From HuffPost to Business Insider to Bleacher Report, media outlets everywhere optimize their headlines for sharing, for search engines, and for traffic. Find out why they're so important and take a quiz to test your headline acumen. (Created by Jay Acunzo, head of content at HubSpot. Twitter.com/jay_zo)

1. 17 Cats Sent by Obama to
Learn from Steve Jobs and
Revolutionize How Your
Favorite Media Sites Spin
Stories into Headlines
A look at the headline-happy web and how
one story gets used and abused
to drive more site traffic
Jay Acunzo | @jay_zo | jayacunzo.com

2. Good News,
Everyone!

4. Okay, okay...
that’s not
a real headline.
________

5. Okay, okay...
that’s not
a real headline.
________
(Sorry, folks.)

6. But imagine this story
actually breaks.

8. And something
reaallllyyy
interesting
would happen
online

9. And something
reaallllyyy
interesting
would happen
online
Aw yeah.

10. Sites everywhere would
newsjack & spin their own
Totally “Unique” Headline

11. Sites everywhere would
newsjack & spin their own
Totally “Unique” Headline
by ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE
Published: At the Exact Same Time

12. Just look what happened
this summer when
acebook
announced
verified pages

20. Disclosure: This one
was ours at HubSpot

21. THE RUSH FOR YOUR
ATTENTION WAS ON

22. THE RUSH FOR YOUR
ATTENTION WAS ON
Read it
here!

23. THE RUSH FOR YOUR
ATTENTION WAS ON
Read it
here!
No,
here!

24. GUT CHECK!

25. GUT CHECK!
Which would you really
click?

26. THIS?
How Companies
Learn Your Secrets

27. OR THIS?
How Target
How Companies
Figured Out a
Learn Your Secrets Teen Girl Was
Pregnant Before
Her Father Did

28. (LOTS OF US PICKED THIS)
How Target
Figured Out a
Teen Girl Was
Pregnant Before
Her Father Did

29. (LOTS OF US PICKED THIS)
How Target
Figured Out a
Teen Girl Was
Pregnant Before
Her Father Did
BUT GUESS WHAT?

30. IT’S THE SAME STORY!

31. The headlines were
the main difference.

32. The headlines were
the main difference.
For real! Forbes just block quoted a ton of the Times piece.

33. The headlines were
the main difference.
For real! Forbes just block quoted a ton of the Times piece.
And got more traffic.

34. The headlines were
the main difference.
For real! Forbes just block quoted a ton of the Times piece.
And got more traffic.
And sparked some debate.
(JimRomenesko.com)

35. The headlines were
the main difference.
For real! Forbes just block quoted a ton of the Times piece.
And got more traffic.
And sparked some debate.
(JimRomenesko.com)
(It was rad.)

36. But...
Are headlines
worth all this
stress?

37. YES!

38. Def.
YES!
No diggity, no doubt

39. HEADLINES
DRIVE SITE TRAFFIC

40. HEADLINES
HELP SEARCH RANK

41. HEADLINES
ARE EASY TO SHARE

42. HEADLINES
CONVEY MEANING

43. HEADLINES
SET EXPECTATIONS

44. HEADLINES
MAKE YOU UNIQUE

45. HEADLINES
MAKE YOU UNIQUE
(And lots more.)

46. JUST CHECK OUT
THE GREAT LENGTHS
MAJOR MEDIA SITES
GO TO FOR THEIR
HEADLINES

48. • A/B tests headlines

49. • A/B tests headlines
• Built its own testing tech

50. • A/B tests headlines
• Built its own testing tech
• Solicits headlines from
Twitter followers

51. • A/B tests headlines
• Built its own testing tech
• Solicits headlines from
Twitter followers
• Uses provocative, bold,
succinct language

52. • A/B tests headlines
• Built its own testing tech
• Solicits headlines from
Twitter followers
• Uses provocative, bold,
succinct language
• 79M Unique Visitors*
*Source: Quantcast

54. • Staffs SEO and
analytics experts for
each section

55. • Staffs SEO and
analytics experts for
each section
• Posts based on trending
keywords for headlines

56. • Staffs SEO and
analytics experts for
each section
• Posts based on trending
keywords for headlines
• Uses hyperbolic,
overstated language*
*e.g. Tom Brady Is the Most Overrated QB in NFL History

