There’s an increasing dilemma many newspapers and other print media find themselves in when posting articles online. All those pithy, witty and provocative headlines—The kind I like to write!--are often useless and even counterproductive in getting the Web page ranked high in search engines. A low ranking means limited exposure and fewer readers. And when virtually all news organizations generate revenue from advertising, they are becoming keenly aware of the problem and are using coding techniques and training journalists to rewrite the print headlines, thinking about what the story is about and being as clear as possible. This is why SEO is becoming such a big deal, ‘cos if your Web site doesn’t get noticed by Google or any other search engine, you can fold up your tent and go home. In November, Nielsen/NetRatings ranked Boston.com, the sister Web site of The Boston Globe, as the fourth-most trafficked newspaper Web site in the country, even though its print circulation is ranked 15th by one audit bureau. "We're regularly beating the bigger boys, like the Chicago Tribune and The Wall Street Journal...and part of the reason is SEO," said David Beard, editor of Boston.com. Before you know it there’ll be a Pulitzer for the newspaper with the maximum search hits!
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I don't care if you're Clark Kent, or Superman. Stop writing stupid headlines!
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