The quality of your titles is going to go a long way when it comes to getting people to actually click on your link in the search results.
You’ve probably already observed in your own life how some titles make you want to click and how other titles leave you ambivalent.
You want to write titles that encourage searchers to click on your link and not to click on other links in the results.
Here are some suggestions to improve your title writing skills and make your automotive SEO more effective:
1. Think about your audience and the gaps in their knowledge.
You probably already know this information.
What does your audience want to learn about?
What do they not already know but probably want to know.
In the case of most dealerships, your potential customers are going to want to learn about your vehicles, vehicle maintenance, car care, brand news, etc.
These kinds of gaps in knowledge are great opportunities for blog posts, and they can also help your formulate great titles for your content.
For example, a title like, “How to Change Your Oil…Even If You Know Nothing About Cars,” could speak to your audience and their knowledge gap.
2. Do something different.
You’ve probably heard about “clickbait.”
These are titles you’ll usually see attached to videos on Facebook. Something like, “She starts play.
By 4:35, I was crying.”
Yes, these titles make you want to click on the video and watch it, but the truth is that they do not accurately reflect what the content is, nor do they usually actually tell the truth about the video.
You’ll watch the video, but you probably won’t actually be crying by the 4:35 mark.
Don’t rely on clickbait to get people to click on your blog posts.
Be truthful in your titles, but do be willing to be a little bit different and out there.
3. Make sure your title is accurate.
There is nothing that will turn a potential customer off faster than clicking through to read a blog post that is titled one thing, only to discover that the content itself is about something entirely different.
This is all about building trust and authority with your visitors.
Mistitling your content, especially just so you can include a keyword in that title, is a very bad way to build authority and trust.
You’ll betray what little trust you had with that reader, and they are less likely to want to do business with you in the future.
4. Your title should reflect what the reader can expect.
Don’t use a title like “This One Secret Trick Can Help You Clean Your Car in Record Time!” and then write a post about how using a window cleaning solution will make cleaning their vehicle easier.
If you are going to use a title that promises something new and exciting, the content has to deliver on that promise.
No one is going to be impressed if you use a title that promises something amazing, brand new, or never seen before, only to provide content that is the same old, same old.
5. Do promise expert advice.
A title like “Our Expert Salesmen Gives You His Best Car Buying Advice,” can be a great way to start off a blog post written by one of your salesmen, about his best advice for buying a vehicle.
If you are offering up expert advice, make sure to note it in your title.
This is a great way to build authority the right way and to create a title that is going to be more intriguing than just “Car Buying Advice.”
If you are targeting that keyword, you’ve still included it in your title, but you’ve written a title that is much more likely to get clicks.
6. Make a list.
Your readers love lists.
They are easy to skim, easy to digest, and make it very easy for you to organize your content.
If you are already going to write a list, why not make note of it in your title.
Instead of “How to Buy a Car,” why not write a title like, “10 Tips That Make Car Buying Easy.”
Only do this, of course, if your content is actually formatted in a list.
If you use a specific number in your title and people click through to find paragraphs that are not numbered, they are likely going to be disappointed and just click away to find someone that does offer the content they want in a list format.
7. Offer your readers a secret.
As stated above, only do this if you actually do have a secret to offer your readers.
Don’t promise them something new if you don’t actually have something new to offer.
People are always looking for new information and they are hungry to get the latest and best.
If you do actually have a trick for making cleaning a vehicle or getting it to run better or to need less maintenance, writing a title like, “The Secret Trick to Improving Your Gas Mileage” or “The Secret Trick to Reducing Your Car Maintenance Costs,” is a great way to get people to click on your link.
8. Ask your readers if they are making a mistake.
People hate to make mistakes, and they hate making mistakes even more if they don’t even know they are making them!
The automotive industry is a great place to use these titles, as the average car owner is far from an expert and is probably making a mistake that is harming their vehicle.
This title will make them afraid that they are actually making that mistake and will click on your link to find out how to stop making that mistake.
