A shortened version of a presentation I gave on how to use titles, snippets and pictures to increase CTR across the web.

1. Titles,
Snippets &
How to
Improve
your CTR
April 2014

2. The Importance Of Headlines

3. Commonly used techniques for
successful online headlines
• Use Numbers
This tells the reader exactly what to expect. It suggests the post will be scannable & digestible.
• Use Interesting Adjectives: Effortless, Fun, Essential, Free
This will make your title stand out from the rest. It will also help convey personality and interest.
• Use Unique Rationale: Reasons, Principles, Lessons
Enticing and promise the reader unique value.
• Use: What, Why, When, How or When
Again, these words make a promise to the reader. Audience knows exactly what they will get from
reading on.
• Make A Promise Or Offer Value
If you have something specific to offer, flaunt it! ‘How To Get Your 10% Discount On Best Western
Accommodation’ is better than ‘Save Money This Summer.’

4. HubSpot – Title Testing
• Hubspot are a successful inbound-marketing specialist.
• The next few slides look at the results of some of their A/B testing
on blog post titles.
• They promoted the same content using 2 different headers,
changing only a single element in order to discover which
techniques were significant in increasing CTR.
• Read through the following titles & see which you find most
effective.

5. 1. Which title would you click
on?
A. What Does Google Hummingbird Update Mean for E-
Commerce Business?
B. This is What the New Hummingbird SEO Algorithm
Means for Your Ecommerce

6. Winner..
Variation A (0.07% vs 0.01%)
Lesson: Frame Your blog-post title as a question

7. A. A Fool-Proof Formula for Easily Creating Compelling
Content
B. A Fool-Proof Formula for Easily Writing Amazing Blog
Posts
2. Which title would you click
on?

8. Winner..
Variation A (0.09% vs 0.07%)
Lesson: Use broader topic descriptions to position your blog post as relevant to
a wider audience

9. A. 8 Excellent Reasons to Redesign Your Website
B. 8 Tell-Tale Signs Your Website May Need a Redesign
3. Which title would you click
on?

10. Winner..
Variation B (.05% vs .04%)
Lesson: Using unique language makes your post stand out, suggesting it has
personality

11. A. These 5 Template Will Teach You How to Easily Create
Infographics in PowerPoint
B. Easy Ways to Create Killer PowerPoint Infographics (Free
Templates)
4. Which title would you click
on?

12. Winner..
Variation A (.09% vs. .07%)
Lesson: Best to include attractive offer or discounts, or up front, rather than
putting it toward the middle or end of your post title. This will decrease drop-off
rates

13. A. The Simple Template for a Thorough Content Style
Guide
B. 7 Steps to Creating a Thorough Style Guide
5. Which title would you click
on?

14. Winner..
Variation B (.02% vs. .00%)
Lesson: Begin your blog post title with a number to help make the post's
content more actionable and reassure your readers they can scan through your
list post quickly if needed

15. A. A Comprehensive Guide to Writing a Compelling Blog
Post
B. A Fool-Proof Formula for Easily Creating Compelling
Content
6. Which title would you click
on?

16. Winner..
Variation B (.09% vs. .01%)
Lesson: Position your blog post as having a unique content format -- there are
"guides" and "checklists" all over the internet, but how many "fool-proof
formulas" have you encountered?

17. A. 160 MORE Free Stock Photos You Seriously Need to
Download Now
B. 75 Free Stock Photos for You to Use (and Tips for
Customizing Them in PowerPoint)
7. Which title would you click
on?

18. Winner..
Variation A (.11% vs. .05%)
Lesson: Don't take yourself too seriously. Your post titles will be more enticing
with a fun, light tone than a bland, serious one

19. APRIL 2014 19
Writing Titles for Social
Media

20. The ‘Curiosity Gap’
‘This is an amazing video!’
Too vague = Don’t want to click
‘Hootsuite imitates Game of Thrones opening credits,
displaying social networks as each of the Houses.’
Too specific = No need to click
‘Intelligent social media video reimagines Game of
Thrones. An interesting concept but it really does work!’
Curiosity Gap = Compelled to Click
Titles are for this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el8Ydwh0QlQ
The most common method of increasing click-through rate on social media is by employing a
‘curiosity gap’ – titles that are somewhere in between ‘too specific’ and ‘too vague.’
Below, are some examples for the GoT/Hootsuite video:

