What is click bait? Clickbait or a headline that you want to click on. How headers are arranged

Clickbait is a way of constructing a headline that allows the meaning of the text to be distorted in order to interest the reader; Clickbait headlines miss the point of the news story, sparking curiosity. This phenomenon arose due to the fact that advertisers pay sites for the number of clicks, that is, transitions to the page where the banner is placed. Now almost all media resort to this to one degree or another. Look At Me figured out what rules clickbait works by, showed how to apply them by changing your own headlines, and asked a philologist about headline culture in Russia.

How headers are arranged

Hasan Huseynov

philologist, faculty professor
Philology National Research University-Higher School of Economics

“A headline in electronic media consists of 4 parts: three external, and one in the reader’s head.

NEIGHBORS OF THIS OR ANOTHER NEWS IN THE NEWS AGGREGator FEED. This very proximity creates the atmosphere of a blitz competition, when the most biting and attention-grabbing formulation wins;

THE NEWS ITSELF AND ITS HEADING, in which, according to the terms of the competition from the first point, there must necessarily be reticence, sometimes on the verge of misinformation;

PICTURE CONTRASTING WITH THE TITLE;

THE “CONSPIRACY THEORY” LOCATED IN THE HEADS OF READERS.

For almost a quarter of a century I have been comparing the headlines of Russian and German newspapers and I can definitely say: almost no Russian publication creates informative headlines; to one degree or another, each headline is addressed not to the rational and critical reader who wants only information from the newspaper, but to the reader who scours the media for confirmation of a conspiracy theory that that reader subscribes to.

The exception is funny headlines, the record holder for which was probably Kommersant. Such headlines are extremely dangerous because they create two sanity-damaging impressions on the reader:

NEWS is a gutta-percha matter, we still won’t know the truth, but here is at least some cheerful interpretation of the event;

THE ENTIRE MEDIA FIELD is deceitful and fundamentally incapable of fulfilling its direct task.

As an illustration, we can cite, for example, the information support of Barack Obama’s most important annual speech to the US Congress for Russians, in which he called the “tattered state of the Russian economy” as a result of sanctions against the Russian Federation. Instead of the full text of a competent translation of the president’s speech, the Russian reader received either a bad retelling or a commentary by Dmitry Rogozin, who translated the words of the largest politician in the Western world to the level of his understanding that Obama boasts that he “torn Russia like Tuzik a hot water bottle.” As a result, the Russian reader develops an absurd idea not only about the goals and objectives of the United States and the EU in their policies towards Russia, but also about what domestic politicians should be doing.

Based on the headlines of the Russian media alone, one can draw an extremely unpleasant conclusion: for the most part, they neglect their main responsibility, they have not become the “fourth estate”, they do not inform or educate, but serve the vague irrational emotions of citizens, winking at the collective apolitical boor and despising the responsible people who are critical of the fatal mistakes of the Russian leadership."

There are so many words today that we had never heard of before, but they came when the Internet burst into our lives. Website promotion, social networks, clickbait headlines, channel development and uploading videos. But behind all this in many actions there is one main task: to make a profit by selling goods and services or promoting oneself as a public figure.

Clickbait - what is it?

Advertising has long and firmly entered our lives, and everyone knows that it is the engine of progress. First they began to use it in newspapers and on television, then on radio and city streets, and then on the Internet, as it became one of the most popular platforms.

With the promotion of advertising, such concepts as traffic, popularity, likes, clicks, transitions and clickbait appeared (this is an original way of constructing a headline, where the essence is not revealed, but a certain mystery and intrigue remains so that a person clicks on it).

In order to remain in high positions and be noticeable among hundreds of competitors, you must understand modern terms.

What is a header

Before using examples to understand that clickbait is distorted headlines, you need to find out why this concept appeared in the first place. It is believed that today on the Internet you have to pay for each symbol, and one of the main goals is to go to the desired resource page.

The headline consists of several parts - three external and one that takes shape in the reader’s head, and it all looks interesting:

Part 1 - neighbors of a certain article in the news feed;
Part 2 - the news itself with the headline;
Part 3 - picture associated with the article;
Part 4 - the user has his own theory formed in his head, for which the text was written.

