Viral Content: Use an (Odd) Number

Headlines with numbers are 36% more likely to generate clicks, according to research by Conductor.

And a study of 150,000 headlines revealed that odd-numbered headlines have a 20% better CTR than headlines with even numbers.

BRIAN'S TAKE

The next time you’re at CVS, take a look at the magazine rack.

You’ll see covers with tons of numbers, like this:

Magazines use numbers in their headlines for a very simple reason:

They work.

And you’d be hard pressed to find a headline on Backlinko that doesn’t contain a number.

For example, here are a few of my most popular posts over the last year:

Viral Marketing Case Study: How a Brand New Blog Generated 17,584 Visitors In One Day (5,142 shares)

16 Actionable SEO Copywriting Secrets That Will Drive More Traffic To Your Site (3,738 shares)

17 Insanely Actionable List Building Strategies That Will Generate More Subscribers Today (4,242 shares)

Bottom line? Numbers get more clicks.

But…why?

It’s because numbers give people something VERY specific to cling to.

Think about the difference between these two headlines:

“Techniques to Lose Weight” vs. “17 Techniques to Lose Weight Fast”.

The number “17” instantly makes the headline much more enticing.

What about the even number vs. odd number debate?

Sure, I occasionally use an even number in my headlines…

…but most of my posts use odd numbers (17, 21 etc.).

Like Outbrain, I find that odd numbers work a little bit better.