The Psychology Behind BuzzFeed’s Clickbait Headlines And Why They Work

Have you ever wondered why BuzzFeed’s article titles seem so outrageous?

For years, BuzzFeed has been synonymous with an internet staple called “clickbait,” a headline and featured image style that uses shocking and surprising phrases and imagery to get you to click on them.

In this post, we examine the psychological reasons behind the clickbait titles that BuzzFeed uses and why they work.

What is BuzzFeed?

You’ve probably come across a BuzzFeed video or article once or twice during your time on the internet.

They’re usually pretty outrageous by nature, but what really stands out about them are the titles they typically use.

Here are a few I found just by browsing the site for a little while:

• Fill Your Trolley at Costco and We’ll Reveal If You’re Actually Australian, British or American
• Can I Guess Your Zodiac Sign? Build a Goth House to Find Out
• I Ranked 23 Pickup Lines I’ve Gotten From LA Men From “Immediately No” To “Be There In 5”

But what exactly is BuzzFeed?

BuzzFeed is a media company that started out as a simple website filled with funny articles when it was launched in 2006. It’s known for its funny articles and viral quizzes.

Today, BuzzFeed is one of the most-visited websites in the world. Semrush estimates its traffic to be around 98 million visits per month whereas Similarweb estimates it to be 83 million visits per month.

Their YouTube channels have over 40 million subscribers combined, and they even own HuffPost and have owned Complex Media in the past, which made them owners of the ever popular internet show Hot Ones.

What’s unique about BuzzFeed is how they don’t have a niche. One of the most important pieces of advice experienced bloggers and entrepreneurs alike give newcomers is how much they need to find their niche.

Well, BuzzFeed has always gotten on just fine without one.

Along with the age of the site, they rely on the clickbait titles they write to bring in massive amounts of traffic every month.

A look at BuzzFeed’s article titles

They may make you roll your eyes when you come across them, but the numbers don’t lie. BuzzFeed’s clickbait titles are pretty effective.

According to competitive analysis tool SpyFu, these are BuzzFeed’s top three articles based on how many SEO clicks (clicks from search results pages) they’ve received:

1. Professors are Sharing Funny “Rate My Professor” Reviews They Read About Themselves | 30,500 SEO clicks
2. Which Hogwarts House Do You Belong In? Harry Potter Quiz | 25,300 SEO clicks
3. Emma Stone Critiques Poor Things Nudity Question | 17,500 SEO clicks

You can already see why these articles are popular.

Articles #2 and #3 are a little more obvious as they’re related to pop culture.

Harry Potter is one of the biggest franchises in the world, and anyone who watches just one film often wonders what house they’d be sorted into.

This article satisfies that curiosity and doesn’t even ask you to create an account as the Wizarding World website (formerly Pottermore) does.

As for Article #3, Emma Stone is one of the most well-known actresses in the world, and the article promises to divulge on her opinion of not only nude scenes she’s performed in but also the way interviewers ask her about them.

This is something BuzzFeed does well. They take something they know the internet would be interested in, then they put a little twist on it to make it that much more interesting.

You can see this in Article #1. Its title doesn’t just promise to list funny reviews of professors. Those reviews are being shared by the professors themselves, so you’re also getting their own reactions to it.

Let’s dive deeper into the psychological reasons why clickbait titles like BuzzFeed’s are so effective.

Why BuzzFeed’s headlines work

Here are four psychological reasons why BuzzFeed’s clickbait headlines just work:

1. They make you curious.
2. They play on your emotions.
3. They validate your opinions.
4. They promise a quick, lighthearted break in your day.

Let’s talk about each of these reasons.

1. They make you too curious to ignore

A headline and a featured image might be the only elements you encounter from an article as you come across it on Google or social media.

This is why media sites put a lot of work into the way they phrase their titles and craft their featured images.

One method BuzzFeed uses for titles is giving you enough information on a topic to make you curious but not enough information to give you the full story.

So, when we come across a headline that seems pretty outrageous but doesn’t give everything away, we can’t help but click.

Let’s talk about a BuzzFeed article that was trending at the time this article was written. It’s called “11 Actors Who Couldn’t Stand Their Costars and Made It Their Mission to Get Them Fired.”

This title gets your attention in two ways. The first is its promise to give you a list of celebrity costars who didn’t get along on set.

We as humans love drama, especially when it has nothing to do with our own lives and we can watch safely from a distance without getting burned.

The second way this title gets your attention is in the second half, “Made It Their Mission to Get Them Fired.”

So, not only is this article about well-known actors who didn’t get along on set, it’s also about actors who actively worked to get a costar removed from a project because they didn’t like working with them.

Most websites would write an article about disputes between costars and call it a day, but not BuzzFeed.

BuzzFeed always finds a twist on a topic, then teases that twist right there in the headline.

2. They trigger an emotional response

There’s a type of clickbait called “rage baiting.” Article titles that use this method are meant to get you to click by triggering an emotional response.

BuzzFeed uses this method quite often.

Here’s one example of a recent trending article on the site: “17 Millennial Trends That are No Longer “Cool,” According to Gen Z.”

According to Similarweb, the majority of BuzzFeed’s visitors are millennials, and there’s a growing rift between millennials and Gen Z.

Therefore, this article is meant to incite rage amongst the site’s biggest demographic, which generates clicks and ad revenue.

Using this method is tough as it requires you to know your niche well enough to know what ticks your audience off or makes them angry, sad or upset.

You then need to have enough material on the subject to write an article that supports whatever title you come up with.

3. They offer validation

While a headline like “17 Millennial Trends That are No Longer “Cool,” According to Gen Z” is bound to enrage millennials, it also gives something to Gen Z: validation.

We all have our own thoughts and opinions on certain subjects, and in the case of millennial trends, a good portion of Gen Z would say they’re “cringe.”

So, when they come across a headline like the one mentioned above, they see validation.

This is something we, as social creatures, seek from the internet, even if it’s only on a subconscious level. Therefore, it’s not surprising to learn that BuzzFeed uses it as another psychological trick to get you to click.

Here are a couple of additional headlines that offer validation in your thoughts, feelings, opinions and experiences:

• A Picture Comparing What 30 Years Old Looked Like in the ’80s vs. 2024 Went Viral, So Here’s What It Actually Looked Like On 70 Celebrities
• People are Sharing the Mortifying Moments That Still Haunt Them to This Day, and You’ll Cringe So, So, So, Soooo Hard

4. They’re lighthearted and offer an easy break in your day

Listicles and quizzes make up the majority of BuzzFeed’s content.

Along with psychological tricks, there’s also one more thing BuzzFeed’s headlines offer that get us to click: easy reading.

Filling out a quiz or reading a small list of things is a lot easier to read than a heavy news article.

When you click on a BuzzFeed headline, you know you’re getting a short and entertaining article that’ll offer a quick break to your busy day.

You can click on it, have a few laughs as you read through it, then forget all about it as you return to your day.

What can we learn from BuzzFeed?

If there’s one thing we can learn from BuzzFeed, it’s that clickbait titles are really effective.

Even so, does that mean you should play into it and write more clickbait? That depends.

You don’t necessarily need to get as outrageous as BuzzFeed does with their titles, but you might consider taking a more interesting approach with your content.

Take a deep dive into your niche, and consider subjects that annoy your target audience. Also, consider if there are any secrets or surprising facts about your niche.

There are likely fun, interesting and enraging topics related to your niche you never thought about covering in the past.

Examine your audience, and consider if a BuzzFeed-style article would be something they’re interested in.