57. • Staffs SEO and
analytics experts for
each section
• Posts based on trending
keywords for headlines
• Uses hyperbolic,
overstated language*
• 23M Uniques** (& sold
to Turner for $175M)
*e.g. Tom Brady Is the Most Overrated QB in NFL History
**Source: Quantcast

59. • 25 headlines per post

60. • 25 headlines per post
• A/B tests top 4 ideas

61. • 25 headlines per post
• A/B tests top 4 ideas
• Uses sensationalized,
emotional language
(backs it up with quality
content, not just cats)

62. • 25 headlines per post
• A/B tests top 4 ideas
• Uses sensationalized,
emotional language
(backs it up with quality
content, not just cats)
• 12M Uniques*
*Source: Quantcast

63. These guys clearly know
the value of headlines:

64. These guys clearly know
the value of headlines:
d i s t r i b u t e content.

65. These guys clearly know
the value of headlines:
d i s t r i b u t e content.
GROW audience.

66. Headlines are...
“naked little creatures that
have to go out into the world to
stand and fight on their own.”
Gabriel Snyder
Editor, The Atlantic Wire

67. Back to Our Story

68. Can you guess which of
these famous publishers
would spit out
each headline?

69. Let’s start with an easy one.
Who’s headline is next?
Remember, we
started with this:

70. Glass Crown for the King?
LeBron Tries Google’s New Gadget

71. Glass Crown for the King?
LeBron Tries Google’s New Gadget

72. Glass Crown for the King?
LeBron Tries Google’s New Gadget

73. Okay – you’re
ready to fly!

74. Okay – you’re
ready to fly!
(They grow up so fast...)

75. 17 Cats Who Couldn’t Be More
Excited about Google Glass

76. 17 Cats Who Couldn’t Be More
Excited about Google Glass

77. 17 Cats Who Couldn’t Be More
Excited about Google Glass
Was there any doubt? BuzzFeed has so mastered headline
writing and viral content that their valuation hit $200M in
2013, with some saying a billion is in their future.
(“BuzzFeed Valued at a Billion” would be founder Jonah
Peretti’s favorite headline ever, no?)

78. These 5 Stats Will Make You
Think Twice about Buying Google
Glass (and about Your Privacy)

79. These 5 Stats Will Make You
Think Twice about Buying Google
Glass (and about Your Privacy)

80. These 5 Stats Will Make You
Think Twice about Buying Google
Glass (and about Your Privacy)
BI has a flair for writing dramatic, maybe even sensationalized
headlines. Editor and CEO Henry Blodget can now boast 23M
monthly uniques six years after launching with a simple but
bold mission: “Different medium, different journalism.”

81. Kim Kardashian Backs that Glass
Up (and Probably Divorces
Someone in the Process)

82. Kim Kardashian Backs that Glass
Up (and Probably Divorces
Someone in the Process)

83. Kim Kardashian Backs that Glass
Up (and Probably Divorces
Someone in the Process)
Perez Hilton receives plenty of negative attention for its
attitude but probably deserves equal credit for its SEO. In a
highly competitive market, the site claims first page real estate
on Google for hugely trafficked keywords like “Kim
Kardashian,” “Jennifer Lawrence,” and “Justin Bieber.”

84. 7 Ways Google Glass Makes
Marketing More Inbound

85. 7 Ways Google Glass Makes
Marketing More Inbound

86. 7 Ways Google Glass Makes
Marketing More Inbound
Yep – even we’re guilty and have our own, fairly common
headline style. Most of our audience looks for tangible, tactical
ways to execute on their jobs and make sense of the digital
world. And hey, we’re not doing too bad (1.4M readers).

87. 7 Ways Google Glass Makes
Marketing More Inbound
Yep – even we’re guilty and have our own, fairly common
headline style. Most of our audience looks for tangible, tactical
ways to execute on their jobs and make sense of the digital
world. And hey, we’re not doing too bad (1.4M readers).
Still, it’s important to remember...

88. Headlines are just
one piece of the
puzzle that is
creating content.

92. ____________________

93. SO REMEMBER:
Great headlines win their

94. SO REMEMBER:
Great headlines win their
Great content wins their

95. Thank You.
Jay Acunzo
Twitter.com/Jay_Zo
JayAcunzo.com