What Can You Do To Make a Headline More Compelling? (2025 Guide)

Your headline is the FIRST impression that counts.

Did you know that 8 out of 10 people will read a headline, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest of the content? 

This is because the quality of the headline can impact whether a reader decides to continue reading the article. If your headline is bad, it can turn potential readers away, even if your content is really good.

So, in this post, we’ll discuss;

• What are compelling headlines?
• 11 tips to craft magnetic headlines with examples
• Benefits of writing great headlines and more

What Are Compelling Headlines?

A compelling headline is any headline or phrase that summarizes the main idea of a copy.

It could be a blog post, email subject line, Instagram, or YouTube ad. A compelling headline’s purpose is to capture the reader’s attention instantly and provide a quick overview of the content.

When you craft engaging headlines, you attract more clicks, which ultimately leads to increased traffic and better user engagement.

Remember, your headlines should be informative, not misleading. Don’t create a headline for clickbaits, they should engage with your audience.

What Can You Do To Make a Headline More Compelling?

A compelling headline is the KEY to grabbing your audience’s attention. Here are some effective tips that can help you create headlines that make people want to click.

1. Understand the Type of Post/Page

Make your headlines crystal clear!

Your headline should help your readers INSTANTLY understand the type of content they’re looking for. It should match the content type and instantly grab your reader’s attention.

Here’s a quick breakdown of common post/page types and how to craft your headlines accordingly.

Informative posts: For informative or educational-purpose articles, use simple yet engaging headlines that clearly convey the topic of the article. 

For example, “How to Start a WordPress Website In Next 30 Minutes.” 

This example clearly indicates your readers that the article will provide a step-by-step guide for creating a WordPress website QUICKLY.

List-based posts: For list posts or pages, use numbers to create anticipation. 

For example, “5 Must-Have Apps for Productivity.”

In this example, the reader knows exactly how many items/products/services will be discussed, creating a sense of expectation before they even click on the title.

Opinion posts: If you want to share your ideas or thoughts strongly, use thought-provoking words in your titles. 

For example, “Is SEO Dead? Has AI Finally Killed SEO?”

This example is provocative and instantly catches the attention of the readers who are interested in learning MORE about the impact of AI on search engine optimization.

Product reviews: While creating review posts or pages, make sure to focus on the product’s key features and benefits. 

For example, a well-structured headline, such as “Hostinger 2025: In-Depth Review (Speed, Reliability, Features, and More),” clearly outlines the KEY aspects of the product and helps readers understand what they can expect.

2. Understand the Audience

Always make sure to know your audience and find out what they’re exactly looking for.

Consider their demographics, gender and interests to craft perfect headlines.

The key here is to understand their pain points and offer solutions with your content (or products). Your headlines should reflect the benefits they’re going to get.

Let’s assume you’re selling ergonomic chairs.

You could use a benefit-oriented headline like “Tired of Back Pain? Our Ergonomic Chairs Are Your Solution.”

You can create these types of compelling headlines only when you truly understand your audience’s needs.

• Pain Point: Back pain, which is a common problem among people who sit for long hours
• Solution: Ergonomic chairs designed to provide excellent BACK support and comfort
• Benefit: Reduced back pain and increased productivity while working

You could also use headlines like;

• Say Goodbye to Back Pain with Our Ergonomic Chairs
• Sitting All Day? Our Ergonomic Chairs Are Your Back’s Best Friend

As you can see, understanding your audience is key to creating better headlines. The above headlines directly address the pain points of the target audience and convey the benefits of the product.

3. Use Strong Action Words

One of the effective ways to write engaging headlines is to incorporate action words. Action words (also known as impactful verbs) are those words that are used to describe an action.

For instance, here’s an SEO-related headline example;

• Instead of: “Tips for Improving Your Website’s SEO”
• Try: “Boost Your Website’s Traffic with These Proven SEO Strategies”

In the above example, the word “Boost” is an action word that conveys a sense of doing or suggests an outcome. It directly suggests the readers that the content will provide ACTIONABLE tips to grow their website’s traffic.