21. The champions of clickable titles on social media are viral-content site, Upworthy.
The graphs* below, show us how much they are dominating in this area.
*data from late 2013-early 2014
Upworthy

22. • To make content go viral it needs to be
both:
• Shareable (this is 99% down to the
content itself – emotional, socially relevant
content works best as people like to show
off that they care/know).
• Clickable this almost completely comes
down to how it’s presented (title, picture &
snippet).
Their Process
• All content is selected carefully on
emotional/shareable qualities.
• 25 headlines are written for EVERY bit of
content.
• Headlines tested for clickability.
• Content is posted with Headline, snippet
and an intriguing picture.
The Upworthy Process

23. The Upworthy Process
To demonstrate the importance of the titles. Here are a few examples of content that
Upworthy has repurposed and used to attract visitors to their site.
Have a look at the difference in the following titles:

24. YouTube vs Upworthy
And these:
The difference here is VERY obvious. The second title is SO much more
clickable.

25. YouTube vs Upworthy
And finally:
This was the most visited page on Upworthy for their first year.

26. What can we learn from
Upworthy?
While the Upworthy technique is very effective, it does have its issues:
• It’s quite a manipulative & tacky technique: ‘You have to read this
presentation, it literally blew my mind!’
• The content very rarely lives up to expectations.
• The Internet in general is wising up and getting annoyed at this
superlative marketing technique. It’s basically a fad.
• Because of the above reasons, it would be unwise to associate high-end
brands with this technique. When CNN employed it on Twitter, backlash
was severe.

27. What can we learn from
Upworthy?
• The Upworthy-style curiosity gap can be employed in more
casual online environments such as Facebook, Twitter, Reddit
& other social bookmarking sites.
• More time should be taken when planning headers and
snippets, particularly when CTR/traffic are the key goals.
• Try to mould content around an emotional/high-brow/topical
theme to increase the chances of it being shared.

28. Headers on Social Media:
Differences between the main
networks
I posted this infographic across
Facebook, Twitter & Google+ to
demonstrate the differences in best-
practice titles/snippets.
It deals with:
• virality
• The importance of titles
• The Upworthy process
http://blog.marketo.com/2014/03/why-
upworthy-has-won-the-internet.html

29. • On Google+ (perhaps due to the company’s focus on personalisation)
individuals tend to receive more engagement than brands.
• On this platform, snippets should be text
heavy and very explanatory.
• You can embolden Text (*) and put
Important phrases in Italics (_) to help
draw attention.
Headers on Social Media:
Google+

30. • On Facebook, it is brands that
receive the most engagement.
• In this environment, you are
competing for attention with
friends, family and offers.
• Employ the curiosity gap (to
the max).
• Titles & snippets need to be
VERY clickable.
• Be emotional and personal
(use ‘you, ‘me.’)
• Use title, snippet and
accompanying picture & text
for optimum results.
Headers on Social Media:
Facebook

31. • Tweet the same content
multiple times.
• Use hashtags/reword tweet to
target different people (top 2
example tweets link to the
same Upworthy IG).
• Employ curiosity gap.
• Ask questions.
• Promise value.
• Use facts/stats.
• Make them short where
possible (helps them stand
out in the noise).
Headers on Social Media: Twitter

32. APRIL 2014 32
A Few Extra Tips & Tricks!

33. Play with context to increase
intrigue
This classic one-line advert for Panadol by famous copywriter, Neil French,
promotes the fact that the medicine is double strength (one had to take most
alternatives two at a time).
The snippet, ‘one is enough,’ is pretty uninspiring in itself. However, in this context it
is attention grabbing, memorable and humorous. Experiment with incongruous
photos on social media.

34. Digg: Research & Inspiration
Digg is a social-
bookmarking site like
Reddit. the way it’s set up,
however, mean that most
visitors upvote posts based
on the title rather than the
content.
It is therefore a good site to
go and visit when looking
for inspiration. What sort of
titles, pictures and snippets
are getting a healthy CTR
at the moment?

35. www.make-it-rain.co.uk
@makeittweet
/MakeItRainLondon
@makeitrainuk
We’d love to hear
your thoughts!
APRIL 2014 35