

While you want your pages to rank highly, you also want them to convert, and this is why it is so important to craft them with the user in mind. Your titles should provide some useful information to the reader.

This might be information about the page’s content, information that helps them understand the problem or solution contained within the page.

If a user thinks that the page provides them with the information or solution they seek, they are much more likely to click.

Use Emotional Hooks

Emotional hooks are used to entice a reader to click. However, it is very important to find a balance between hooking a reader and your titles becoming clickbait. Your titles should create interest and excite the reader, just ensure the content matches the title so the reader gets what they expected when they clicked on your link.

Engaging titles that include phrases like “Best Practices” or “For Beginners” pique your readers’ interest without getting into the clickbait territory. That is if the content matches the title.

Use Numbers Wherever Possible

It might seem like every informational query on search engines presents you with lots of results that include numbers. This is because they work. A study done by MOZ showed that people are 1.5X more likely to click a title with a number than one without. The study also found that titles with numbers produce 73% more social shares and engagement than those that do not.

Numbers will not make bad content go viral, but they can help improve conversions and social shares. As always, not every title needs numbers, and you should be careful not to make your titles clickbait.

Be Specific

Every page on your website should have a specific purpose and only rank for one keyword. This helps stop traffic cannibalization. Start by ensuring your titles target different keywords and the content follows the same rule.

Conclusion

Writing good SEO titles can be more challenging than it looks. Fortunately, you can use various tools to help come up with create titles that will convert.