This week we received training in the art of writing headlines for the Web and for maximizing the potential for getting hits through search engines, such as Google and Yahoo. We learned that the teaser field under edit in Saxotech delivers that headline to our home pages, while the headline in the headline box is what search engines pick up. Please correct me if I am wrong or don't have this entirely right. The purpose of this post is to remind everyone that this is our new procedure, that we no longer simply transfer the print story wholesale to the Web, because as we've learned and know intuitively, print headlines often fall flat on the Web, without the accompanying deckheads and art that we have in print.
Reporters and front-line editors: Please start including two suggested headlines on the top of stories: one for our home pages, more of a traditional headline but with more specifics than we use for print and another with even more specifics and key words that is intended for search-engine maximization.
Copy editors: Remember to rewrite headlines for Web postings. Do not just ship the print version over to the Web.
Please weigh in with any ideas you might have on how to improve on this.
Thanks,
— Kerry
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I would like to echo the call for two headlines, especially from all four sites. I've been taking the print headlines and expanding them by filling in all the details. It's not the most elegant method, but it works, and since stuff is sent to the Web late at night, it can be a bit of a bear to try to think of a new, completely original headline on the spot.
Benton...
Post a Comment