It also helps to extract information into charts, tables, bulleted lists and interactive graphics. People often don't know what they're going to get when they click on stuff. And people are not going to click on something unless they know what they're getting. When they click on something that's not worth it, they lose trust in you as a source and are less likely to come back and click on things in the future. So make sure you tell people what they are going to get.
Studies show online news users preferred straightforward headlines to funny or cute ones.
Cute headlines didn't do as good a job of quickly explaining what a story is about and thus discouraged online users from clicking through. DO NOT FEAR THE LINK Don't be afraid to link. Many sites have a paranoid fear that if they include links to other sites, readers will surf away and never return. If people know they can trust your site, they will come back for more. At the same time, journalists have a responsibility to apply news judgment and editorial standards to the links they choose.