Rules or traits of original titles

So what are the characteristic signs of clickbait:

In headlines you can often see pronouns that indicate something: this, this, that.
Addressing a specific reader, i.e. in the singular, such as “you”, to establish friendly contact.
A contradiction where ordinary things are said at first, and then an unexpected twist occurs.
Hyperbolization: in order for the reader to pay attention to your headline, you need to exaggerate everything, for example, words such as “the most, the most” or the most magnificent, etc.
Punctuation - it is, as a rule, non-standard; you can see a lot of question marks or exclamation marks, ellipses.
Phraseologisms are also often found in this type of heading.

Target

The above were the signs that showed that clickbait is really bright, attractive and original ways of creating a headline. The main goal is to attract as many people as possible to a certain resource.

If the author can competently approach the creation of clickbait, he will quickly achieve the desired results, namely an increase in traffic. If you use this method correctly, you can quickly promote your website, resulting in increased sales, for example. Here the bait can work, which the user will swallow and end up on a resource where he will not only satisfy his curiosity, but also receive some useful information.

Examples

Translated from English, the word clickbait or Clickbait consists of two parts: click is a click, click, and bait is bait or lure. Those who look at this headline immediately want to click and find out what information they want to convey to readers.

A striking example of clickbait is the following phrase: “everyone should know that..” or “the secret that was successfully revealed..”, or “what the news was keeping silent about..”.

This method of attracting readers and viewers is also used on television and in newspapers, but most often in the yellow press or scandalous programs. On the Internet, clickbait has reached another level and is an excellent Internet marketing tool. This method is popular because the competition is very high, and it is necessary to stand out somehow so that your site is chosen.

Using characteristic features, you can easily create an original title, but the main thing is not to overdo it and not reinvent the wheel. All these methods are based on knowledge of psychology and experience.

What is clickbait on YouTube?

YouTube is a popular video hosting service not only in Russia, but all over the world. Thousands of videos are posted online every day, and everyone wants to be noticed. The concept of clickbait works great here, because among the many videos of the same type you can get hooked with a bright, flashy headline.

There is a constant war for the attention of readers and viewers in order to get millions of impressions, and then profit, thanks to a large number of views.

But, however, this does not mean that you need to write profanity, because services carefully monitor this and can easily block the channel.

Typical headings for channels are the following phrases:

This you have not seen before..
If you watch this video, you will learn a terrible secret...
Incredible spectacle..
Hurry up to see this video!

After reading such phrases, it immediately becomes clear what clickbait is on YouTube and more. In addition, in addition to the title, you can use the video cover with bright inscriptions and an interesting picture to attract attention. It’s not for nothing that all promotion professionals say: in order for your video to be noticed, it must be created by those people who understand this. For example, a good designer will make a unique, bright and inviting cover that will attract viewers, which will increase the number of views and then bring profit.

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. Today I want to talk about such a thing as clickbait. Most often now this word is used in relation to webmasters or YouTubers who, using the Clickbait method, are trying to increase income from their website or YouTube channel.

This word has a somewhat negative character and this is not surprising, because often with the help of clickbait, users are simply misled (in fact, deceived). We ourselves are partly to blame for this, because we believe in miracles (“conspiracy theory” that they are hiding something from us, but good people want to tell us about it).

What is clickbait?? And this is the so-called "screaming (loud) headline"(Clic is a click, a mouse click, and Bait is a lure, bait). Looking at it, I really want to click to go to the article itself and find out what kind of “information bomb” is hidden there. As a rule, then disappointment sets in, but the bait has fulfilled its role, because the user went to the site or watched the video.

For the owner of a website or YouTube channel, this together brings in income from viewing advertisements (or from ), which means the task is completed. In addition to the network, clickbait can also be found in the press, on TV, in advertising, and in advertising. In fact, it is everywhere, but under the flashy title there is not always a dummy. If everything is done correctly and in moderation, then this could be a good tool attracting traffic. The main thing is not to disappoint visitors.

What is Clickbait

Clickbait is an excellent marketing (linguistic) tool that brings very fast and stable results. That is why it is so actively exploited by everyone and everything.

Look at tabloid headlines and you will understand what we are talking about.

Very similar methods are used on television (NTV, RenTV). Loud announcements of programs that make you want to definitely watch them - what if the truth is true and all this was simply carefully hidden from you, but now they finally decided to tell the truth.

But it is on the Internet Clickbait reached a completely new level (often, “breaking through the bottom” in terms of cynicism and the degree of discrepancy between the news headline and its content). There is very high competition here. You need to somehow be different from your neighbors on the sites where you advertise (paid or free). Even in the same search results, the title means a lot and decides whether users will come to you or not.

