Headline news is a newspaper headline that arrests the eye and entices a reader to open and read the story underneath. Headlines can be delivered in a number of ways, including in print, online, and through other mediums like blogs or ads. Each has a different style and purpose, but all headlines need to arrest the eye, be concise, and offer insight. News headlines need to be informative and free of hype, blog headlines need to be conversational or casual, while ad headlines need to be extravagant and include keywords that are relevant to the audience.
Historically, news editors have not written their own headlines, but instead relied on a set of grammatical rules called headlinese (or Headline news) to meet stringent space requirements for attention-grabbing and pithy headlines. These grammatical rules include capitalizing only the first word in a headline, using no articles (a, an, the), dropping forms of verbs and adjectives, shortening words for clarity, and dropping conjunctions.
In the late 19th century, newspapers began requiring large type front page headlines to attract readers and compete for space. In recent times, the emphasis has shifted to online headlines, which must compete for the attention of readers and search engine algorithms.
Having a compelling headline can increase your search visibility and make your content easier to find. Headlines are one of the top five things that Google looks at when ranking posts for search. Use tools to help you write sharp and engaging headlines, but always remember that no tool can replace the experience of a skilled editor. Use a collaborative writing and editing process, with editors and colleagues weighing in on the best headlines. For example, in a team communication tool such as Slack or Microsoft Teams, create a thread for each article and invite everyone to weigh in on the headlines.