You may create the best blog post in the world, but if the title doesn’t attract readers, nobody will end up reading it – and that would definitely not be ideal, particularly if you’re using your engineering blog to drive your digital marketing successes.
Your title fulfills a number of purposes, both for your reader and SEO (search engine optimization).
In this article, I’ll take a closer look at the importance of titles and how you can maximize your titles to work for your engineering blog.

Why Your Title Matters
To start, let’s look at why your title matters.
1. It lets readers know what your content is about
While film or book titles may be a little more obscure, the title of an article or blog is generally very specific and tells a potential reader exactly what the content they’re about to read is about.
This is important because we’re living in a digital sphere where information overload is a very real threat. People have limited attention spans and they have limited time, so no one wants to dive into a blog post if they don’t actually know what it’s about.
This means it’s also very important to avoid clickbait and be authentic and truthful in your headline.

For example, if your headline is “Discover The Number One Way To Drive Traffic To Your Website” but then you spend the whole article trying to sell your business or service instead of actually offering value to your reader and discussing this supposed number-one way, you’ll be letting your readers down.
It won’t take long before they identify the spam content, close your post, and vouch to never return to your site again.
That would be the very end of your interaction with this visitor, meaning your blog has failed significantly at its marketing purpose in converting website traffic into leads.
However, if you use the title “A 5-Step How-To Guide On Driving Traffic To Your Website” and follow this up with a well-thought-out article consisting of 5 steps that will actually help your readers, your title is working well for you.

Readers will look at the title, start reading, and, since you’re giving them what they came for, will continue reading until they get everything they need. This will also make it more likely for your reader to come back to your website for more content, or perhaps even follow through on a call-to-action (CTA) and engage with your site further.
Importantly, the reader spending a significant time on your site also signals to Google that you provide valuable content, which will help you achieve higher search engine rankings in the future.
2. It influences your click-through rate
Readers aren’t the only ones looking at your title and deciding whether or not to read your article. Google also looks at your title, but it uses this to decide whether or not to show your page in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Page).
Of course, a title isn’t the only thing Google looks at. There are actually a whole host of on-page SEO elements that Google takes into consideration.
But, the title is a very important one, as your main title often matches your meta title, and this is what Google displays in its SERPs.
This also makes this title the very first thing a potential reader sees after having done a Google search and is often the deciding factor on whether or not they click over to your site.

So it’s not only about encouraging readers to continue reading your content once they’ve read the title, but it’s about them taking that very first step of clicking on your page in the first place.
If they click on your page in the SERPs and the website loads and they hate the look of it or realize that you used clickbait tactics to get them to click through, they’ll very quickly close your page again – most likely to head back to the SERPs to find a different result.

This is bad news in SEO terms as it not only decreases the amount of time someone spends on your page but also increases your page’s bounce rate (how quickly visitors go back to the SERPs), both of which are negative Google ranking factors.

Of course, it could be a case that your page just doesn’t quite match what the reader is looking for, but if this happens repeatedly or on multiple pages, Google will quickly learn that your page does not offer value and it will stop ranking you well in the SERPs.
This also means it’s very important to be as specific as possible in your titles. I’ve already looked at one example of this above, but it goes beyond the mere content of the post.
To continue the example above, say your title and meta title is “A 5-Step How-To Guide On Driving Traffic To Your Website” but instead of providing a standard text-heavy article, you present the information in listicle form or as an infographic.
There is nothing intrinsically wrong with that, but a reader expecting a standard article would be put off by the content format and bounce away from your page to head straight back to the SERPs.
In this case, your title should make your mode of representation clear. For example, you could use “An Infographic of 5 Steps To Driving Website Traffic” or “A 5-Step Guide To Driving Website Traffic [Infographic]”.
By including the extra information, you’re giving the Internet user more to go on, and they’ll then know exactly what to expect when clicking through to your website.
You’ll notice that I’ve changed the word order of the above headings slightly to keep it shorter.
While I won’t go into full details of writing a great headline in this article, it’s worth remembering that your title should be short and sweet, especially in the context of the SERPs.
You could have a longer title on your actual website if required, but Google limits what’s visible in the search results to roughly 60 characters. To make the most of your title and ensure it doesn’t get cut off when displayed in the SERPs, you’ll want to keep it well below this character limit.