Here, for example, are templates for flashy advertisement headlines (you’ve probably seen something similar in advertising blocks on various sites, and even with resonant images):

On YouTube the same essence - among the many single-video videos at the user’s request, your video should have something catchy with its title. It is desirable that the user also watches it for as long as possible, and therefore they add something like “Tough! Watch to the end!!!" and use other techniques described below.

This is how clickbait videos appear in huge quantities, because it brings in money, and not small ones (you don’t have to go to the factory, but just write flashy titles for the videos).

Examples of clickbait headlines can be seen on the relatively popular website. This is a news feed (new materials) from various sites and internal blogs of Zen itself. The feed is endless, and in order for there to be transitions, you need to write a headline that is catchy, exciting and awakens the desire to click. Otherwise there will be no traffic and no income.

There is a war going on for our attention. And we become an unwitting victim of this war. To avoid this, it will be enough understand the principles by which Clickbait headlines are formed and then accurately identify them. In addition, you yourself may find this method useful, because when used in moderation, it really works well without causing negativity among visitors. Everything is needed in moderation. But what exactly? Let's watch.

How to create a clickbait title

As always, everything has already been invented before us. The task of capturing attention was acute before, but in the age of information technology, when the user’s eye has become blurry and no longer reacts to ordinary headlines, the methods described below are being used more and more widely. They are all based on experience and knowledge of mass psychology. In general, watch for yourself and you will understand everything.

Often a clickbait title creates intrigue, but its essence is not very clear, that it arouses curiosity and a desire to find out what we are talking about. In this case, logical emphasis on a conjunction or pronoun works well. The main thing is to intrigue and create a riddle, like “you won’t believe WHAT they can do with...”, “WHO is guilty of” or “WHAT you can’t eat before bed.”
Intrigue and mystery are the key to success. Another thing is that the material where the user ends up should not disappoint him, as in the above example.
Inconsistency or incompleteness, such as “the name of the world champion for something has become known.” It looks like the first option - there is intrigue, but there is no complete information in the title. You have to follow the link and try to understand what was discussed.
Works great use of the word "it" and derivatives from it (this, these, this, as well as synonyms). They seem to point to something and the user clings to it. For example, “With this you will forget about something there” or “You must see THIS.” Works great. Here's how much the headline's clickability increased when using this clickbait technique:
Trust addressing "YOU". When everyone around is digging, then this approach stands out favorably in the crowd. For example, “You won’t believe this! ...,” “Look...” or “this will change your life.” Here it is as if they are addressing you specifically (in the singular, addressed), and not to the abstract “you” (to the faceless crowd).
Non-standard use of various punctuation marks- in place and out of place. The main thing is to attract attention. Triple exclamation marks, their combination with question marks, ellipses, writing individual words in capital letters, signs not used in punctuation at all (hashes, multiple brackets, etc.). The user catches his eye on this “unusuality” and often moves the mouse cursor to just such a heading. See the example just above (list of videos from YouTube).
between the usual beginning and the mysteriously unknown continuation (what could possibly happen with such a banal beginning).
Usually the first part of these types of clickbait headlines talks about something mundane, but then they intrigue us, like “you won’t believe what happened next.” It’s interesting to find out when a typical drudgery can have an unexpected outcome (and which one).
Various exaggeration() and (regular and superlative). The former give a chance to attract the visitor’s interest (“shocking truth”, “devastating effect”), the latter are designed to present the “heroes” of the title as vividly as possible (for example, “fantastic story...”) in the hope that the description will please (enchant).
Trump, by the way, very often constructs his phrases in this way (as if clickbait were talking in headlines).
Numbers (or numerals) in headlines do a good job of attracting attention and awakening the desire to at least look diagonally at this material. Moreover, this is a fairly harmless technique that is used by almost all bloggers (including me).
The authors do not shy away from direct instructions users what to do, using an imperative mood like, “if you want to know something interesting, then click HERE.” Crude, but it works. And what? We don’t have time to be naughty—we need to make money.
By the way, the ban also works (don’t click). Many people press out of a sense of contradiction.
Narration first person like “my hands still get cold when I see this.” Well, how can you help it? I would have clicked on this phrase myself if it had been a link in this text.
Headings often include some cliches, catchphrases, common expressions from everyday communication such as “the box just opened”, “the grandmother said in two”, “a hero of our time”, “a drinking husband is a grief in the family.”
They work well and challenges like “you won’t believe it”, “you’ll never guess who”, as well as exclamations like “shock”, “incredible”, “oh, horror”, “finished the game”, etc.

