A headline is a promise. Break it, and the reader's gone. Keep it, and you've earned their attention.
A Harris Interactive poll found that 81% of online readers skim headlines and never make it into the story. That means if the headline doesn't work, the rest of your content isn't getting read.
Start with who’s reading
Before writing a headline, ask who it’s for. A national story plays by different rules than a local update.
Your audience should set your starting point for how technical you can be, how much background you can skip and how local the language should feel.
Headlines are similar to meta titles. The words you lead with tell readers and search engines what a page or story is about, whether that's a headline or a title tag.
“How scientists are making homes safer from hurricanes” reaches a wide audience. “FIU researchers test manufactured homes against hurricane-force winds” is more credible to a South Florida reader who already knows FIU. Neither is wrong. The audience decides which one is right.
Pick the format that matches the story
Once you know your audience, match the headline to the story's format. A how-to headline on a news story will mislead readers. Getting the type right keeps the title honest before you've written a single word.
News
State what happened: FIU researchers reveal how altered images can bypass AI safeguards.
How-to
Signal steps a reader can follow: How to get Published in The Conversation.
Question
Create curiosity and don't ask a question with an obvious answer: How do we double battery life? A Backlinko and BuzzSumo analysis of 912 million blog posts found that question headlines get 23.3% more social shares.
List
Set a clear scope: Three vitamins and minerals to boost your immune system and fight COVID-19.
Fit the length to where it lives
With the content type decided, the next step is length. For search results, SEO for Journalism recommends you keep headlines around 70 characters because Google often cuts off titles past that point.
For social sharing, longer wins. The Backlinko and BuzzSumo study found headlines with 14 to 17 words earn 76.7% more shares than shorter ones.
Same headline, different fit: Adjust the length to where you're sharing it.
Use the most important keyword(s) first
However long your headline is, the words at the front carry the most weight. Search engines and readers both pay more attention to what comes first. Bury your keywords and you risk losing part of your audience before they finish reading.
Washington Post SEO editor Candace Mitchell suggests you use the words people use in everyday conversation. If you're stuck, explain the story out loud to someone who hasn't heard it. What comes out in one or two sentences is usually your headline.
Why clarity beats everything else
Everything so far has been leading here. Nieman Lab tested more than 31,000 headlines from The Washington Post and Upworthy and found that simple, plain headlines beat complex ones every time. That's why writing for the reader matters most.
Get the audience right. Pick the format that fits. Match the length to the platform. Lead with the right word. Write in plain language. Do all five, and you've earned the click and the read.