A headline is a chance to grab attention and give readers a reason to click through. It’s also one of the first things a reader will see on search engines and social media. While many long-time newspaper people have their methods and rituals, it’s worth taking a look at the top headlines of your competition to see what works.
A good headline is short and snappy. Use capital letters for the first word and proper nouns, but drop helping words like articles (a, an, the) and conjunctions (and, but, or). Write in present tense and avoid past-tense phrases. A headline that makes people do a double-take is another way to catch the eye, but it must be true.
Consider using interrogatives in headlines, like why or how. Just be careful to balance this with the need for clear explanations.
A good headline is short and snappy — but it needs to be clear enough for your readers, who have shorter attention spans than ever. Headlines aren’t just for display; they’re also source material for search engines, so try to pack in keywords that your audience is likely to type into a search. These will appear in bold and will help readers find the story when they’re searching.