How To Write The Best Blog Titles For SEO

Blogging is becoming significantly more prevalent among law firms with positive outcomes for those firms. According to the American Bar Association, 37% of lawyers in 2022 reported that their firms have a blog – up from 24% in 2018 – and one out of four lawyers from firms with blogs stated that they retained a client thanks to their firm’s blog.  When it comes to blog writing, however, it is not enough to simply write blog posts and expect clients to roll in; strong blog post titles are a must. 

For a law firm that is just starting out, or even a law firm with blogging experience, determining just what is needed to create appealing and impactful blog post titles can be confusing. An experienced law firm marketing agency can help you brainstorm your strategy. At Law Quill, we work closely with our clients to help them build out a unique and customized content creation strategy. Consider reaching out to us for a quick phone or zoom call by scheduling an appointment on our calendar today.

Blog Posts are for Humans and Search Engine Bots

When it comes to the best blog post titles, make sure not to only write with humans in mind – make sure to think about search engine optimization (SEO). This helps ensure that humans can find the blog easily as SEO optimized blogs are more likely to be ranked higher in search engine results. Some of the ways to create SEO optimized blog post titles include:

• Write the blog post first. This may seem obvious but it ensures that the blog post title accurately reflects the content of the blog post.
• Pick strong keywords. These should be words that are most relevant to the blog post, that the audience is likely to search for, and that are short and descriptive.
• Research keywords in advance of deciding to use them. Conduct several search engine searches with keywords to see what kind of results they typically generate and see if those are relevant to the blog post.
• Use SEO tools such as Adwords Keywords Planning Tool from Google to determine the popularity and relevance of the keywords for the blog title.

Writing blog post titles for SEO, as well as humans is a balancing act. It is important to incorporate keywords in such a way that makes the title appealing to SEO and to human readers. Human engagement is also critical to SEO; when people click on blog posts this tells search engines that the blog post is relevant to the search query, helping to make it more prominent in the search rankings.

Blog Post Titles Should Be Compelling

The National Law Review reports that 74% of people who search for legal support online end up contacting a law office over the phone. Part of getting people to the point where they initiate contact with a law firm is creating compelling content for them to engage with. A key aspect of this is creating intriguing blog post titles. Some strategies to create compelling titles include:

• Be creative with language. One way to do that is to use alliteration to draw people’s eye. For example, a blog post on nuptials might include a title along the lines of “Negotiating Nuptials”.
• Keep blog post titles short and simple. People are more likely to click on quick, easy-to-read, titles.
• Make the value of the blog clear to the reader. For example, if the blog provides guidance on estate planning, make sure that is clear to the reader from the title.
• Brainstorm with other people and come up with multiple potential blog post titles to see what might work best. 

Brainstorming compelling blog post titles can be daunting, which is why it may be helpful to enlist a law firm marketing agency for their expertise, such as Law Quill. 

Blog Post Titles Should Address People’s Needs

A great blog post title addresses people’s needs. People may be seeking answers to specific questions, looking for general resources, or seeking a ‘how to’ guide. Blog post titles should specify that they address the reader’s needs. There are several ways to do this, such as through listicle titles, how-to blog titles, and question-focused blog titles.

Listicle Blog Titles

A listicle blog is a blog that focuses its content on numbered items. A listicle blog title is a type of blog post title that specifies exactly how the number of resources it will provide. An example of a listicle blog title might be “5 Steps You Should Take if You Have Been Injured at Work.” A strong listicle blog title:

• Places the number in the list at the front of the blog post title.
• Is a reasonable number – too high a number and people might decide that they do not want to read the piece.
• Is an odd number, as those tend to draw more traffic.

How-to Blog Titles

How-to blogs provide readers with guidance on how to accomplish specific goals. For example, a how-to blog title could be “How to Write a Will”. A strong how-to blog title:

• Places the ‘how to’ at the front of the blog post title.
• Clearly states the goal in the title.
• Clearly indicates what the process will be – such as writing a document or filing a claim.

Question Blog titles

Question blogs phrase a question within the blog post title that they then address through out the blog post. For example, a question blog title might be “What is a Business Contract Lawyer?”. A strong question blog title:

• Asks an open-ended question.
• Poses a simple question. 
• Asks the question in a conversational manner.

Mistakes Blog Titles

Another kind of blog post title is one that focuses on mistakes or errors. In other words, it addresses how to fix a problem or avoid making mistakes. For example, a mistakes blog title might be “The Biggest Mistakes People Make When Starting a New Business.” A strong mistakes blog title:

• Clarifies in the title what exactly the error is.
• Incorporates the worlds help, mistake, or fix in the very beginning of the title.
• Offers itself as a guide to the reader on how to address, fix, or avoid issues. 

Keyword Trigger Blog Titles 

Keyword trigger blog titles begin the blog title with the keyword selected. It is a great way to optimize for SEO and to let the person searching for information know that the blog directly addresses the key word that they are looking for. An example of a keyword trigger blog title might be “LLC Tax Write Offs: A Beginner’s Guide.” A strong keyword trigger blog title:

• Places the keyword at the front of the title.
• Uses short keywords for the blog titles.
• Uses keywords that are relevant to the targeted audience.

Versus Blog Titles

Versus blog titles focus on comparisons. These help the reader understand distinctions between similar concepts. An example of a versus blog title might be “Contested Versus Uncontested Divorces: What is the Difference?.” These kinds of blogs walk the reader through the differences between the concepts. A strong versus blog title:

• Places the versus towards the beginning of the blog title.
• Includes a question in the title.
• Compares similar topics in the versus title.

Best Practices for Blog Post Titles

Certain best practices can help law firms create especially strong blog post titles that drive traffic and lead to more clients. These practices include: 

• Making sure that the blog post title highlights how the blog is useful to the reader.
• Incorporating a sense of urgency into the blog title, for example, pointing out that a problem is time sensitive to the reader.
• Keeping the blog titles unique – many blog titles are similar and redundant, making it easy for them to get lost in the search engine. Try to write one that sticks out.
• Focusing on specific issues in the title so that the reader knows exactly what to expect when they click on the blog.

One helpful way to get inspiration, in addition to brain storming with colleagues and writing multiple titles before settling on the one, is to turn to magazine cover titles for inspiration. There are many magazines available, but only a few catch people’s eyes. It may be helpful to consider which ones they are and why they are enticing. 

How Working with a Legal Marketing Agency Can Help

Writing the best blog post titles that you can is critical to driving traffic, but it is not an easy task to accomplish. That is why it can be especially helpful to work with an experienced legal marketing agency to help you build a strong strategy. Law Quill is an attorney-owned marketing agency committed to helping you rise in Google rankings with your blog. Schedule a free visit with us by scheduling a phone or zoom call on our calendar today at your convenience or email us at support@lawquill.com.