How Long Should My Press Release Headline Be? What is the Problem if it's Too Long?
March 14, 2024
Having a headline that is too long is not a good idea. You want to keep your headline short and to the point for a few reasons.
First, if you want to get a journalist’s attention, they want short and to the point, not long and drawn-out information. Most journalists, if they see your headline as a novel, won’t even bother reading the rest of your press release. They do not have the time.
Secondly, when you submit a press release through our 24-7 Press Release distribution service, the headline of your press release is placed into the HTML Meta Data “Title” of the code on the page.
The metadata is what search engines use to display the content in SERPs. The idea behind a short headline instead of a long one is that it will be readable, particularly on a mobile device. If you have a headline that is not comprehensible because the length is too long, this can cause people to skip over your story.
Thirdly, white space. What we are about to mention applies to any online reading. Have you ever noticed that successful Facebook or LinkedIn posts don’t have long paragraphs? They are typically one or a maximum of two sentences. This procedure provides white space, which, in turn, creates better readability.
This process can apply to your press release headline, sub-headline, and news body. When you create white space, you create an environment where the reader is not overwhelmed by text.
So, what would be the optimal length for a press release headline? Although challenging, we would recommend no more than 60 characters. As mentioned, keeping your title shorter is better because your title is what shows in the Title Tag of the HTML. Here is an article about "The Best Title Tag Length for SEO (Latest Data) from Zyppy SEO".
While this press release tip has been mainly about the headline length, we should also mention keeping your press release to under 375 – 400 words. Press releases that exceed 600+ words are far more likely not to be read or read in full.
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