Should you use clickbait?

All of these methods allow the headline to stand out from the crowd (a number of similar ones), but many push too hard on clickbait and because of this, network users are slowly beginning to lose trust in such headlines and even irritation creeps in. I myself am already tired of blocking such “masterpieces” in the Yandex Zen feed, but new authors are taking the place of the blocked ones with an even greater desire to attract my attention.

You need everything in moderation, but those who make money online often want “everything at once,” which is why we have what we have. Clickbait is more of a “gray” (or yellow?) tool for increasing income, and I wouldn’t use it fully on a “white” project. But some of its elements can be taken into service, but not forgetting that so that the title matches the content.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site

You've fallen for clickbait if...

You noticed? This subtitle is also built on the basic principles of clickbait. There is intrigue in it, it interests and makes you want to know at least the end of the phrase. Today, clickbait is used in various areas of advertising. The main channels flooded with clickbait are:

Websites with teaser advertising. They are used most often because webmasters often do not pay attention to the quality of advertising. Web resource owners post almost anything they get paid for. Most often, provocative teasers can be found on porn sites, news sites and online cinemas.

The effect of clickbait in teasers is enhanced by images. The images used are photographs of the main characters in the “news,” photographs of advertised products, or drawings that further increase the intrigue.

Showcase of the Redtram teaser network

Video hosting YouTube. It often uses provocative video titles to attract the maximum number of users and get a large number of views. The principles of constructing headlines on video hosting are the same as in teaser networks - users use the words “shock”, “horror”, “you can’t believe it” and other provocative combinations. They also use exclamation points, ellipses, or an intriguing title sequence, which often has nothing to do with what is happening in the video.

Examples of clickbait on YouTube

Advertising in YAN and KMS. Search engines launched their advertising networks, which were also infiltrated by clickbait. YAN - Yandex advertising network, KMS - Google contextual media network. Search engines publish ads not only in search results, but also on partner sites. However, all ads undergo strict moderation, so clickbait in its pure form is almost never used in the Display Network and YAN. Moderators check whether the ad page matches the title and only pass the ad if it does not contain misinformation.

Webmasters are under pressure, so they use non-obvious clickbait techniques. For example, they put exclamation marks where they are not needed, or address the reader as “you” and use the imperative mood. The goal of such ads is to collect as many clicks as possible.

Targeting. Targeted advertising allows you to show advertisements only to certain target audience groups, rather than to all users. It is used on social networks. And they also use clickbait. But on social networks, advertising is also checked by moderators, so there is no outright “chernuka” in the advertising blocks.

Example of clickbait on VKontakte

This is also not pure clickbait. The example shows advertisements, from which it is at least clear what is being discussed on the advertising page. But clickbait techniques were also used - exclamation marks, elements of understatement, intriguing promises.

Clickbait on YouTube

YouTube video hosting is one of the most clickbait-friendly promotion channels. “Official” advertising, which is shown when watching a video in the form of a pop-up window or short videos, is also checked by moderators. But advertisements in video descriptions and the videos themselves are posted by bloggers, and no one controls them. For example, headlines based on clickbait principles are used in text advertising.

Example of a clickbait title in a YouTube video description

But most often, clickbait principles are used in the titles of the videos themselves. Video hosting is designed in such a way that when watching a video without full-screen mode, the user sees a splash screen and the name of similar videos on the side. They also appear at the end of each video. And here, a large number of views helps to gain clickbait - intrigue, call to action, contradiction.

In the above example, implicit clickbait is used. The first phrase, “The scientists’ discovery is stunning,” suggests that the video contains facts that we did not know before. The “Coffee” add-on simultaneously suggests what exactly will be discussed next and is of interest, because most video hosting users have drank it at least once in their lives.

Clickbait definitely works on YouTube. It is often used by Felix Kjellberg, the author of the PewDiePie channel, whose number of subscribers exceeds 59,000,000 people. The blogger himself says that clickbait or some of its techniques allow you to gain a large number of views in a short time.

