In print, a headline is often the only thing readers will see, so it’s critical that it capture their attention and make them want to read more. The same is true online, where search engines are increasingly how people find news articles. In addition to serving readers, headlines also play an important role in getting search engines’ attention by providing “Google Juice.” For this reason, many writers spend 80 percent of their time crafting headlines and only 20 percent writing the story itself.
While there are no hard-and-fast rules for writing a headline, some guidelines help to improve the odds of an engaging and interesting article. For example, a headline should be short and snappy, and it should present some information that is new and interesting to readers. In addition, a good headline should avoid repeating information that can already be found in the body of the story.
Using active voice and avoiding passive voice is another helpful technique in writing a headline, as is using concise words and eliminating unnecessary words. Finally, headlines should generally be in present tense and use action verbs, rather than nouns or articles (a, an, the). Finally, it’s best to avoid spelling out numbers under 10 (except for AP), and to drop little helping words like and, but and or. Instead, use verbs to convey urgency. If possible, try to write a headline that is a shortened version of your lede.
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