Is your reach down? You see fewer traffic coming from your Facebook pages? Well, you’re not the only one.
This is the consequence of a recent Facebook algorithm change specifically implemented to fight clickbait titles. Although Facebook is not smart enough yet to understand which article is really clickbait, they will now determine by the title which post may be a little exaggerated, misleading.
Now, this is something that could seem tough to challenge and understand how it works, but Facebook helped their users and acknowledged that their latest algorithm is actively searching for popular phrases and terms that are usually used in clickbait posts.
I already did some test and indeed, adding those words will in fact decrease reach. On the other hand, using more “sober” terms might catch attention of users less and have lower CTR, but Facebook algo will give you that free traffic you are seeking.
List of most common clickbait words to avoid on Facebook Pages
- Shocking
- Amazing
- Then he/she/they found out
- What they saw
- Brought him/her to tears
- Looks inside
- Going viral
- Never expected
- Incredible
- The reason why
- Watch the reaction
- What’s happening
- Then he/she/they realize
- When he/she/they saw
- Can’t stop laughing
- I had no idea
- She/he noticed something
- Here’s why
- OMG
- LMAO
- CRAZY
- Unbelievable
- Hilarious
- Whoa
- WOW
The list was provided by Facebook.
It is also suggested that you resist to word CAPITALIZING and should also not use too many exclamations (!!!).
If you really feel that you must have a clickbait title anywhere in your post, there is a little trick (hoping Facebook AI won’t be smart enough). You can edit the images and add the clickbait title you crave into the image. This way, when Facebook shows the post (along with the image) you’ll have your clickbait title within the post, bypassing the algorithm.
If you are lazy or lack photshop (or any other imaged editing software) skills, no problem . To speed up the process, you can use one of the many online meme generators, as they already have the features required to add captions to the photos.
This Facebook update may potentially be a good thing, since several case studies have shown that adding big text to the top and bottom of the article image, tweet, or video improves the level of engagement.
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