How to write dull but Googlefficient Blog Headlines

As reported on Useit.com.

Web headlines, which must be:

- short (because people don't read much online);
- rich in information scent, clearly summarizing the target article;
- front-loaded with the most important keywords (because users often scan only the beginning of list items);
- understandable out of context (because headlines often appear without articles, as in search engine results); and
- predictable, so users know whether they'll like the full article before they click (because people don't return to sites that promise more than they deliver).

On a recent visit, the BBC list of headlines for "other top stories" read as follows:

- Italy buries first quake victims
- Romania blamed over Moldova riots
- Ten arrested in UK anti-terrorism raids
- Villagers hurt in West Bank clash
- Mass Thai protest over leadership
- Iran accuses journalist of spying

Around the world in 38 words.

The average headline consumed a mere 5 words and 34 characters. The amount of meaning they squeezed into this brief space is incredible: every word works hard for its living. I'm rarely that concise.

Thesis is that BBC talent plus experience at CeeFax has driven this efficiency. I've read similar elsewhere for structuring Blog Headlines fo Googlejuice.

But I think we've lost something with all this - I delight in headlines that twist words, or pun, or make allusions rather than those blunt, searchable ones above. "Book Lack in Ongar" springs to mind. I suppose the real skill is making machine readable headlines that still show a bit of flair or wit.