There are some people’s blog you’ll read no matter what (like mine, right?!). You know that you’ll either A) enjoy or B) get value from what they write. Ideally, you’ll get both.

How did I get here?!

But what about those other articles you read online? Y’know, when you pop on your computer or smart device to look for something specific and then it’s half an hour later and you’re reading something totally unrelated? Something you may have had little or no interest in previously? Why are you reading it? How did you even get there?

I can tell you now what it will probably have been. The headline. I mentioned attention grabbing headlines recently and wanted to give you a little bit of extra info.

Which type are you?

There is a difference between the attention grabbing headline and one that ranks high in Google.
An attention grabbing headline is more in line with the glossy mag type – it may not be something people type into a Google search but it’s either something they want to learn about or are interested in or is so enticing that they HAVE to have a look. Like this….now tell me – has your attention been lovingly grabbed?







The high ranking Google headlines need keywords and answer your clients’ specific questions. For instance my blog, “What Does FF Mean on Twitter” regularly pulls in 1000s of visits a month because it’s a keyword term that people actually type into Google Search. My blog comes up number 1 out of 20.5 million results!

Ideally your blog posts want to be a mix of both Google ranked and attention grabbing – mine lean more towards the attention grabbers.

Eeek – check out the stats!

According to blog God, Brian Clark of Copyblogger, 8 out of 10 people will read a blog headline, but the number who will actually read the article drops to 2 out of 10.

If you flip those figures from the position of a blogging business owner, that’s a scary thought. And, if you feel that your blog gathers more dust bunnies than comments or shares it can make you feel like giving up writing altogether.

But, NO! You’re a modern entrepreneur – you don’t give up that easily – facing and overcoming challenges is what business is all about. So what does it take to get your blog read and appreciated?

Get them where you want them.

Well, before anyone can read, appreciate, comment on and share your blog with their friends and wider social circle – and they will, believe it – you gotta get them to the page, and THAT you’re going to do with a killer headline.

Not only is the headline there to entice people (your ideal clients) to read, the title is also an ideal opportunity to add some keywords to attract more people when they type a search term in to Google (more about that here).

Creating a great headline that also helps you get found in Google can be a tricky balancing act but worth spending time on.

Would YOU read it?

Try looking at your headline objectively, as if you had no idea what the blog was about – would you read on? Does it encourage you to click? If your headline is too vague, too long or too boring then you can say sayonara to those readers because no one is going to read your hard work. Bummer!

One of the best resources you can use to help you write headlines is Copyblogger’s “How to Write Magnetic Headlines” – I bet you’ve already clicked it, see how good they are?!

So next time you’re browsing online and find yourself driven to read something check out the headline with new eyes and even take a note of what appealed to you – if you read it, chances are so would 1000s of others.

I’d love to know what your most popular headlines have been – let me know in the comments below.