The Value Of A Good Blog Title

Groucho Marx & anonymous blogging (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Let’s start with a poem I wrote some years ago:

*

The Thing About Poems Is

Titles
are
vital

*

The same is true of blog posts.  Titles are vital to lure an unsuspecting reader to your blog, where you will surround them with your wit and wisdom and encourage them to waste time they could have used for eating, watching TV and sitting on the couch.

Here is a bad example from my own post titles:

• Joke 648

Unless you are looking for 648 jokes, it’s rather dull.  However, it does tell you exactly what you will find – a joke; the 648th joke in a long line of jokes.  

It helps to be specific:

• The Value Of A Good Blog Title 
  

is not particularly interesting but it will attract people looking to improve their blogging.  I know this because 

• Seven Tips For New Bloggers 

still attracts readers, months after being posted.  

It helps to be topical:

• It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
  

Posted in December, it’s seasonal and likely to attract Christmas fanatics like me.  In November, it makes me the blogger who’s ahead of the game; in June, it makes me quirky and will, hopefully, make the reader curious.  But beware: posted in January it’s the blogging equivalent of the guest who won’t leave when the party’s over.

Sometimes, being topical leads to dumb luck:

• Some Snow Facts

A fun factual post a year earlier led to my best-ever day – 4,720 hits – when Google Doodle celebrated the 125th anniversary of the discovery of the World’s Largest Snowflake.  I’d have been happier if just one of those people looking for the Google Doodle had left a comment but, hey, I’m not one to look a gift spike in the mouth.

Referencing popular culture in a title is a good way to attract readers.  Here are some posts of mine which still receive hits:

• Twilight: I Hope Bella Remembered To Shave
  
• Seven Of Nine, And Not In A Good Way
• Robert Pattinson With Small Hairs

Being up to date with the news helps:

• What Really Happened To Gaddafi

brought in hundreds of people who thought a housewife in Stockport could tell them what 24-hour news channels and thousands of dedicated reporters could not.

Adding the word ‘Review’ to a title is another good way to attract readers. However:

1. It irritates readers if you use the word ‘Review’ and then don’t review whatever it is you claim to be reviewing.
2. Reviewing books and movies four years after they’ve been released is unlikely to make your post a best seller.

Key words and phrases that people use in searches are useful.  Here are some posts that still receive hits; one was written over two years ago:

• You’re Only As Old As The Woman You Feel
  
• Smile And The World Smiles With You    The word ‘smile’ is the top search that finds this blog, with over 10,000 visits.
• A Is For ‘Arguments’    The key word here is ‘A’.  Bizarrely, the letter ‘a’ comes in at Number 7, with 1,044 searches.

Sweaty Armpits (Photo credit: mricon)

Finally, have fun with your titles.  After all, it doesn’t matter who reads them so long as you are enjoying yourself.  Here are some of my favourite titles from posts that I have written in the last year.

• Famous With Sweaty Armpits  
• Okay, Tesco: I Forgive You
• If I Break Wind, I’ll Write About It
• I Have To Kill My Kindle
• Love Many, Trust Few And A Canoe
• I’m Three Mugs Of Tea Away From Becoming A Feminist
• So Many Jokes, So Little Class   I like this one for its searing truth.
• It’s Time To Give Up Food   I like this one for its absurd premise.
• Ten Don’ts For When I’m Dead
• Bring In Arms Fat Mummy
• Hula Hoops. Very Proud Of The Queen.   I can’t claim credit for this one as it was from a comment by Debbie.
• Vasectomy Dog And A Frog Disease Called Awesome
• Camping: The Art Of Staying Wet Indoors
• Flying To Spain In A Manky Cardi
• A Labled Easy To Follow Leg
• Sandra Bullock Has A Sex Change And Retires To Norfolk