Headlines

These apply to all outlets unless an outlet-specific block below says otherwise.

Character Counts

• Headline (H1): 80–100 characters
• SEO Title: 50–70 characters
• Promo/Homepage Title: 70–75 characters
• Meta Description: 100–155 characters

Casing Rules

• Follow General Guidelines §1.2 unless the outlet specifies otherwise
• CUE (McClatchy CMS): Sentence case—capitalize the first word and proper nouns only
• Us Weekly (UsW) and WW: Title case—capitalize all major words
• Adjust casing per destination site style guide before publishing

Formula Variations

• Default to General Guidelines headline formulas (§1.2)
• “Everything You Need to Know” / “Everything to Know” patterns per article format spec (§3)
• Avoid “Did you miss” headlines—historically associated with low performance (under 100 views median, ceiling ~65 PVs across 31 stories). Replace with original content framing instead.

CMS-Specific Notes

• See Publishing Guidelines §6 for platform-specific CMS requirements

Additional Rules

• See General Guidelines §1.3 for explicit language prohibitions that apply to all headlines

Vertical: Entertainment / Celebrity

Required Tools

Run every hed through both tools before sending to edit/publishing:

• Word/character counter: wordcounter.net—use this specific tool; slight count differences exist between tools, so everyone using the same one keeps results consistent
• Capitalization checker: headlinecapitalization.com—toggle AP style on

Character Counts

Casing Rules

• Title case—capitalize all major words
• Run heds through headlinecapitalization.com with AP style toggled on

Hed Hierarchy

All three heds should be “sisters not twins”—the promo and SEO heds are shorter versions of the onpage, not copies:

• Onpage → longest; use this to fit keywords that don’t fit in the SEO hed
• Promo → medium; trim a word or two from the onpage
• SEO → shortest; trim a word or two from the promo

All three must include names, identifiers/modifiers, and verbs.

SEO Hed: (Excl) / (Exclusive)

(Excl) or (Exclusive) is no longer required in the SEO hed. Include it if it fits within the character limit. If not, get “exclusively” or “exclusive” into the meta description instead.

To trim an over-length SEO hed: use TV show title + first name, or abbreviated TV show title + first name. Get the full title and full name into the meta description. Avoid word salad and keyword stuffing.

Meta Description

• Must include names and identifiers/modifiers
• Must include verbs
• Use it to place keywords that couldn’t fit in the heds
• No minimum, but use as much of the 155-character space as possible

Yoast Focus Keyphrase

The Yoast focus keyphrase is different from the story’s focus keyphrase (e.g., [Person] Does [Thing]).

• All lowercase
• No punctuation
• Shorter rather than longer—no hard character count
• Just the facts/keywords: sometimes a celebrity name, TV show name, or both is sufficient

Body Word Counts

Google Discover: Stories must be at least 500 words to perform well in Discover.

First 80 words: Google crawls the first 80 words of copy in addition to heds, meta, and photos. Put your strongest keywords in the first 80 words. Do not disrupt the first 80 words or first four paragraphs with related links or inline photos.

CMS-Specific Notes

• CMS: WordPress (usmagazine.com)
• Onpage hed = Add title field
• Promo hed = Promo Title field (used on homepage/tag pages and sometimes social)
• SEO hed = SEO title field in the Yoast SEO panel (also sets the story URL/slug)

Apple News / Apple News+

Apple News requires a separate headline—do not use the UsW onpage hed (80–100 characters) as the Apple News title.

Formula constraints (data-validated, override General Guidelines):

• No question headlines—underperform in organic algorithmic reach on both Apple News and SmartNews (data-validated)
• No number-led headlines—underperform on Apple News despite performing well on other platforms (including SmartNews)
• No “What to Know” endings—worst-performing formula on SmartNews (pct_rank 0.37, p=3.0e-6, n=213); avoid on both platforms for organic reach

See Platform Guidance §10.2 for complete Apple News spec including subtitle requirements, AI content policy, and image specs.

Distribution: SmartNews (SmartFormat RSS/XML feed)

Character Counts

The SmartNews headline is pulled directly from the RSS <title> field, which is the standard SEO title. Write the SEO title to SmartNews spec and it serves both purposes.

Formula Constraints (data-validated)

• Avoid question headlines—underperform on SmartNews; read velocity rewards clarity and immediate payoff over curiosity gaps
• Avoid “What to Know” endings—underperform platform-wide
• Number-led headlines trend positive—e.g., “7 Ways to Lower Your Electric Bill This Summer”
• Plain declarative statements are the safe baseline—e.g., “Florida Property Taxes Are Rising. Here’s What Homeowners Need to Do.”
• Keyword-forward—front-load the core topic in the first 8 words

Casing

• Follow destination site style guide (sentence case for CUE)

For article structure, image requirements, analytics, and full discoverability guidance, see Platform Guidance §10.1—SmartNews.

