Anyone familiar with YouTube videos understands what clickbait content is.

But this sly digital marketing strategy isn't only used for videos.

Countless blogs and websites are using clickbait headlines and it's doing their online content more harm than good.

Let's look at why businesses and content marketers should avoid this tempting trap.

What is Clickbait

According to Dictionary.com, clickbait means: "a sensationalized headline or piece of text on the internet designed to entice people to follow a link to an article on another web page."

Many digital marketing campaigns rely heavily on clickbait writing to get people to interact with ads on social media or another blog.

Their only goal with these headlines is to drive as much traffic to a web page as possible in hopes of getting their "commercial break".

How Do Clickbait Headlines Hurt My Business?

Misleading headlines are essentially false promises to your customers. If someone feels that a site has lied to them by promising something in their headline that wasn't delivered in the content, they won't be coming back.

There are other reasons to avoid this tactic as well.

You Increase Your Bounce Rate

Internet users have short attention spans and are searching for something specific. A misleading headline may get them to visit your website, but they'll quickly realize you don't have what they're looking for and leave your page as quickly as they came.

This hurts you in the long run because search engines look down on sites with high bounce rates.

You Don’t Get The Visitors You Want

Your target audience won't be attracted to vague, exaggerated clickbait content.

For example, if you write a blog post about cakes that can be made in thirty minutes and add a headline like "Amazing Vegan Cakes" you won't be able to draw people in who want fast recipes.

On the other hand, a headline that says "3 Easy Vegan Vanilla Cake Recipes You Can Do In 30 Minutes" will appeal to a very specific audience.

You Disappoint The Visitors That Do Show Up

People who click on your misleading headline will usually have an emotional response, and not the kind you want.

They'll feel disappointed, confused, and maybe even angry that you've wasted their time.

Unreliable Visitor Metrics

It may look impressive to have thousands of views show up in your website's visitor metrics, but it doesn't do you any good if those visitors leave after a few seconds. With a high bounce rate and muddled data, it will be much harder to fine-tune your content marketing strategy.

This, combined with the SEO nightmare that comes from high bounce rates, means you'll be even further from having a successful website than you were before.

It’s Just Embarrassing

Clickbait sounds sketchy at worst and lazy at best.

Years ago, people would have clicked on anything that sounded remotely interesting or close to their search query.

Now, people are "wise to the game" and will immediately discard links and sites that sound like something that would show up in their email spam filter.

You have around 3-10 seconds to catch your reader's attention and convince them to keep reading. If you try to give them something other than what you promised in the headline, they won't stick around to read anything.

Don't ever tell your readers/customers "I know you came here for information X, but what you really want is information Y." That's essentially what you're telling people any time you use clickbait.

Clickbait Examples

Here are three of the most common types of clickbait when it comes to writing headlines.

Fake News

Not all clickbait headlines are attached to blog posts. Sometimes a news article will employ a sensationalized headline as a way to lure in more readers. This is a bad idea because it destroys the outlet's credibility.

Vague And Unrealistic Promises To Internet Users

"Get The Best Hit TV Series for Free"

"The Number One Weird Trick Your Diet Needs"

"Target Keywords That Always Work"

Who says everyone thinks this series is the best?

Bait And Switch

This is the worst type of clickbait because you're lying through your teeth. Telling someone you're article is about how to groom cats and then writing about the history of cat grooming is a perfect example of this.

I once read an article that had "three ways for speed writing exercises" in the title.

Instead of giving me three different speed writing exercises or three ways to do speed writing, the article talked about seven things that will help you write faster and three writing AI tools.

I searched for those three exercises, but they were nowhere to be found. Needless to say, I was NOT impressed.

How To Create An Accurate, Successful Headline 

Now that you understand the damage caused by clickbait headlines, I'll show you how to avoid it and create headlines that bring in valuable traffic.

Remember, 100 visitors that read your entire post and purchase your products are infinitely more valuable than 10,000 visitors who only read the first paragraph and then leave.

A Solid Content Marketing Strategy

If you're always struggling to find a topic for your next blog post or article, clickbait writing will become much more tempting.

Creating a content marketing strategy that includes 3-6 months' worth of content will make research and headline creation much easier.

Figure out the kind of content your audience is interested in and then use one of the keyword tools I mentioned earlier to find out what subtopics are most popular right now.

Keep A "Headline Ideas" List

Sometimes I'll get random blog post ideas. If I don't have the time to sit down and start working on the blog post right away, I'll just jot down the main idea.

Eventually, I end up with a list of ideas for new content and titles.

Sometimes you'll create two different blog post titles for one post. Instead of discarding the title you don't use, add it to your list.

Maybe you'll be able to turn it into another post.

Headline Testing

Believe it or not, online content is not written in stone. Many people update old blog posts to keep them relevant.

If you aren't getting many readers, try changing your title. This is where your headline ideas list will come in handy.

You can do this as many times as you like, but don't do it too often. If you're changing your headlines every week search engines won't know where to put you on the search results page. It also makes it difficult for returning readers to find an article they really liked.

Be Honest And Specific

On the other hand, a headline that says "3 Easy Vegan Vanilla Cake Recipes You Can Do In 30 Minutes" will appeal to a very specific audience.

As a content writer, this is a danger I'm constantly on guard against. One trick that has helped me over the years is to imagine I'm the reader.

As the target audience, what am I looking for? What kind of headline would catch my attention? Which keywords will I use to find the answer to my problem?

By taking the time to look at things from the perspective of your readers or customers your headlines and overall content will improve drastically.

Incorporate SEO

Search engines like Google love articles that include SEO. Using a tool like Surfer SEO or Ahrefs will help you find the perfect topic and keyword for your upcoming article.

Warning: don't force SEO into headlines.

Sometimes people accidentally create clickbait by trying to squeeze in too many keywords. Only use the heading keywords that fit your topic perfectly.

If you don't think the keyword is popular enough, consider changing the subject of your new blog post or article.

Conclusion: Don't Use Clickbait

Is clickbait bad? Yes.

It will only hold you back and waste the time you could have used creating quality headlines that are interesting and search engine optimized.

Focus your energy on quality instead of clickbait and the results will be much better.

Also, if you want someone to handle the content creation for your website or blog, contact me.

FAQ

Does clickbait hurt my business?

Yes. Clickbait does hurt your business and brand image. Using clickbait headlines and content will attract visitors who won't actually be interested in your website or products. It also generates negativity from readers who feel you've lied to them by promising something in your headline that wasn't delivered in your content.

Does clickbait actually attract more clicks?

No. Clickbait doesn't actually attract more clicks to your website. Clickbait is overexaggerated or flat-out lying, so people don't click on it any more than they click on honest, quality headlines and links.

Why do businesses use clickbait?

Businesses use clickbait to drive traffic to their website. More traffic means more views, clicks, and money from advertisers. Unfortunately, these visitors will quickly leave your website when they realize your headline was nothing but clickbait.