2.5 – Using ChatGPT To Help Write SEO Friendly Headlines Lesson

Lesson Overview

To help your articles reach more readers and perform better in search engines, the right headlines and subheadings are key. This lesson shows how to use ChatGPT and carefully designed prompts to come up with strong, SEO-friendly headlines and subheadings, building from your keyword research and topic selection.

After choosing a focus keyword or phrase with promising search volume and low competition, the next step is to generate headlines that draw readers in and signal relevance to search engines. For example, if your selected topic is “Illinois Electric Vehicle Tax Credit,” ChatGPT can create headline variants that are both relevant and optimized for discoverability—whether you want to keep it broad or tailor it for a specific audience, like Ford dealership customers.

Subheadings, meanwhile, help break your article into clear sections and allow you to include more target keywords, which helps both readers and search engines understand your page structure. Techniques like using numbers or question formats in headlines can further boost engagement. These skills are valuable for anyone publishing online, whether for business, education, or personal projects.

Who This Is For

If you need to write content that gets found online and considers SEO from the start, this lesson is designed for you.

• Content marketers aiming to boost website traffic
• Small business owners and local service providers
• Bloggers and writers focused on topical authority
• SEO specialists managing content structure
• Product teams creating resource pages
• Anyone building articles to attract targeted search traffic
  

Where This Fits in a Workflow

This headline and subheading generation process comes after you’ve chosen your article’s main keyword and theme but before any actual content writing. At this point, clarifying your headline options helps you stay focused, structure your content, and ensure you’re targeting the right search intent from the start.

For example, when writing about the Illinois Electric Vehicle Tax Credit for an auto dealer site, having both optimized headlines and logical subheadings means the rest of your content will flow more easily and target the right search queries. This step makes outlining articles, resource pages, and blog posts smoother and more effective.

Technical & Workflow Beefits

Traditionally, headlines and subheadings would be written from scratch or improvised, often missing important search terms or engagement strategies. Using ChatGPT with specific prompts streamlines idea generation and ensures each heading is keyword-focused and varied in style.

For instance, if you only brainstorm manually, you might overlook headline formats that include numbers or questions—both shown to improve click-through from search results. This lesson’s approach helps you quickly request multiple options, adjust for business relevance (e.g., highlighting Ford vehicles), and scale this process for many articles.

This saves time for writers and content teams, increases the consistency of SEO application, and raises the overall likelihood of appearing in search results. It also allows for fast iteration: if initial headline ideas aren’t a match, you can refine the prompt and receive fresh options.

Practice Exercise

Apply what you learned by generating headlines and subheadings for a sample topic relevant to your work. For example, use “Illinois Electric Vehicle Tax Credit” if you’re following along with the lesson.

1. In ChatGPT, use the headline prompt: Generate 10 engaging SEO-friendly headlines for an article about Illinois Electric Vehicle Tax Credit.
2. Refine your results by requesting headlines tailored to a specific brand or vehicle type, such as: Give me 10 more but optimize for Ford electric vehicles.
3. Choose one of the headlines. Ask ChatGPT to: Generate SEO friendly subheadings for a blog post focused on Illinois Electric Vehicle Tax Credit using this headline.

Check: Which set of headlines do you find most engaging and targeted? How did changing the prompt details affect the headline options?

Course Context Recap

This lesson builds on your earlier keyword research and content brainstorming. Now, you’ve learned to create SEO-friendly headlines and subheadings for your chosen topic, using ChatGPT for speed and quality. Up next, you’ll learn how to turn these headlines and subheadings into complete, optimized articles—continuing your journey to produce effective, searchable content. To keep building your SEO skills, continue through the next lesson or explore the full course.