Headlines are still the most important part of news writing. They catch the eye, get the click and help people find your stories. They’re also one of the few things that are read by Google and can earn you “Google Juice.” The words in a headline also become part of the post’s url (uniform resource locator).
Headline writers need to take the time to make sure that their headlines capture the right information and tell readers what they will find within. They should be short and snappy. They should not repeat the lede. They should drop helping words like articles (a, an, the) and conjunctions, such as and or but. They should be written in present tense for news items and past tense for historical pieces.
Headlines should be followed by an inverted pyramid structure, with the most important information at the top and the least important at the bottom. This makes it easy for readers to get the gist of an article even if they skip to the middle or the end. Including arresting subheads ahead of paragraphs can also help. These are useful for skimmers and help break up what may otherwise look like a long, boring story.