Here is the Saviour Guide
As a content creator, avoiding clickbait should come as obvious. But clickbait media, much like its titles, is such an attractive option! Sure, most of the times audiences are completely unsatisfied with the content but they still clicked on the article. And, hey, they may even like what they see!
So why is their such an anti-clickbait atmosphere in content marketing? Is it as harmful as everyone says it is?
Answer: yes.
When you insist on surprising someone rather than giving them proper information, you already set yourself up for failure. Clickbait titles that read: Number so-and-so will blow your mind! often don’t blow anyone’s mind. And, if the list is long and the number is low on the list, the chances of the audience even getting that far are negligible.
And this is why alongside the rise of clickbait media, there is an equal focus on how to avoid clickbait.
But why does clickbait fail more than succeed? What makes it so unattractive? First, we need to explore those aspects before focusing on how to create worthy content.
Why Clickbait Headlines Have Zero Results
Being attracted to something and getting no actual satisfaction from it is an awful feeling. And this is how the audience of a clickbait article feels. But what repercussions does this have on the success of your website?
1. Higher Bounce Rates
The objective of clickbait is in the name: maximising clicks. Websites that post clickbait media often get paid for clicks from advertisers. Most affiliate marketers commonly use this trick. This is why they make the headline attractive but not the content. This results in a high bounce rate.
2. Shared but Not Read
Clickbait titles are often combined with an equally clickbait-y picture. If the picture and title are attractive enough together, the likelihood of people sharing the article to their social media is higher.
However, they don’t read the articles.
And there is no guarantee that any of their friends will read the articles either. Therefore, while you may get many shares, your actual number of readers remains low.
This factor also affects search engines. Since the amount of time people spend on your website becomes an indication to search engines of how worthy your website is, clickbait articles ensure a low ranking in the SERPs.
Which brings us to the third con.
3. You Can’t Fool Google and YouTube
These two giants of the internet are used extensively for searches. This means they have perfected their algorithm while also constantly updating it so it identifies clickbait successfully. They know their users don’t enjoy clickbait so they prevent users from seeing any potentially clickbait content.
As per a popular social media giant, an article will be blocked if the headline withholds information required to understand what the content of the article is and if the headline exaggerates the article to create misleading expectations for the reader.
The same policy applies to Google. And, as any good content writer in Delhi can tell you, not having exposure is a sure-fire way of losing your footing in the SERPs.
So the question now arises, how do you avoid clickbait?
How to Avoid Clickbait
We have identified four ways of avoiding clickbait and maximising audience engagement with your content.
1. Honest Headlines
Honesty is the best policy in content writing. If you promise information in the headline, ensuring your article covers that information in its entirety is a must. Making interesting headlines rather than clickbait headlines is a difficult task but completely worth it.
The most popular formats for headlines are:
- Number-based headlines (5 reasons why…)
- 2nd person address (“how you…”)
- A “how to…” headlines
- A question-based headline
A good content writer in Delhi always keeps their audience in mind while writing an article and headline. This way, they can also focus on SEO and other methods, making their titles attractive and informative.
2. Optimise Your Content
If exposure and traffic is your problem then SEO is your saviour, not clickbait. Sure, clickbait media gets you a few clicks but search engines have evolved. They now measure engagement. And, as we have established, while the titles are engaging, the actual content is not.
Instead of choosing the easy way out, put in some extra work and use SEO tools so the search engine appreciates your content, too. Using keywords in your title, headings, and meta descriptions automatically push you up in the SERP rankings.
Especially, when you use keywords in your HTML (the underlying code), the chances of your target audience finding your work increase. And you don’t even need clickbait to do it!
3. Don’t Erase Your Options
When deciding on the best headline option, don’t start over each time you discard an idea. Much like articles where you combine ideas for the ultimate, great idea, a headline also combines the best parts of past headlines.
Also, if you come up with a bunch of clickbait-y headline ideas, combining them could give you a unique headline that is informative and attractive! Keeping your options open makes you original, which is one of the central tenets of how to avoid clickbait.
4. Use a Newsletter and Test Your Headline
Now that you have a headline and an article that goes with it, you can do a test run with a newsletter. Supposing you send out a monthly newsletter with all your recent content, put this title there.
Or you can craft a newsletter specific to the topic your article covers and only include the headline and the link to the article. Making newsletters topic-centric allows you to compare headlines, too. You can send one title to 10% of your audience and the other title to another 10%. Find out the popular headline and send that one out to the remainder of your mailing list!At iWrite India, our content writers in Delhi know exactly how to avoid clickbait. With original, engaging, SEO-friendly content, our services guarantee maximum audience satisfaction. This increases customer loyalty, traffic and exposure for your website without risking the wrath of any search engines!