Title Field vs. Link Text vs. Headline
Each field has a distinct purpose. They are as follows:
Title field: This is to help with SEO. It includes first-last names, complete team names. It is often picked up by Google searches and RSS feeds, so don't be careless with it. But it doesn't follow straight "last-name-only" newspaper headline construction.
Link Text: This is designed to entice users to click into a story. It should be accurate, not misleading and relatively straightforward. Studies show users often only read the first 2-3 words, so make them count. Don't trick users; this isn't an exercise in bait-and-switch. Be careful with puns/cute links. Lead users into content and make sure the words used in the link text pay off in the story. Be careful on common names or if a team has two players with the same surname to indicate who the player is. Use of his position is often helpful (Pirates 1B LaRoche traded, for example). And if you are using a nickname, make sure the lead editor knows. There are a number of athletes who can be linked with one name (Tiger, Shaq, Kobe, etc.) but be careful when using nicknames, especially if they are not commonly known). Note: These should fit into one line in the headline news stack. Use the headline sizer tool to accomplish this (Headline size tool). They should include a "video" icon if video is embedded in the story.
Headline: This is the 5-8 words at the top of a story file. Users have already clicked into the story, so there's usually no need to be funny/cute. They've already decided to read the story based on the link text. Note: These should never break onto two lines.
Tips: This is how to create HTML.
Italics: Hit ctrl+I I to make something italicized.
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• Title field: This is to help with SEO. It includes first-last names, complete team names. It is often picked up by Google searches and RSS feeds, so don't be careless with it. But it doesn't follow straight "last-name-only" newspaper headline construction.
• Link Text: This is designed to entice users to click into a story. It should be accurate, not misleading and relatively straightforward. Studies show users often only read the first 2-3 words, so make them count. Don't trick users; this isn't an exercise in bait-and-switch. Be careful with puns/cute links. Lead users into content and make sure the words used in the link text pay off in the story. Be careful on common names or if a team has two players with the same surname to indicate who the player is. Use of his position is often helpful (Pirates 1B LaRoche traded, for example). And if you are using a nickname, make sure the lead editor knows. There are a number of athletes who can be linked with one name (Tiger, Shaq, Kobe, etc.) but be careful when using nicknames, especially if they are not commonly known). Note: These should fit into one line in the headline news stack. Use the headline sizer tool to accomplish this (Headline size tool). They should include a "video" icon if video is embedded in the story.
• Headline: This is the 5-8 words at the top of a story file. Users have already clicked into the story, so there's usually no need to be funny/cute. They've already decided to read the story based on the link text. Note: These should never break onto two lines.
Tips: This is how to create HTML.
Italics: Hit ctrl+I I to make something italicized.
»