I was inspired by this post from Content Marketing Today to create my own list of some of the worst blog article headlines out there. Not only do bad headlines ruin any chance of people reading your awesome content, but bad blog post headlines can also hinder SEO and make your business blog or website look sloppy. Here's a list of some of the worst I could find on the web, and what I would do to make it a better headline:
- Japanese economy on a recovery path while other countries still worry the global slowdown - Not only can this be condensed, but it seems incomplete despite being so long. Are the other countries worrying about the global slowdown? Are they worrying the global slowdown will do something? The global slowdown of what? If I were rewriting this headline, I would say "Japan recovering; others still worry about global economy."
- When You're In Trouble, Just Consult an Expert - Sensible enough, but this headline is too obvious yet completely unclear as to what the article is about. Of course you consult an expert when you need help getting out of trouble, but is this article talking about a certain type of trouble, or a certain type of expert? Or is it a general "ask for help you when you need it?" Whatever case it is, this headline doesn't show how this article is worth reading. As a simple edit, I would have the headline describe what kind of trouble (financial trouble), or what kind of expert (financial expert).
- The State Of The Birds, Ravens’ Injury Update - This is supposed to be a sports headline about the Baltimore Ravens, but if you didn't know any better, you'd think he was talking about actual ravens. The headline tries to be cute, but being cute usually doesn't work in headlines. Not only do you risk confusing people, but cuteness doesn't often translate into an awesome SEO headline. To make this headline less cute and confusing, I would start with 'Ravens' Injury Update', and then list the names of the players I would talk about in the article. So, the blog article headline would be, "Ravens' Injury Update: Pitta, Birk, Smith".
- Gay Persecution in St. Petersburg - Just one problem: which St. Petersburg? It's more like to be the one in Russia, but the story is also a bit more newsworthy if it's the one in Florida. Most cities don't stand alone because of confusion like this, or because hardly anyone knows where these cities are located. There are only a select number of cities, called datelines, that can stand alone in headlines and in the body of an article.
- KMOV and St. Louis Country offer free Abry's shake - Yeah, don't misspell things, especially in the blog post headline. Actually, try not to have misspellings anywhere in your blog posts, particularly ones as egregious as the two in this headline.
As demonstrated, the blog article headline isn't something that can be rushed or treated without a second thought. If you do, you could end up with a headline as bad as some of these. Would you read any of these articles? I sure wouldn't.
Got any headlines that you'd like to add to the list? Please, share them below in the comments section!
Need a little extra help with your blog article headlines? Then download our checklist to great blog article headlines! It'll certainly help in ensuring that your headline doesn't end up on a list like this in the future:
