The Title Formula That Gets a 16% Click-Through Rate
The exact formula and how to use it for your websites
I recently rediscovered a title formula that gets a massively higher click-through rate than most of my other articles.
For comparison, my average click-through rate across multiple websites is around 3.6%.
Although this sounds low, it’s actually very common.
In other words, if you are getting this click-through rate, you are doing well. However, I’m always trying to optimize.
I’m constantly looking for small tweaks that make a big difference.
So when I recently stumbled across this title formula, I was floored. Instead of a 3% click-through rate, this title formula gives me up to 16%.
The Exact Title Formula (You Can Copy)
The title formula is similar to another popular formula with a slight difference.
And the difference can make all the difference for your click-through rates, ad earnings, and affiliate income.
What’s this magical title formula?
The exact title formula that gets up to 16% click-through rate is:
X Product with Y Features
I’ve known about it for a while, but one of my favorite YouTubers recently made an entire video about good titles:
After reading this formula, you might be saying to yourself that this looks a whole lot like the popular “Best X” formula (i.e., Best Mountain Bikes or Best Babystrollers).
And you’d be right.
Yet, there is a small but important difference.
“Best X” articles typically come with a lot of competition. Even if you have a great title, your article may never show up on the first page of Google search results because so many other bigger websites have already tackled the topic.
That brings us to the main reason this title formula works so well.
Why Does This Title Formula Get High Click-Through Rates?
I actually hinted at the reason above when we talked about the other title formula (Best X).
You don’t want to go for topics where there is a lot of competition in your niche. It’s usually just not worth it.
However, the less competition usually the better.
This is why I almost always go for untapped or invisible keywords with my websites — especially when I first start a website.
What makes the formula “X Product with Y Features” so wonderful is that you can usually find a lot of untapped keywords in almost every niche.
That means less competition and a higher click-through rate.
After all, if no one has written an article about your specific topic, then Google has little choice but to show your article at the top of the Google search results.
Examples of The Title Formula in Action
I always appreciate a good example, so I wanted to give a few here in this article.
I want to make sure that you know exactly how to use this title formula for your own articles.
Before we go over the examples, keep in mind that this title formula works best for organic search traffic on Google.
In other words, this title formula is not going to work on every platform.
With that said, let’s look at the examples:
- Running shoes for a broken ankle
- 5 Typewriters for long fingers
- 7 Trumpets for blues
- Saxophones for high school bands
- Wheelbarrow for bad back
- Sunglasses for round faces
Notice that many of these titles are very specific. Often, the more specific the better, as long as you think enough people will search for the term.
What If You Can’t Find Keywords For This Title Formula?
In some niches, it’s harder to find keywords to plug into this title formula.
If you’re having trouble, I wouldn’t give up immediately. Most of the time, with just a little more digging, you can find topical gold.
I’ve covered this keyword-finding process in more detail when other articles, so I won’t fully explain it here.
Here are the basic steps:
- Use the Google autocomplete method
- Check AnswerSocrates
- Use Keyword Shitter (terrible name, pretty cool free tool)
- Search forums such as Quora & Reddit
- Study the titles of related niches (not direct competitors)
That last method deserves a bit more explanation.
A Trick To Find Untapped Keywords That Fit The High Click Rate Title Formula
If you’re looking for truly untapped or invisible keywords, as I do, you don’t want to rely on only direct competition.
It’s an article that is already written. Therefore, it is not 100% untapped.
Instead, you can ethically “steal" or borrow from a related niche.
For example, if your niche is running shoes, you can look at the article titles of websites about general shoes, dancing shoes, or any kind of specialty shoe.
Let’s say you look at a website about dancing shoes.
You might find the following articles:
- Dancing shoes for wide feet
- Dancing shoes for bunions
- Dancing shoes for salsa beginners
Applying this to your niche, you can consider writing articles such as:
- Running shoes for wide feet
- Running shoes for bunions
- Running shoes for marathon beginners
You should still check the competition of each topic before you write the articles. But this approach can help you find topics that you would never think of yourself.
You can also apply the Google autocomplete method to this other niche to find even more related keywords.
Final Thoughts
If you keep looking, I’m very confident that you can eventually find a number of articles where you can implement this title.
Remember that you can use many terms related to your niche.
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