How To Write A How-To Article That Gets Attention And Sends More Traffic To Your Website

Type in the search word “How To” and you’ll get almost 8 billion results. How-To articles are some of the most popular content on the Internet yet a large percentage of these are never read. And few of those that are read generate any traffic for the webmaster who wrote them.

The key to writing How-To articles that will rise to the top of those 8 billion, attract the attention of the searcher, and engage them enough to make them click through to your site is to let them know, right off the bat, the benefits of reading that article.

Most people don’t read How-To articles because they really want to know how to fix a leaky faucet or how to decorate cupcakes. Being an essay writer I can say that what attracts them to those articles is knowing that if they have that faucet repaired they’ll save money on their water bill, or if they have Transformer cupcakes all the kids will love the party and their mothers will all be jealous.

The best way to get people to read your How-To articles is to promise them a reward. And then you have to deliver.

The first step is to write an attention-grabbing title.

What’s In A Title?

A Lot!

Most readers will make the decision whether or not to even click on your article just by looking at the title. And the way to get people to click on your title is simple:

Here’s an example of a really bad How-To title:

How To Write How-To Articles

It tells you the feature – you’re going to learn how to write How-To articles. But it doesn’t tell you how that’s going to help you. The reason you want to know how to write How-To articles is so you can get more clicks and generate more traffic. The title doesn’t promise to solve your problem so why even bother reading?

Here’s a better example:

How To Write How-To Articles That Attract Attention

It’s better because it does give you a glimpse at the benefit you’ll gain from reading the article. However, lots of articles ‘attract attention.’ Your goal is to write articles that send more traffic to your website.

You encounter lots of things throughout the day that attract your attention – cute babies, bright yellow umbrellas, fuzzy puppies. But that doesn’t mean you follow those babies or umbrellas or puppies all the way home. You glance at them and keep on walking. That’s what happens when you see this type of title. You glance at it and keep on surfing.

Here’s the best example:

How To Write How-To Articles That Attract Attention And Get More Traffic For Your Website

This title says it all!

• It tells you what you’re going to learn – The Feature
• It tells you what will happen when you use the information – The Benefit
• It tells you how that particular benefit will make your life better – The Answer To The Problem

When this title turns up in the index, searchers will immediately know that reading this article is beneficial because it will help solve a problem.

The Real First Step In Writing Killer How-To Articles

Before you can come up with a killer title, you’re going to have to decide what you want to write about. You probably already have a list of keywords but a good article, no matter what type it is, will solve a problem for the reader.

People who use article marketing to promote their websites know that readers like How-To articles. But the question is – how do you write them so people actually read them and then click through to your site?

The answer is – you need to let the reader know that your article will solve a specific problem.

Using the example, the problem was “How to get more traffic from How-To Articles.”

Why You Should Write ‘How-To’ Articles

Visit the Self-Help section of any library or bookstore and you’ll see thousands of books whose titles all start with the words ‘How To’. But don’t stop there. Look at the cookbooks, the spirituality books, even the fiction books, and you’ll find millions of book titles that start with the words ‘How To’. You’ll probably even find the words ‘How To’ carved on some ancient Egyptian pyramid!

People will always want to know how to do something. If you don’t include ‘How-To’ Articles as part of your article marketing campaign, you’re going to be missing out on a huge promotional opportunity.

People come to the Internet looking for solutions to problems. What better way to tell someone how to solve a problem than with a ‘How-To’ article?

If they like your article, and if it does, indeed, solve their problem, then you’ve just established yourself as an authority on that topic.

However, that won’t happen if they don’t read your article. That’s why writing a killer title is such an important step.

How To Find ‘How-To’ Article Ideas

The best place to find ideas for your ‘How-To’ articles is to visit forums and see what problems people are talking about. That’s how I came up with the idea for this article – someone was asking for tips on writing ‘How-To’ articles!

When you do your keyword research you’ll often notice long-tail keywords that lend themselves to ‘How-To’ articles.

Read relevant blogs to see what people are talking about, read the newspaper, read books, eavesdrop at the coffee shop… Anywhere people congregate, either online or off, you’re bound to be able to pick up a few article ideas.

Look at your own blog for ideas. If you’ve written an article on the benefits of making your own dog food, then write some articles about HOW TO make your own dog food. Take your ‘Why You Need’ articles and tell people ‘How To Do It’ articles.

How To Generate More Traffic With Your ‘How-To’ Articles

And THAT’S why you’re here, isn’t it? That’s the promised solution you saw in my title. How do you write “How-To’ articles that attract attention and generate more traffic? Isn’t it funny how that worked out? I wrote a catchy title, and here you are reading my ‘How-To’ Article!

I’ve already increased my traffic just by writing a title that attracts more attention. The law of percentages is on my side. The more readers I get, the more clicks. However, if you’ve put all that thought into the title, why not do a little work on the content of the article so you can assure you get more click-throughs?

The key is to make sure you deliver what you promised in the title.

Give the reader all the information he needs to learn how to do something and then show him how that something is beneficial.

In this article, I’ve shown you how to put together a title that attracts attention and gets more people to read your ‘How-To’ articles.

Do You Read ‘How-To’ Articles?

One of the best ways to find out how to write articles that attract attention and generate traffic is just to look closely at the articles YOU read. What attracted your attention? Did you enjoy the article? Did you click through to the website to learn more? If you did, WHY did you click through? What was it that motivated you to read that particular article and then go looking for even more information?

Deliver The Reward

It’s never OK to leave your reader hanging and tell them to find the rest of the answer by visiting your website. Readers do NOT click through on these types of articles and, in the end, all you do is hurt your own credibility. If you promise them something in your title, then make sure you deliver it in the body of the article. Then, use your resource box to invite them to visit your website and learn even more.

Add A Twist For More Variety And Attract Even More Interested Readers

Some people just naturally shy away from reading anything that starts with the words ‘How To.’ A ‘How-To’ article usually means you’re going to have to do some work at some point. Change up your titles a little and bring those people into the fold!

Instead of ‘How To….” try:

• How I did…
• How I made…
• How you can…
• How a single mother (unemployed teacher, handicapped teenager, hard-working father of 7)…

About the author: Bianca J. Ward used to be a divorce coach, but now she is a professional online essay writer at EssayWriterFree where she provides people with qualified works. Besides, she is a passionate photographer and traveler who has visited 52 countries all over the world. Bianca dreams about creating a photo exhibition to present her works to others.