Here are some of the strong ACTION words you can use within headlines;

• Achieve
• Discover
• Enhance
• Grow
• Boost
• Increase
• Learn
• Master
• Optimize
• Transform
• Climb

4. Be Specific

If attracting more clicks from search engines is your primary goal, be specific while crafting headlines.

A specific headline provides a clear understanding of your content. That way, search engines like Google can easily understand the intent.

For example, let’s consider a blog post about the best smartphones for gaming. 

Instead of using a generic headline like “Top 10 Smartphones to Buy,” you could write a more specific headline like “10 Best Smartphones for High-Performance Gaming in 2025.” 

The above headline clearly indicates the PRIMARY focus of the article, targeting ONLY those users who are specifically interested in GAMING smartphones.

5. Address the Reader Directly

One of the best ways to write effective headlines is to write directly to your readers. 

Using words like “YOU”, “Yours”, etc can make your headline feel more personal and relevant to your audience.

Here’s a simple example;

• Boring headline: Effective Study Strategies for Exams
• Headline addressing the reader directly: How to Study for a Test: 10 Steps To Ace YOUR Next Test

Isn’t the second headline which uses the word “YOUR” MORE effective? 

Here are some ways to directly address the readers with your headlines:

• Use pronouns like “you”, “we”, or “us” (Example: “Your Ultimate Guide to the Best Weekend Getaways”)
• Ask direct questions while crafting headlines (Examples: “Are you tired of…?” “Want to know how to…?”)
• Use strong verbs like “Discover,” “Learn,” “Join,” or “Start” (Example: “Discover Your Hidden Talent”)

6. Incorporate Numbers

The simplest way to make your headlines more attention-grabbing is to use numbers. Play with numbers.

• Instead of: “Many People…”
• Try: “9 out of 10…”

Headlines with specific figures, like ‘Top 10’ or ‘7 Steps,’ immediately draw readers’ attention. 

Try to use SPECIFIC numbers while crafting titles. For example, 101 or 99 work better than 100 (as they’re NOT common).

Here’s a logical reason behind using the odd numbers: while the number  10 or 100 is commonly used, using odd numbers like 101 or 99 can give a unique touch to your headlines. 

There are multiple ways to include numbers in your titles;

• List-Based Headlines (Example: 3 Ways to Improve Your Website’s Page Loading Speed)
• Step-by-Step Guides (Example: 6-Step Guide to Conducting a Keyword Research)
• Statistic-Based Headlines (Example: 97% of Users Trust Online Reviews: How to Leverage Them for SEO)

7. Create Urgency or Exclusivity

Urgency is one of the common tactics used by most marketers and copywriters to entice readers to take immediate action.

Using words like Now, Immediate, Urgent, Limited Time, Grab Now, etc create a sense of urgency.

Here’s an example;

• Without urgency: Free SEO Audit
• Revised headline with urgency: Free SEO Audit – Limited Time Offer

As you can see, just by adding the words “Limited Time Offer,” you create a sense of urgency, persuading your website visitors to take INSTANT action to avoid missing out on the free audits.

8. Ask a Provocative Question

Using intriguing questions can make your headlines more compelling.

For example, a thought-provoking question like “Can artificial intelligence (AI) replace writers and authors?” immediately grabs the attention of content writers or authors who are concerned about the future of their profession. 

Using such provocative questions in headlines will definitely spark curiosity and encourage potential readers to click to read more information about the topic.

Here are some quick tips for using questions in headlines;

• Keep your questions specific and simple. Avoid vague questions that could be interpreted in multiple ways. For example, instead of asking “Is AI good or bad?” try “Can AI be used to create harmful deep fakes?” This question is MORE specific.
• Try to evoke emotions such as curiosity, fear, anger, or excitement
• Do NOT use complex language or jargon
• Use strong verbs, as they can make your question more impactful

9. Use Powerful Adjectives

If used right, adjectives make a HUGE difference when crafting a headline. Make sure to choose adjectives that evoke emotions.  

For example, instead of saying “New product,” you could say “Revolutionary product.”