Applies to: all outlets distributing via push notification (CUE, WordPress with push enabled)

Character Counts

Formula Constraints

• Front-load the news—truncation means the first 80 characters carry nearly all the weight; do not bury the subject
• No question headlines—underperform on both Apple News and SmartNews organic reach; avoid for push as well
• No “Did you miss”—low-performing format across all distribution surfaces
• Specificity over curiosity—push recipients decide in under a second; a specific, clear headline outperforms a teaser

Note: Push notification character counts are distinct from Apple News (90–120) and SmartNews (70–90) ranges. The 70–89 window is optimized for mobile truncation behavior, not feed display.

Publication: Trend Hunter B2C (curiosity-first trend publication; July 2026 launch). Full spec: Platform Guidance §10.4 §Headlines.

Character Counts

Punctuation (override General Guidelines)

• No em-dash (—), en-dash (–), colon (:), or semicolon (;) in public-facing headlines or body. Colons underperform; em/en-dashes read as an AI-generation tell. Hyphens (-) in compounds are fine. Restructure rather than substitute one banned mark for another. Avoid unless a destination platform’s standard requires the mark.

Formula + Intent

• Match intent to the article’s job: What/Why drive reach (discovery, bridge entry points); How drives engagement depth (deep explainers).
• Name the credentialed expert / source / study in the headline—the single strongest performance lever (roughly double the page views, higher engagement).
• Don’t default to “Everything to Know”—no measurable lift, overpromises (click then bounce). Use only when coverage is genuinely comprehensive and a specific subject leads.

Openings

• First scroll must deliver what the headline promised—especially Experiences + travel round-ups, which land the click but lose readers when the open doesn’t pay off.

Applies to: All platforms—targets search intent for everyday topics

• Character count: 80–100
• Casing: varies by destination
• Do not use What Is [Topic]? or Who Is [Person]?—those belonged to the Discover Explainer format (§3.1, retired 2026-05-28); regardless, do not use them in Everything to Know

Full spec →

Applies to: All platforms

Examples:

• Character count: 80–100
• Topic must be front-loaded
• The headline should tease the answer or signal answers are inside—do not leave the question fully open-ended
• No-verb exception does not apply—headlines must contain a verb or an implied answer
• Casing: varies by destination

Full spec →

Applies to: All platforms—forward-looking explainer that pairs the news with a forecast and a takeaway

• Character count: 80–100
• Casing: varies by destination
• A forward-looking signal is required—what's next, what comes next, what could happen, here's what this means, or equivalent must appear
• Do not use What Is [Topic]? / Who Is [Person]? without a forward-looking second clause—that belonged to the Discover Explainer format (§3.1, retired 2026-05-28); use What to Know Next or another active format
• Do not use a retrospective Recap framing—this format ends on a forecast, not a summary (§3.6)

Full spec →

Applies to: All platforms

• Character count: 80–100
• Show or movie name must be front-loaded
• Casing: varies by destination

Full spec →

Applies to: All platforms

Couple:

Baby—select the formula that matches the announcement:

Baby—Discover-specific variants:

• Character count: 80–100 for all formulas
• Celebrity name(s) must be front-loaded
• Casing: varies by destination

Full spec →

Applies to: All platforms

• Character count: 80–100
• Show name must be front-loaded or prominently positioned—it is the primary keyword anchor
• Casing: varies by destination

Full spec →

Applies to: All platforms

• Character count: 80–100
• (EXCLUSIVE) in the H1 extends the General Guidelines §1.2 SEO title practice to the H1 itself for this format
• Casing: varies by destination

Full spec →

Applies to: All platforms

• Character count: 80–100
• Celebrity name is the news—never lead with a modifier (e.g., Fitness Guru Richard Simmons Dead is wrong)
• WW note: Legacy framing may shift the structure—see full spec
• Casing: varies by destination

Full spec →

Applies to: All platforms

• Character count: 80–100
• Show or movie name must be front-loaded
• Casing: varies by destination

Full spec →

Applies to: All platforms

No single locked formula, but the word “Recipe” must appear in the H1.

• Character count: 80–100
• Use long-tail keywords that reflect how people search—be specific about dish type, preparation method, or key ingredients
• Exceptions: recipe-specific sites where the word would be redundant; promo headlines
• Example: This Grandma Pizza Recipe Is an Easy-To-Make, Extra-Crispy, Cheesy NY Classic

Full spec →

Applies to: All platforms

• Character count: 80–100
• No verb required—relationship timelines are an explicit General Guidelines §1.2 exception
• Casing: varies by destination

Full spec →

Status: Retired (2026-05-28). No longer in active production. For forward-looking explainer needs, use What to Know Next (§3.12). Spec preserved below for historical reference.

Applies to: All platforms—purpose-built for Google Discover passive-browse context

• Character count: 80–100
• Casing: CUE sentence case; UsW and WW title case
• The Discover headline may differ from the SEO title—both must reflect the same focus keyphrase
• Do not use the [Subject]: Everything You Need to Know formula—that belongs to the Everything to Know format (§3.2)

Full spec →