How to make clickable titles

If you want to increase the number of clicks on ads or the number of views of videos, articles and photos, use one or more clickbait techniques:

Address the reader on a first-name basis. Write “Find out how to earn 5,000 rubles in a day” instead of “Ways to earn 5,000 rubles in a day.” Agree, the first headline motivates more than the second, because it is addressed to the reader.
Use demonstrative pronouns. Write “What are these cats doing!” instead of "Pranks of Pets". Demonstrative pronouns create a feeling of live dialogue and therefore attract attention.
Play with incomplete sentences. Write “To avoid getting sick, all you need to do is...” instead of “Tips for preventing illness.” Understatement is intriguing and therefore also attracts attention.
Use the imperative mood. Write “Click to learn about the capabilities of the new robot” instead of “Apple has introduced a new development.”
Use exclamation points. Write “This video will make you smile!” instead of "Funny animals and children."

You can also use other clickbait techniques - emphasis on conjunctions, non-standard punctuation, epithets and phraseological units, and so on. The main thing is that the title matches the content of the page, otherwise you will get a large number of clicks, but minimal conversion. Give the reader what they expect. Experiment andDon’t forget that you shouldn’t get carried away with clickbait: it’s better to use it in conjunction with other advertising methods.

Do you use clickbait and how do you feel about it? Share your opinion in the comments.

When composing advertisements and choosing headlines for articles, you need to take into account the tricks of experienced marketers.

There are special methods that literally force users to click on a link. Various schemes for selecting interesting headlines have been invented, today we will look at one of them.

Clickbait or a headline that you want to click on. If you go deeper into the term, clickbait is a way of constructing a headline in a form that distorts real information in order to interest the person making the transition.

Clickbait, what does it mean?

Few people know. The main purpose of the page title is to attract the user's attention.

Naturally, if you call every blog post a “secret technique” and present hackneyed strategies in it, nothing good will come of it. Clickbait is more suitable for news sites or increasing ad clicks.

Want an example? Suppose there was some kind of court hearing, and among the spectators there was a famous person.

When using clickbait for such news, a headline like this is written “ Shock, the star was seen in court on charges of theft!" The information is distorted, plus a photo of a popular person and a click on the title is guaranteed.

Anyone who works with advertising understands that this is not the best way to attract attention. The transition is easy to achieve, but what does a person get after completing it? Nothing, false or uninteresting information. Naturally, he leaves the resource and no longer shows trust in it.

For more examples, go to any RuNet media. Almost every major news portal uses clickbait to get the maximum number of transitions. The method is indeed suitable for certain purposes, but we must not forget about the other side of the coin.

What does a clickbait headline look like?

Information can be distorted in different ways. If you decide to use clickbait and design headlines that everyone will want to click on, use one of these methods:

Demonstrative pronouns - create the effect of pointing at something with a finger. The most commonly used words are “These”, “This”, “This”. Example: These inventors from Apple came up with a unique technology for storing charge in a phone.
Addresses in the singular – abandoning the respectful “you” and switching to the friendly “you”. Example: This drug will change your life, buy it and use it.
Ordinary and surprising - consists of two sentences. The first describes a familiar situation, the second reveals an unexpected twist. Example: She worked as a surgeon and received a Nobel Prize. But you have no idea what she does in her laboratory.
Creative punctuation - it is often used, because bright flashy headlines contain ellipses and exclamation marks. Example: You don't know who is looking at you? You can check this! Use the program...
Epithets are the main factor in the use of clickbait. Vivid descriptions of nouns attract attention. Example: This crazy rocker built a space motorcycle and built an incredible house.
Hyperbole is the most common use of clickbait. They exaggerate everything they can. Example: Scientists have discovered a new planet, they consider it suitable for life and will soon launch a rocket there.
Incomplete sentences force people to think, doubt, imagine and move on to the title. Example: This girl is the most beautiful! What is she doing...
A call to action is a technique from the arsenal of experienced marketers. The method is suitable for composing advertising headlines. Example: Click and find out who will come to visit you tomorrow.
Numbers – they can be placed in almost any headline; according to statistics, this increases click-through rates. Example: Scientists have discovered 7 new species of microbes.
Active conjunctions – These are the focus of this type of clickbait headline. Again, the mystery remains. Example: Hidden cameras were installed in the hospital, you have no idea what they filmed.

You can distort real information in different ways, but it is better to try to make sure that after clicking on the link the person is not too disappointed. There is no point in writing outright nonsense and making up news.