If you’re anything like me, you’re a nerd when it comes to SEO and always consider your readers. However, setting an SEO-friendly headline for your post can be quite challenging. If you’re facing this issue with your WordPress post, I have the perfect solution for you today.
Table of Contents
Just follow along to learn how you can make your headlines SEO-friendly while keeping them readable for users.
Why are SEO-friendly headlines Important?
SEO-friendly headlines are essential because they serve two critical purposes:
- Attract readers and
- Optimize content for search engines.
An effective headline entices readers to click on your link while also providing vital information about what your post contains.
If your headline fails to catch a reader’s attention or doesn’t provide clear information about what they can expect from reading your post, you risk losing them altogether.
Additionally, optimizing your headlines with relevant keywords can help improve your website’s ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Search engines like Google use algorithms that analyze content based on various factors, such as keyword usage, relevance, and overall quality.
When you include relevant keywords in your headline that match user searches accurately, Google recognizes their relevance for that query.
What Makes a Headline SEO Friendly?
You don’t need a lot of SEO knowledge or advanced tools to keep your headline relevant. I follow some simple rules to keep the headlines SEO-friendly.
Here’s a list of points that make a headline SEO-friendly:
- Relevance to the content
- Placement of relevant keywords
- Optimal length (around 50-60 characters)
- Consideration of user intent
- Avoidance of keyword stuffing
When you are trying to optimize a post on your site the first thing that needs to be fixed is keyword placement. To keep the headline SEO friendly you should try to keep the main keyword in the beginning part of the title.
Also, you have to keep an eye on the title length. On average, it’s good to keep a 60-character limit for a title that perfectly displays in the Google SERP. That means you need to keep your title meaningful yet SEO-friendly within 60 Characters.
Note: According to Google there is no limit on title tag length, but for most results, we can see on average 50-60 character limit. You can check Search Engine Journal guide about title tag in Google SERP.
However, if you only focus on Google search that can make things worse than doing any good. For example, “Unleashing the Potential of SEO-Driven Headlines: Strategies to Outrank Your Competitors and Dominate Search Results“
It’s a good and catchy headline that shows what is in for the readers. But, this headline is too long and only “Unleashing the Potential of SEO-Driven Headlines: Strategies” this portion will be allowed on the SERP result.
Although you may say it shows the main keyword but it doesn’t serve the main purpose of the content.
Instead, if you use something like “SEO Headline Strategies: Dominate Search Outrank Competitors” this will serve as an SEO-friendly headline and also show what your readers will get.
How Can I Keep SEO Friendly Headlines In WordPress?
Till now, I’ve talked about the benefits and what makes a headline SEO-friendly; now let’s talk about how to do that.
No matter how expert you are, plugins are the number one reason for choosing WordPress. Why would you want to try something manually if you have a prebuilt plugin?
Thanks to plugins like Yoast, Rank Math, etc., you can make a detailed SEO-optimized title for your visitors and a different SEO-friendly headline for the SERP.
SEO Headline with Rank Math
After installing the plugin, open a new post, or if you want, change the headline of an older post. You can add a detailed headline at the top of your post so the readers can get a quick highlight of the article.
Click on the “Edit Snippet” button on the right side of the dashboard. You will see there is a snippet in the headline box, “%title% %sep% %sitename%” and the long title looks unfinished.
So you can replace the title from the snippet box with an SEO-friendly headline like “SEO Headline Strategies: Dominate Search Outrank Competitors.“
Now your headline will look much more SEO-friendly in the SERP result and more user-friendly in the actual post.
SEO Headline with Yoast
Yoast has similar features as well, but they are at the bottom of the post instead of in the sidebar. You need to scroll down a bit, and then you will find the snippet as something similar to Rank Math operators, “%%title%% %%page%% %%sep%% %%sitename%% “
But here you can just write your own SEO-friendly headline to make it more valuable for Google and clickable for users.
Note: I highly recommend to short your URL slug before clicking the ‘Publish‘ button. It’s good if you keep the main keyword in the post URL slug.
Improving Your Headlines with a Headline Analyzer
Although I have explained what you need to make an SEO-friendly headline, you can take it a step further. Even after adding your main keyword, a power keyword, and search intent, you might want to check how good it looks.
You can try a headline analyzer tool to get the best output. A lot of free headline analyzers are available, such as:
- Free Headline AIOSEO
- Sharethrough Headline Analyzer
- Capitalize My Title
- Headline Analyzer (monsterinsights.com)
These tools will show you an approximate SEO score for the headline. You can tweak the headlines by following the basics and trying to get a higher score.
I don’t recommend doing this for every headline; but, you can experiment with your headlines to get the best result.
FAQs Related to SEO Optimized Blog Post Headline
Can I make my headline SEO-friendly without using plugins?
Yes, you can optimize your headline by focusing on relevance, keyword placement, length, and user intent, and avoiding keyword stuffing, even without using plugins.
Do SEO-friendly headlines guarantee higher search engine rankings?
While SEO-friendly headlines are important, rankings depend on various factors. However, optimized headlines can improve visibility and attract organic traffic.
Can I update existing headlines to make them SEO-friendly?
Yes! Review your existing headlines, consider keyword placement, and make adjustments to optimize them for search engines without sacrificing their meaning.
Conclusion
After following my tutorial, you’ll be a total boss at creating SEO-friendly headlines. With the help of plugins like Yoast and Rank Math, optimizing your headlines for search engines will be a piece of cake.
Remember that there are a bunch of other SEO plugins out there too, so you can explore those if they offer similar features.
Now that you’ve got all these awesome skills, it’s time to put them to work! Craft those eye-catching headlines that’ll make both search engines and your readers go “Wow!”
Get ready to witness the magic of SEO-friendly headlines as your content shines brighter than ever.
