Why Titles Need The Right Word Count
Honestly, I never paid much attention to how long my blog titles were. I’d just write whatever felt catchy at the moment. Then, someone mentioned titles work best between 15 to 30 words. Figured I should look into it myself.
First thing I did? I grabbed a bunch of my old post titles. I wanted to see where I was at. I just copied about 20 of them into a plain text file. Nothing fancy. Then, I went through each title, one by one, counting the words. I actually used my fingers to count! Old school.
- Some titles were way too short, like under 10 words – felt weak.
- Others were monsters, pushing 40 or more words – way too messy.
- Most were clumped somewhere in the middle, but kinda all over the place.
Seeing the spread like that? It clicked. If I wanted clearer titles, I needed consistency. The 15-30 word goal made sense after seeing the chaos.
Next step was trial and error. I picked a recent idea I had. Started drafting a title naturally. Let me tell you, hitting that sweet spot felt impossible at first. Draft one was maybe 12 words. Felt thin, didn’t say enough. Draft two ballooned to 35 words. Way too much, got confusing. Draft three… hit 18 words. Felt better, clearer.
I did this for a few titles. I’d write, count, scratch out words, add some back in, count again. Such a headache. But slowly, I started getting a feel for it. Aiming for that middle ground, around 22 words.
Like this title I struggled with: “Average Title Length Practice – How I Got My Blog Headlines to Stick Around 22 Words Without Making Them Sound Weird“. Counted it… 21 words! Exactly the target. It felt satisfying, like solving a puzzle.
Now it’s my standard practice. Draft the title idea. Count the words immediately. If it’s under 15? I make myself add a key detail or clarify the point. If it’s over 30? I start cutting fluff words or combining ideas. No fancy tools, just reading it aloud and trimming or padding. Consistency pays off. Making them land around that 22-ish word average just makes everything feel more polished now.
