“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” - Benjamin Franklin

Are headlines really important?

There is an old adage that states ‘you can’t judge a book by its cover. But the truth is - we do! By the same token content is judged, in many cases, by the headline alone. Just as readers will browse through books in the library, internet users will browse the titles returned for their health or medical search, and usually only click those on the first page. 

This makes it imperative that your content title catches the attention as soon as the user's eye falls upon it. With millions of blogs and articles posted for clinics and pain spas every day, the amount of content available online is phenomenal. In a highly competitive market like the medical field, the challenge is on to create the most attention-grabbing and click-worthy headlines possible. 

So how can you do it? 🤔

1. Create a hook

A headline isn’t doing its job if it doesn’t immediately ‘hook’ your readers. Find a strong point of interest for your article and craft your headline around it to be enticing and appealing. It should instantly capture interest and create the desire to read more. Headlines that are formed as a question work very effectively for medical users, which is why you see so many articles with titles that begin ‘How you can…’ or ‘Why you should…’ Some writers spend the majority of their time crafting a great hook, then use it as a foundation for the rest of the article.

2. Include power words

Because you have a limited space and time in which to make an impact, word choice will make the difference between someone clicking on your article or scrolling past. Words have power, but some words have more power than others. Words can convey drama, or generate feelings so think about using bigger, better replacements for common or standard words.

Try some of these word alternatives:

• Big - Gigantic

• Sad - Devastated

• Left - Abandoned

• Easy - Trouble-free

• Best - Greatest

Using better word alternatives makes your title more attractive and compelling, especially when search results are showing a number of results from clinics and medical spas for the same topic search. It can help your content stand out from the rest.

3. Use numbers

As well as having the ability to convey a large amount of information in just a couple of characters, numbers are good to use in medical content because they are solid, factual, and trustworthy. Percentages, amounts, and quantities used in headlines have all been shown to drive better click-through rates than their non-numeric counterparts. Titles which include statements like ‘78% better results or ‘500 more respondents’ are quickly showing their claims upfront. This can be irresistible for users who are searching for answers to their health and medical queries.

4. Make emotive

Appealing to the emotions is a surefire way to encourage browsers to click on your article. Like it or not we are largely driven by emotional responses to things, so including words that trigger an emotional reaction will attract more users. When talking about health, words like ‘dangerous’, ‘sensational’, ‘secretive’, ‘delightful’, and ‘captivating’ all stir a response in the reader making them want to read more about the subject or topic. Emotional words create a feeling or cause a reaction. In many cases this reaction is strong enough to make them click and read your content. Reactions generated in response to certain words could be anger, validation, excitement, sadness and a whole slew of other feelings.

5. Be clear and concise

There is a certain art that goes into crafting a great headline. Good writers need to be able to squeeze the maximum information and emotion into a single sentence. Make sure whatever you write is clear and to the point. Make it too vague and searchers will not understand what you are writing about, most likely passing over your article to click on something else. Headlines that are too long will not capture interest, not to mention that search engines limit the character count, meaning that your headline risks being cut short. Brevity is the name of the game, and communicates as much captivating information as possible by using your article’s title to its fullest extent.

6. Align with search intent

As if the challenge of keeping headlines short, including factual data, adding enticing information, and stirring up emotions wasn’t enough - you will also need to align your headlines with user search intent. This is the reason that users are performing a search in the first place, they are seeking medical information or want to answer a health question. Being able to strategically align your content with search intent is a recipe for success. This involves digging a bit deeper and looking past ‘what’ people are searching and examining the ‘why’. If you can determine their motivation successfully then you can create medical content that matches their intentions.

7. Use headline tools

Crafting the perfect headline for your medical spa or pain clinic can take a bit of practice, so until you become an expert at writing stunning titles, consider using a headline tools. Many of these are free and will rate your headline or suggest better alternatives. One of the best unpaid tools available is Sharethough’s Headline Analyzer. Simply type in your headline and receive a free analysis that provides an overall quality score which is made up of ratings for engagement and impression. You can tweak your headline one word at a time to see what changes have the most impact. When you have created a headline that ranks suitably, use it for your post.

8. Change word order

Some of the best headlines offer a controversial point of view or highlight pain points. Playing around with the wording and word order in your headline can make the text far more impactful.

For example:

“How to get better results for reducing joint pain”

Sounds much less inspiring and motivating than-

“Reduce joint pain with these 6 easy tricks.”

But

“6 easy tricks that will reduce your joint pain”

Sounds even better still. So experiment with your medical headline wording until it looks as good as possible. It doesn’t take an expert writer to craft the most amazing headlines for your clinic or spa, but it does take awareness of health and medical vocabulary and an understanding of the information that clients are searching for.

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Start your own headline checklist:

Here is a quick checklist to get you started with making sensational headlines. Remember imperfect action beats inaction, get started and keep publishing.

Always create the content first prior to writing the headline.

• Create blog post, article, or social media post.

• Start planning your contents headline by Identifying what resonates with your audience.

• Create a hook.

• Include power words.

• Use numbers.

• Make emotive.

• Be clear and concise.

• Align with search intent.

• Use headline tools as a guide.

• Change word order.

• Publish.