Gyutae Park shares a simple technique on how to write a SEO-optimized headline that attracts search traffic and also does well on social media sites.

When you first write an article, write the title (including both title tag and header tag) for social media (use numbers, names, or descriptive power words). Get the word out and give it a chance to spread on sites like Twitter, StumbleUpon, Digg, Delicious, Reddit, etc.

Later, change the title tag on the article to be more SEO friendly by incorporating descriptive keywords with high search frequency. Leave the header tag as is with the social media version to entice search visitors to further read the content.

For search engines, the title tags should include highly relevant keywords and these may not always make a very attractive headline. So put the attractive headline in the H1 tags while the boring but search friendly headline could go in the title tag.