Best practices
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      Headline best practices

      Tips for writing effective headlines that eliminate clickbait and improve distribution.

      Clickbait-free headlines are important to ensure your stories receive their full potential for distribution. When crafting a headline, we encourage you to consider why people may care about the content you're creating. It can highlight what may be odd or unique, reveal important details, or tease an element of your story. 

      A headline may be considered clickbait if it falls into the below categories: 

      • Is written in listicle format. For example, “5 Small Habits That Could Help You to Make More Money” 
      • Utilizes exaggeration with words like “best” “need” or “must-see” like “Hitting Rock Bottom Is The Best Thing That Can Happen To You” 
      • Withholds information required to understand what the content of the article is. For example, the headline “You’ll Never Believe Who Tripped and Fell on the Red Carpet…” withholds information required to understand the article like the name of the person who tripped
      • Oversells something like “The Foolproof Way to Get a Mentor”
      • Denotes anything else that is deceptive or misleading. For example, “Apples Are Actually Bad For You?!” misleads the reader because apples are only bad for you if you eat too many every day.
      • Asks a simple yes or no question. For example "Is it illegal to drive barefoot in California?"