7 Tips for Writing Clickable Article Headlines
Crafting compelling headlines is an essential skill in the world of content creation. This article presents expert-backed strategies to make your headlines more clickable and engaging. From tapping into human psychology to offering clear solutions, these tips will help you create headlines that capture attention and drive readership.
- Tap Into Core Human Desires
- Use the 4U Formula for Headlines
- Create Cognitive Dissonance to Hook Readers
- Combine Authority Signals with Curiosity Gaps
- Craft Headlines Matching Real Search Queries
- Spark Curiosity with Tension and Transformation
- Offer Clear Solutions in Headlines
Tap Into Core Human Desires
Humans have a few core desires: security, status, reproduction. Good copy will emotionally connect to some aspect of that.
Before writing copy, know the person (not people) you are writing to. Make it about them. Make it about what they will get/do/be because of taking an action.
Sebastian Petrosi
Head of Content Marketing, CordCutters.com.au
Use the 4U Formula for Headlines
For more than 5 years, we have been helping travel businesses to grow. The development of tourism products involves a comprehensive process, and writing attention-grabbing headlines is also part of this process.
There is no single tip, but rather an approach. The 4U formula is used to write attractive headlines. By using this formula, you will increase the clickability of your headlines. It works for both informational and commercial articles.
The formula includes 4 attributes: Usefulness, Uniqueness, Ultra-Specificity, and Urgency.
Usefulness attribute: The main attribute that answers the question: ‘What does our offer give to readers and why should they read our text at all?’ For example: ‘Get 50 new customers’.
Uniqueness attribute: To differentiate yourself from competitors, use details that show your difference or reveal aspects that many have, but which competitors do not write about. Specifics are important here. For example, ‘Get 50 new customers for just 10% of your sales’.
Ultra-Specificity attribute: This attribute is directly or indirectly addressed to the target audience. For example, ‘Get 50 new customers for advertising customization service, for just 10% of sales volume.’
Urgency attribute: Urgency can mean a deadline, or a time period within which a customer will receive the benefit. For example, ‘Get 50 new customers for the advertising setup service in a month, for only 10% of sales’.
It is also recommended to use numbers for specifics. For example, ‘Top 3 tools for productive time planning’.
Vitalina Husak
CMO, Overcode
Create Cognitive Dissonance to Hook Readers
I use a strategy I call “Cognitive Dissonance Hooking” for writing article headlines. The idea is to create a small mental mismatch; a subtle tension between expectation and reality.
For example, instead of “How to Increase Email Open Rates,” we wrote: “Why Short Subject Lines Are Tanking Your Email Opens.” It challenges a widely held belief and makes the reader pause: Wait, aren’t short subject lines supposed to help? That pause is the click.
The key elements I focus on are contradiction, specificity, and reader ego. Contradiction gets attention, specificity builds credibility, and ego hooks readers by suggesting they might be missing something others don’t. When those three align in a headline, it gets read.
Brandon George
Director of Demand Generation & Content, Thrive Internet Marketing Agency
Combine Authority Signals with Curiosity Gaps
After optimizing content for global brands like Intel and Louis Vuitton, I’ve learned that numerical specificity beats vague promises every time. Headlines with exact numbers—”7 Ways” instead of “Several Ways” or “23% Faster” rather than “Much Faster”—consistently outperform generic alternatives because they set clear expectations and feel more credible.
The most effective headlines I create combine authority signals with curiosity gaps. When working with NASCAR, we shifted from “Racing Updates” to “The $2.3M Mistake That Changed NASCAR Strategy Forever”—traffic increased 41%. The dollar amount established stakes while the word “mistake” created intrigue that demanded clicking.
My Stanford engineering background taught me to A/B test headline psychology, not just words. Questions often outperform statements because they activate the brain’s need for closure. “Why Do 89% of Startups Fail at SEO?” performed better than “Most Startups Fail at SEO” because the question format makes readers mentally commit to finding the answer.
Power words matter, but context determines which ones work. For luxury brands like Gucci, “exclusive” and “curated” drive clicks. For Silicon Valley startups, “proven,” “data-driven,” and “results” resonate more. The key is matching your headline’s psychological triggers to your audience’s decision-making priorities.
Richard Taylor
SEO & MBA Business Consultant, TrafXMedia Solutions
Craft Headlines Matching Real Search Queries
After 15 years of optimizing headlines for healthcare businesses, I’ve discovered that incorporating a specific number or timeframe instantly boosts clicks. When I changed a client’s generic “Improve Your Sleep” to “5 Sleep Tips That Work in 72 Hours,” their blog traffic increased by 35%.
The key is crafting headlines that resemble search queries people actually type at 3 AM. My Google Analytics certification taught me to examine real search data first – people don’t search for “wellness advice,” they search for “why can’t I sleep after knee surgery.” It’s crucial to match that exact language.
I always test headlines with question formats against statement formats. For one physical therapy client, “Is Your Back Pain Actually Hip Pain?” outperformed “Understanding Back Pain Sources” with 42% higher engagement. Questions prompt people to pause and self-assess.
The most significant mistake I observe is burying the benefit. Instead of “A Comprehensive Guide to Managing Diabetes,” try “Control Blood Sugar Without Cutting Carbs.” Lead with what they gain, not what you’re providing.
Grace Ascione
Digital Marketing Specialist, Socorro Marketing
Spark Curiosity with Tension and Transformation
The best headlines don’t summarize—they spark curiosity with clarity.
My go-to tip: lead with tension or transformation. Instead of “How to Write a Press Release,” we’ll go with “Why Most Press Releases Fail—and What Actually Works.” It promises value, signals a strong point of view, and sets up contrast. I also test with a curiosity filter: Would I click this if I had no context? If not, it’s back to the drawing board.
Headlines are our first handshake with the reader—and the sharper the grip, the longer they stick around.
David Quintero
CEO and Founder, NewswireJet
Offer Clear Solutions in Headlines
I make my articles stand out by offering a solution right in the headline. Let’s say I am writing about improving website traffic. I would not use a vague headline such as “SEO Tips for Beginners.” That’s because this type of headline does not tell the reader what they can expect or achieve. Instead, I would give them a clear benefit right from the start, such as “How to Increase Your Website Traffic by 30 Percent in 3 Simple Steps.” This is the type of headline that addresses the need directly and provides a call to action, making it much more preferable for the reader to click on.
Compared to more generic headlines such as “SEO Tips for Beginners,” which leave too much open-ended, there is tremendous value in a solution-based headline. It directly tells the reader what they will get upon reading it, making the article even more interesting. In this case, promising to increase traffic by 30 percent and providing effective measures to achieve this improvement presents something concrete for the audience to look forward to. Following this approach, the click-through rate of articles with solution-based headlines went up by 40 percent in contrast to the articles that had more ambiguous and generic headlines.
Caleb Johnstone
SEO Director, Paperstack