The Simple Truth of What Makes People Click your Headlines
- Stephen Palasciano
- Mar 4
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 9
In this post, we will be discussing:
Crafting a compelling headline is one of the most important skills in content creation. A great headline serves as the first point of contact between your work and potential readers, playing a crucial role in driving clicks to your content. Understanding what makes a headline work isn’t just about luck, but rather about applying proven strategies based on psychology and emotional appeal.
The Psychology Behind Clickable Headlines
The key to creating a headline that converts lies in understanding how human emotions, curiosity, and cognitive biases influence decision-making. If a headline makes someone feel emotions such as excited, disgusted, or scared, they are more likely to be curious to learn more about the contents of that article.
A key strategy in creating incentive to click is by creating a curiosity gap. By doing this, you capture the reader's interest by making them wonder about something they don't already know.
A case study created by Copyhackers reported a 927% increase in clicks when using this technique.
This technique taps into the brain's natural need for closure, compelling readers to click to resolve the mystery.
Headlines that leave enough on the table for them to want to know more, like "The 3 Habits That Could Change Your Life Forever," are more likely to generate clicks because the reader feels compelled to discover what they’re missing.
Common Headline Mistakes That Kill Clicks
Too lengthy
Readers tend to scan online content quickly, and a long headline can quickly overwhelm them causing them to move on. Additionally, if it's too long it may get cut off in search engines or on your webpage before readers have a chance to engage. It's best to keep it under 55 characters to avoid this.
Too vague
A headline that is too generic or lacks specificity won’t spark curiosity. For example, “Tips for Better Marketing” is far less compelling than “5 Proven Marketing Strategies to Skyrocket Your Sales.” Readers want to know exactly what they’ll gain from clicking.
Using “ing” words
Headlines with "-ing" words such as “Boosting Your Immune System with Vitamin C” tend to feel passive and less urgent. Following this concept, you get “Boost Your Immune System with Vitamin C”, which creates a stronger call to action.
No clear benefit
Headlines that don't clearly communicate value will fail to grab attention. Without a clear benefit the reader won't have a reason to care. A strong headline should tell readers what they’ll gain, and it should be apparent at the first glance. Instead of “Improve your Health”, try “How to Improve Your Health in 7 Days, and Feel Better Than Ever”.
How to Craft the Perfect Headline
Implement keywords
Words like “Tips”, “Secrets”, “Reasons”, “Strategies”, and “Rules” add value to the headline making it more likely that readers will click to discover the potential benefits. These keywords act as a hook, showing the reader what they will gain from reading the content in the article.
For example, instead of a title like “Improve Your Night Routine”, you could say “10 Weird Tips to Transform Your Night Routine”. The word “Tips” tells the reader what they'll gain from clicking.
Power words
Power words are words that inflict emotion, and grab the reader's attention resulting in strong feelings towards the subject. Some examples are “Shocking”, “Genius”, “Toxic”, “Essential”, and “Horrifying”, just to name a few.
In the example from earlier where “10 Weird Tips to Transform Your Night Routine” is the headline, the word “Weird” is the power word. It makes readers question “What could make a night routine feel weird?”, resulting in a click to learn more.
Numbers
Our brains are drawn to numbers, especially odd ones like 7, because they offer predictability and a clear structure, which encourages clicks. The headline “10 Weird Tips to Transform Your Night Routine” has more predictability and structure than a version without the 10 in front.
According to this article, readers prefer seeing numbers far more than anything else in headlines. Numbers in headlines are not always applicable to the topic, so it doesn't always make sense to use them, But when you can, you usually should.
Benefit extension
A Benefit extension is a phrase that clarifies why the reader should care about the topic, adding extra value to the headline. In the headline “The Biggest SEO Strategy You’re Ignoring”, you can extend it by changing it to this: “The Biggest SEO Strategy You’re Ignoring, and Why It’s Costing You Traffic”.
Using this strategy can improve your click-through rate, but it may not always be applicable or even necessary. If your headline is already long (10-12 words) then it may lose people's interest, and could even get cut off on search engines. Additionally, if your headline is already strong and direct, it may look redundant to add.
Sum it Up
Creating a winning headline isn’t just about being creative; it’s about using proven strategies to grab attention. By incorporating keywords, power words, numbers, and benefit extensions, you can significantly boost your click-through rate. Apply these techniques and you'll be on your way to mastering the art of crafting headlines that stand out.
