Anyone can run a blog, but what about a successful blog? Avoid bounce rates and create a successful WordPress blog in 2021 (and maintain it) with these easy tips!
We’ve all followed at least one WordPress blog where we felt the blogger was an expert at what they did. Maybe their niche was right up our alley. Or maybe we simply liked how easy their content was to digest. Regardless of the reason, we can’t deny that behind every successful WordPress blogger is an even more successful technique.
The truth is that anyone can run a blog. But being able to run a successful blog is a whole different beast. We’re not referring to the technicalities of creating a blog — registering a domain name, changing the blog design template, adding a contact form, etc.
Understanding the following 6 basic tips could help your success as a blogger:
Short and true blog titles/headlines (avoid clickbait)
Concise meta description
Sub-headers for a more interesting read
Images and/or videos included within the post + alt text
Readable, knowledgeable, and length-appropriate content
Sharing content on other social media platforms
In this two-part article, we’ll be addressing the first 3 points: blog titles/headlines, meta description, and sub-headers.
And we understand there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for every blog, every audience, and every time. But these tips can and do affect WordPress readers (consciously or not). So, if you want to learn how to become a successful WordPress blogger, pay attention.
THE REASONS CLICKBAIT DOESN'T WORK AND CONCISE BLOG TITLES/HEADLINES DO
Short Titles/Headlines
We can’t discuss how to become a successful blogger without discussing the art of the perfect blog post. In “The Anatomy of a Perfect Blog Post” the HubSpot team looked at how their own blog titles performed. Here is a consistent principle that they found:
The ideal blog post title length is 60 characters
Use a number and end your title tag in parentheses or brackets
Titles between 8 and 12 words are shared most often on Twitter.
Titles between 12 and 14 words are liked most often on Facebook.
Now there are several reason why 60 characters is considered the “ideal” for many SEO companies out there:
Google has not specifically come out and said that title tags should be this length; however, if your title is longer than 60 characters, you risk the chance of it becoming truncated, or cut off mid-sentence.
If you are to go by strict guidelines as per SEO experts or, some of the SEO tools, there is a character limit of 60 characters. But this is not always true (though it often is).
Nowadays, over 60 percent of searches are from mobile devices so a general rule of thumb is to keep the post title close to 40 characters. It would help in mobile SERPs display.
The bottom line/best practice:
You want your title length to be completely displayed in search results so make sure your title isn’t so long that it gets cut off.
For optimum length,
Go with whatever can convey the intent of the post.
Think about it like this: When you are searching for something on Google, how long a title would you notice and read before you are ready to click through to the post?
“With decreasing attention spans and scarcity of time, catching the attention of an internet surfer as soon as possible is what will work. This essentially means that the first few words in your title is what is most important and if you can make an impact with just those 4–5 words, then that too is enough.” Blogger and Mentor R Dilip Kumar answered on this online forum.
True Titles Versus Clickbait
What do we mean by a “true” title? Well, there is nothing worse than clicking on a page because of the title only to see that it was “clickbait”.
Avoid using the infamous clickbait — sensationalized headlines that encourage readers to click a link to an article, image, or video.
Instead of presenting objective facts, clickbait headlines often appeal to your emotions and curiosity. Once you click, the website hosting the link earns revenue from advertisers, but the actual content is usually of questionable quality and accuracy. Websites use clickbait to draw in as many clicks as possible, thus increasing their ad revenue.
How many times has this happened to you? Who knows. But one thing we know for sure: Clickbait titles are not fun and can be viewed as a waste of time for the reader.
The first step to successful blogging is by having a captivating blog title that makes readers want to click with no hesitation. And guess what else? The content actually matches the title. Now that’s just gold.
HOW TO EXPLAIN YOUR WEBPAGE ON A SERP: META DESCRIPTION
The meta description doesn’t live on your blog post — it lives somewhere different that’s just as important.
The meta description is a short description you see on a SERP to “preview” what the page is about.
These short paragraphs are a webmaster’s opportunity to “advertise” content to searchers, and searchers’ chance to decide whether the content is relevant and contains the information they’re seeking from their search query.
According to SEO trailblazer MOZ,
Meta description tags, while not tied to search engine rankings, are extremely important in gaining user click-through from SERPs.
Meta descriptions can be any length, but Google generally truncates snippets to ~155–160 characters.
It’s best to keep meta descriptions long enough that they’re sufficiently descriptive, so we recommend descriptions between 50–160 characters.
Keep in mind that the “optimal” length will vary depending on the situation, and your primary goal should be to provide value and drive clicks.
The best practice:
When to write your own meta description: If a page is targeting between one and three heavily searched terms or phrases, write your own meta description that targets those users performing search queries including those terms.
When to let the engines populate a meta description: If the page is targeting long-tail traffic (three or more keywords), it can sometimes be wiser to let the engines populate a meta description themselves.
Read more about the latter on Moz’s article about meta description.
THE THING THAT MAKES READERS WANT TO CONTINUE READING: SUB-HEADERS
Sub-headers are another on-page SEO element that helps your blog post to rank in Google Search.
Sub-headers organize and break up your blog post into different sections to signal to Google (and your reader) what the post will cover.
Sub-headers should be written with H2 tags or smaller. Avoid H1 tags because they signal a title.
Use sub-headers to split up sections of your blog post — making sure to integrate the keywords you’re using this post to target.
The reason sub-headers are important is linked to our first point about clickbait. We all know that it’s not exactly uncommon to be lured in by a compelling headline and click through to the article only to find weak content. Because of that, readers have become expert scanners.
So, what does having scan-readers mean for bloggers?
It means that as a blogger, it’s your job to tailor your content to the current scanning process of taking in information.
It means that as a blogger, you have to create content that is scannable.
It means that as a blogger, you have to pull readers further in to your content by breaking it in to sections, subsections, etc.
The four key ingredients of compelling subheads are: (1) curiosity (2) surprise (3) personality (4) emotion.
If your sub-headers wouldn’t make a scanner stop and take notice, consider ways that you can adjust your sub-header writing to, at the very least, create curiosity for readers and compel them to continue reading.
Related reading(s): The Ultimate Guide to Writing Irresistible Subheads
WE'RE NOT DONE YET: PART II OF BECOMING THE SUCCESSFUL WORDPRESS BLOGGER
So we’ve covered some pretty great tips that every blogger should pay attention to. They might not be taken advantage of by everyone — and sometimes there are exceptions to the case — but implementing these tips is setting yourself (and your blog (and your readers)) up for success.
In case you forgot, here’s a brief rundown on what we’ve discussed in the first part of this article:
Short and true blog titles/headlines (avoid clickbait)
Concise meta description
Sub-headers for a more interesting read
In part two if this discussion, we’ll be taking a look at:
Images and/or videos included within the post + alt text
Readable, knowledgeable, and length-appropriate content
Sharing content on other social media platforms