Use Effective SEO Headlines To Bring Business to Your Agency

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is a powerful tool to help your business rank on the front page of Google’s search results, making it easier for customers to find you online. Any SEO agency will tell you that after identifying the optimal keywords, creating the perfect SEO headlines is the next crucial step to attracting your target audience. Writing compelling SEO subheadings will ensure that they stay on your page longer. 

What Are Header Tags in SEO?

Header tags are used to separate headings and subheadings on a webpage. They are ranked in order of importance, from H1 to H6. H1s are usually used for the title while H2s are used for subheadings. H2s don’t just segment the content into bite-sized sections that make it easier to read your content, but also let Google know which topics your page covers. In short: header tags are important as they help improve the readability and SEO of a webpage.

Do note, however, that header tags are not title tags! While H1 and the title tag both contain the page topic, H1 communicates it on the page while the title tag communicates it through search. Content management systems like WordPress have a place where writers can insert their title tags.

Optimizing Your Headers for Keywords

A few best practices you should follow:

• H1 needs to include your primary keyword.
• H2s may have a mix of primary and secondary keywords appearing in a natural way. Use as many as you need to tell your reader what your content covers.
• Both your headline and subheadings have to be concise and informative, covering succinctly what their paragraphs talk about.
• Use H3s as needed. They may help segment content under H2s in the form of bullet points or lists.

More than just capturing keywords you want to rank for, SEO can help increase the time a reader spends on your site. It can also improve click-through rates which tell Google that your site offers quality content. This makes it more likely to rank higher.

Writing an Engaging SEO Headline

The most important thing to think of when crafting your headline is the audience. What would compel them to read your article? In order to write engaging SEO headlines, always provide your reader with value. Here are more tips and tricks to write an engaging SEO headline:

• Get to the point fast: People have short attention spans and want you to give them answers to their questions quickly. Use your headlines to tell your readers exactly what they can expect. Keep it short and concise, always.
• Start with “How To”: According to research, some of the best-performing articles start with "how to". This makes sense as readers usually use search engines to find quick solutions to their questions.
• Use a number: Researchers have found that using numbers in headlines is extremely effective. They are more clear and receive more clicks than question headlines.
• Inspire action: Telling people what to do in your headline also works well. It lets them know what they can expect when using your products or services.
• Incorporate emotion: Another way to receive more clicks and shares is by using words that evoke emotions, such as fast, incredible, or now.
• Make an announcement: Excitement can inspire users to read your article. Use your SEO headline to announce intriguing news about your products or services which will then increase clicks.
• Take advantage of FOMO: Many people react to FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). Use terms like “don’t miss out,” “last chance,” or “limited offer”, to create urgency and motivate readers to click your article.

Using Headline Analysis Tools

Headline analyzers are useful for generating the perfect titles for your content. Here are a few you can use:

1. CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer –This helpful SEO tool instantly assesses your headlines by giving you a score and providing suggestions for improvement. It also offers an email subject line and a Google search preview of your title.
2. Blog About by Impact – This free platform has a doodle board to brainstorm topics and headline ideas.
3. Answer the Public – Combining searches from Google and Bing, Anwer the Public helps you create compelling question SEO headlines.
4. Portent –This tool can help you generate different topic ideas as part of your SEO content strategy. Simply enter a keyword or subject and wait for a title option to come up. Refresh to generate new titles.
5. Sharethrough – Find out how effective your headlines are by running them through the Sharethrough analyzer. It will return a quality score as well as strengths and weaknesses and provide improvement suggestions.

Bottom Line

Before publishing any article, you should always optimize your headlines and subheaders for readers and for search engines. They are an essential component of your SEO strategy as they can:

• Motivate readers to take action and click your headline
• Provide readers with solutions to their problems or answers to their questions
• Improve the readability of your content
• Increase the time a reader will spend on your page on average. This is a key factor for ranking in search engines

One thing you should always avoid is keyword stuffing. It won't increase your readership, and, on the contrary, will prevent you from ranking higher in search engines. In fact, Google may penalize you for using this technique and make it hard for your site to recover.

The best way to optimize your headlines is to be truthful in sharing what readers can expect from your content. Since most people have short attention spans and only skim through articles, it’s important that you provide accurate headers and subheaders that help them quickly understand what your text is about. Don’t forget to incorporate the above-mentioned best practices by using numbers, words that evoke emotions, getting to the point fast, etc.

And lastly, leverage free tools online to properly plan your topics and analyze your headlines. By following all these steps, you can be sure to increase your readership, boost your clicks and improve your ranking in search engines.