Similarly, instead of using “Good Deal,” in your headlines, you could use words like “Incredible deal, unbeatable offer, amazing value”, etc to make them click-worthy.

Here are some of the powerful adjectives you can use for headlines;

• Intriguing
• Compelling
• Engaging
• Provocative
• Informative
• Persuasive
• Thought-provoking
• Inspiring
• Innovative
• Unforgettable

10. Make It SEO Friendly

You can’t ignore search engine optimization (SEO), especially when you’re running a blog or website. To make your content easily found by Google, include relevant keywords naturally.

For example, if you’re creating a headline about a new smartphone, you might include keywords like “latest smartphone,” “best features,” or “budget-friendly.”

Here are some quick tips for making your headlines SEO-friendly;

• Research relevant keywords: Use keyword research tools like Semrush, Ubersuggest, KeywordTool.io, etc to identify keywords that are HIGHLY related to your topic.
• Research the search results: Check out the top 5 search results for your topic to see what headlines are working well. Get inspiration and craft your headlines accordingly.
• Keyword placement: Place your most important keywords at the beginning of your headline.
• Optimize for long-tail keywords: While crafting headlines, try to use long-tail keywords, as they’re more specific and often have lower competition.

Above all, avoid keyword stuffing while writing your blog headlines, as it can negatively impact your search rankings.

11. Add Freshness To Make a Headline More Compelling

The purpose of headlines is to capture people’s attention. The best way to do that is to add freshness to your headlines by adding the date.

Here are some of the common examples:

• 300+ Free Guest Posting Sites List 2025 [Quality✅Quantity❌]
• Top 15 YouTubers In India & Highest Subscribers In 2025
• 5 Conservative Search Engine Alternatives to Google in 2025

Easy Steps To Writing a Compelling Headline

Here’s a QUICK and EASY step guide to crafting captivating headlines.

Step 1: Know your readers/customers: Who are they? What are they looking for? Who are you trying to reach with your headline?

Here’s an example;

As you can see, the headline is clearly written by keeping the target audience in mind.

Step 2: Identify your content’s goal: What EXACTLY do you want your headline to achieve? Is it more signups? Sales or traffic? Based on your goal, keep your headline simple and concise.

Here’s an example;

In the above example, we want to optimize the headline for a specific keyword phrase to improve its search engine ranking.

Step 3: Use power words: Almost all the smart copywriters use power words to trigger emotional response. Examples include words like “Instantly”, “Mistakes”, and “Alarming”.

Here’s an example of a headline using power words;

Step 4: Keep it concise: Try to keep your headlines under 6-12 words. 

Step 5: Experiment: Experiment with different headlines to see what works best. If you’re running a website, use Google Analytics to discover your top-performing posts and analyze their headlines.

If you want to learn more about making a headline more compelling click here.

What Are The Benefits of Making a Headline More Compelling?

By spending quality time crafting magnetic headlines, you can significantly improve your website’s content and user engagement. 

Here are some key benefits of crafting a headline more compelling;

• Better click-through rates, as powerful titles will often entice people to click on your articles or social media posts, leading to more traffic.
• Higher search rankings, as search engines like Google take user engagement metrics like organic clicks into consideration while ranking pages.
• Great headlines often help your content go viral on social media and other user-generated content platforms like Reddit, Quora, etc. If readers find your headline captivating, they’re more likely to share it on social media.
• Improved duration of a user spending on reading your content, as compelling titles can create curiosity and make people stay with your content for longer.
• Increasing conversion rates, as your content will persuade people to take desired actions, such as making a purchase or subscribing to your newsletter.
• A powerful headline often sets the TONE of the content.

Conclusion on Making a Headline More Compelling

Most online readers have fewer attention spans. That’s why you should craft POWERFUL headlines for capturing your audience’s attention INSTANTLY.

The key is to understand the type of content you’re creating and create headlines that are both informative and irresistible. 

So, what are your thoughts on crafting perfect headlines? Do you have any questions? Let us know in the comments.

FAQs | What Can You Do To Make a Headline More Compelling?