Clickbait Titles: How to Write Them and 25 Inspiring Examples

Between ideating a subject for a piece of content, finding keywords to integrate into it, writing the content, and finally editing and publishing it, the hardest part of creating a successful blog or article might just be getting someone to actually click on it.

Let’s say you wrote a piece of content that was all about DIY roof repairs. If you Google “DIY Roof Repairs,” you’ll see the entire first, second, third, and fourth pages are all littered with people who had the same idea you did. So, how do you get your content to stand out?

First and foremost, the content needs to be written well. Think of Google as your very strict English teacher in 8th grade. Grammar mistakes, spelling errors, and poorly written sentences are going to get you a bad grade. Only the best-written content will get on the front page (or receive an A) grade. In addition, images and keywords need to be included.

Another key to standing out and getting high on Google is having a title that breaks through the clutter. One way to do this is to write a “clickbait” title. A good clickbait title is more than just one that reads like spam. There are some nuances to writing clickbait titles that actually work. Let’s break it down:

But First – why did we provide this resource? We serve contractors and home service companies with marketing + web design! Check out our blog posts about Plumbing Leads, Electrician Leads, Roofing Leads, HVAC Leads, Construction Leads, Remodeling Leads and our Plumbing SEO, Electrician SEO, Roofing SEO, Contractor SEO, Remodeling SEO, and HVAC SEO services!

Clickbait Titles: Why You Need Them + How to Write an Effective One

As we mentioned, clickbait titles are necessary because your content is often jostling for the top spot on Google with other quality blog posts or pieces of content. A good title that clarifies what a reader will find in the article can help you stand out and get more clicks.

The key to a good clickbait title is to not lie to the audience. If you write some crazy, over-the-top title but your content doesn’t deliver, that’s not good. If your title for the DIY roof repair content is “17 Revolutionary DIY Roof Repair Tips That Will Change the Roofing Game Forever”, but your content just lists out really basic tips that are going to likely harm your SEO. Sure, people will click on it, but when they see that you’re not offering anything revolutionary, they’ll back out because they feel like they were lied to. That can harm your SEO. In addition, they’ll associate your brand name with being spammy. That’s not good either.

An example of good titles for the DIY roof repair post are:

15 DIY Roof Repair Tips to Make Your Life Easier 

10 DIY Roof Repair Tips to Avoid Using a Contractor

7 DIY Roof Repairs That Can Be Done in an Afternoon

These are great because they clearly illustrate what the user will find in the article, as well as speak to a specific pain point they might be having (frustration from a roof that doesn’t look great or isn’t functioning properly; want to avoid using a contractor; are looking for repairs that won’t take them a long time).

Here are some examples of other details to potentially include in your “clickbait” titles to help get you more clicks.

Add a Keyword

Google is smart and has a better idea now more than ever as to what people are searching for. This is why keywords are so important to make sure your content is being seen and generating more traffic.

When you don’t have a title that doesn’t use your main keyword, for example, “Austin restaurants,” then your content won’t rank well in the search engine results.

So if you are looking to get your content seen, having the keyword is pretty much essential and will also help the searcher have a better idea of what the content is about.

Use Popular Trends that are Happening

Using popular trends for clickbait is another effective way for you to get more traffic from your clickbait title. This will not only add something new to your title but will also be something that your audience will find familiar.

Having both the strategy of the SEO keyword along with the trendy and eye-catching trend in your title, you are leveraging both sides, giving you a more powerful and engaging title. This will lead to more website traffic on your site and beat out the other competing content out there.

Be Controversial about Something

Being controversial isn’t always ideal for business, but sometimes it helps you get more attention.

If you have an opinion that’s different from the status quo, by all means, share it. Just make sure you’re able to back it up.

You don’t want to be controversial just for the sake of getting a good clickbait title. If you do this, you may lose the trust of your audience and turn them somewhere else.

However, if you are able to make a valid point with your clickbait controversial title, then it can do very, very well.

Use Teasers to Bulk Up Your Headlines

When you have a short title headline that could use some bulking up, use a teaser in the headline and call something out inside of the article.

Why does having a teaser help?

Because it calls out something within the article, like “you won’t believe number 10.” By doing this, the reader knows that they are in for a treat at number 10 and will read at least up to there and will probably just end up reading until the end.

Examples of Clickbait Titles

1. 12 Surprising SEO Trick You Don’t Know
2. 5 Incredible Roofing Tips You Need to Know
3. 7 way you can triple your website traffic
4. You Won’t Believe the Secret Ingredient in our Special Sauce
5. You’ll Never Get More Leads Without Doing This
6. 13 unbelievable marketing statistics you won’t believe
7. The biggest food trends of 2020 (you won’t believe #9)
8. Why You’ve Never Heard of This Top Travel Destination
9. 8 reasons why Celebrities love this workout program
10. What you don’t know about custom designing a home
11. The Best Home Improvement Trends of 2020
12. This is why you’re losing money
13. See 7 ways business owners are saving money on taxes
14. (Famous Person) and others think this is the best diet for you
15. See how you can get more clients doing (example)
16. Find out how you can travel without having to do (example)
17. 8 ways you’re getting screwed by (example)
18. 13 inventions you didn’t believe existed
19. These 4 photos will make you think twice about (blank)
20. Revolutionary ways for you to get the most out of your (example)
21. These are the most common ways (example) fails a majority of the time
22. You need to start doing (example) instead of (example)
23. Get instant results from doing (example)
24. The top 10 ways you’re putting your business into jeopardy
25. Why you’re losing customers how you can fix it

Thank you for checking out our principles to making clickbait titles! Just don’t forget to deliver on the promise of your title. 😉