3. It engages your audience
While of course letting your potential reader know what the entire blog post is about is important, titles can also be great at engaging your audience and drawing your engineering readers in.
It won’t take long for someone looking at your title to decide whether or not they want to read your article, and it’s critical that you capture someone’s interest or attention during this time.

This means that your title also has to be interesting.
For example, you could simply have a title that reads “How To Drive Traffic To Your Website”. This does tell your reader what the article is about and may very well be a perfectly good title to use.
But you could make this title a little more exciting by adding some extra information. Perhaps you’re giving readers a five-step guide or perhaps you’re guaranteeing readers that your methods can double their website traffic in six months.
Of course, it’s important to avoid clickbait here and only use descriptions that are actually true. But if they are, then why not use them in your title?
I think we’d all be more likely to click an article with a title of “How To Double Your Website Traffic In 6 Months” than one simply titled “How To Drive Traffic To Your Website”.
Including whys, whats, or how-tos is a great way to make your titles more engaging, but you could also use stylistic choices, like alliteration, or humor to make your blog titles stand out.
4. It highlights the search intent
You definitely need to work on including keywords in your content, but it’s also vital to include your main keyword in your title as this really highlights the search intent.

Google may read your entire article and know that it’ll be highly relevant to an internet user searching “how to double my website traffic in six months” but if this isn’t reflected in your title, how would the actual user know that your article matches their search intent?
While you’re likely to do this anyway if you’re constructing a well-thought-out title, it’s worth keeping in mind anyway and always double-check that you’re adding the keyword in.
This is also helpful to keep in mind if multiple words can be used to describe one thing or if there may be differences in spelling.
For example, if you’re writing about aerospace engineering and use the term “aeroplanes” in your title, but you’re writing for a US audience who may not be familiar with the UK spelling, internet users who stumble upon your title may be caught off guard and confused for a second.
Of course, they’ll likely still understand your title but since most internet users are scanning titles in mere seconds, it’s good practice to be as clear and accurate as possible. In this case, using the US spelling of “airplanes” will serve you much better and stop potential readers from stalling before clicking over to your site.
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Using a headline formula
One way to make sure your headline fulfills all of the above-mentioned factors is by relying on a headline formula.
Kozaai Marketing’s Lenka Instvanova created a title model based on her research into the best practices for click-worthy headlines.
The formula is:
Numbers + Adjective + Target Keyword + Rationale + Promise

To look at an example, let’s use the title “7 Effective 3D Printing Tips for Engineers That Work”.
This is how the title matches the formula:
- Numbers: 7
- Adjective: Effective
- Target Keyword: 3D Printing for Engineers
- Rationale: Tips
- Promise: That Work
You’ll see that this formula contains all the elements that explain why a title is important – it tells readers and search engines what the content is about, it engages your audience, and it highlights the search intent.
Do you need help with your content and titles?
It can be helpful to work with an engineering writer to help you craft compelling content and titles. If that’s the case, contact us today – we’re here to help.
Importance of Titles FAQs
How long should a blog title be?
If you’re crafting your blog title with SEO in mind, it’s best to stick to titles averaging 50 – 60 characters. This will ensure your title displays in full on a search engine results page. Alternatively, you can look at crafting titles between 7 and 14 words.
Can I use technical jargon in my title?
If it’s relevant and forms part of your target keyword, then there’s no harm in including some technical jargon. However, if you’re likely to exclude audiences by using it, then it’s best to skip the jargon.
Should I update my blog title from time to time?
If your blog title works for you – i.e. you’re getting a good click-through rate from the SERPs to your page and readers remain engaged and interested, then it’s not necessary to update your title. But if your title isn’t working for you, it may be time to try out a different title or do some A/B testing. That said, it’s generally a good idea to review your content about once a year to make sure everything’s still accurate and up-to-date, and this includes checking your titles.