{"id":1547,"date":"2021-01-11T08:35:45","date_gmt":"2021-01-11T07:35:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sortlist.co.uk\/blog\/?p=1547"},"modified":"2023-10-19T14:15:05","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T12:15:05","slug":"clickbait-examples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sortlist.co.uk\/blog\/clickbait-examples\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 Golden Rules to Creating Clickbait Titles and Headlines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clickbait is everywhere.\u00a0 From social media platforms to news websites, clickbait<\/strong> headlines have even found their way onto search engines. Let’s take a closer look at the modern art of clickbait, what it is, how it works, and we’ll even show you some clickbait examples<\/strong> to get you started.<\/p>\n

What is Clickbait?<\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve all experienced it, but what is clickbait?<\/p>\n

Clickbait<\/strong> is typically an article or post with a headline or image that’s written to incite attention to such a degree that people can\u2019t help but to click the link and read it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also one of the most controversial on-page SEO strategies<\/a>. We see this type of article everywhere, and the headline always promises a mystery or revelation that the reader can\u2019t resist.<\/p>\n

With so many different websites vying for a finite amount of traffic, clickbait can be a helpful marketing strategy<\/strong><\/span> for businesses. However, that’s only the case when the content follows through on the promise of the headline.<\/p>\n

A web page with a clickbait headline<\/strong> can do very well on social media platforms or news websites. However, it will get heavily penalized by search engines for having content that doesn’t match the title.<\/p>\n

Join us as we investigate what characteristics define the best clickbait titles<\/em>.<\/p>\n

5 Golden Clickbait Rules<\/h2>\n

Many people looking to market their products or services<\/a> want to know how to write clickbait articles. It may seem like a simple enough idea, but writing a clickbait headline that will get people to bite can be complex.<\/p>\n

For one, you need to ensure that the headline matches up to at least a part of the content<\/span>.<\/p>\n

For example, if you use the title ‘Man Makes Millions by Doing Nothing!’ and the article is about saving manatees, you’ll lose domain authority. In this case, attempting to use clickbait as a marketing strategy<\/strong><\/span> can have an adverse effect.<\/p>\n

You don’t want your clickbait titles to get you into trouble, so you\u2019re going to need to know the ins and outs of writing clickbait headlines.<\/p>\n

The 5 golden clickbait rules are<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Appeal to an emotion<\/li>\n
  2. Appeal to curiosity<\/li>\n
  3. Create an information gap<\/li>\n
  4. Employ artful wording<\/li>\n
  5. Images are your friends<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Appeal to an Emotion<\/h3>\n

    One of the most powerful incentives to get a potential audience to succumb to clickbait is to employ an emotional appeal<\/em>. Most people can’t help but read an article that appeals to some part of their emotional being.<\/p>\n

    This rule is especially applicable in the case of headlines that you’ll use on social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    People are more likely to click on and share a page that appeals to one of the six main social emotions.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Many different websites and companies have done studies about how emotions affect virality<\/span>. The research concludes that viral posts are surprising and that they offer a complex variety of emotions.<\/p>\n

    The emotion that spurs people to share the fastest is rage<\/em>. Anyone fancy writing some angry clickbait headlines?<\/p>\n

    Whatever the case may be, the following six emotions are generally considered the most likely to attract attention:<\/p>\n

    \"clickbait<\/p>\n