Part B – Question 1

1. Headline Variation (12 marks) 

Using the article from Part A, Question #1, you are to create three (3) different headlines. Each headline must emphasize a different headline element discussed in class. (3X4=12 Marks) 

For each headline:

 a) Include the Headline 

b) Explain your reasoning 

c) Reference specific class concepts

The first headline which I have created is placing a high level of emphasis onto creating clarity for potential readers to click on them. This headline is “33 Perfectly Timed Photos That Turn Everyday Moments Into Accidental Comedy”. To look deeper into this headline and why exactly I created it the way I did, we can start with how I choose to focus on ensuring that I was providing both readers and Google (for SEO purposes) with a high level of clarity. This clarity was given to potential readers by explaining to them immediately what exactly they can expect to see from this article. In this case what my headline informs them of this is the fact that the article will deliver specifically 33 photos that showcase accidentally comedic and funny moments. My headline does not mislead readers at all with clickbait as I did not use any wording that they could perceive as seeming too exaggerated, instead I perfectly described to them what the content would be so they could set their expectations should they choose to click on and read the article accordingly. I also thought that including the words “Everyday Moments” alongside “Accidental Comedy” only helped to further emphasis this element of clarity as it made the subject (humour) of this article much easier to understand quickly. In addition to all of this, I considered that when I wanted to provide the readers with clarity I would need to be considerate of what exactly they would be wondering and thinking about in the first place. To ensure I provided them clarity, I made sure I answered the questions of what the article is (it is photos of comedic everyday moments), how much content they could expect (specifically 33 different moments) and why they should even care about this content in the first place (because despite being everyday mundane moments, they are accidentally funny). By providing this clarity, I am able to ensure that the article seems credible and I also am significantly able to reduce any senses of uncertainty that potential readers might have about what exactly the content is and is about. In addition to this, the headline is also making sure to communicate the value that the article can offer to its readers in a very clearly outlined manner through using the word “Comedy” to convey that this article will provide readers with some humor should they choose to click on and read it. To look further into the SEO efforts that can come from this headline, the way in which I went about phrasing this headline is helping Google to know that my article is providing its users with value. This is very significant for SEO because as we have discussed in ADV437, search engines like Google in 2026 are looking to prioritise the user and content that is written with the user as the priority. Therefore, by providing Google with this level of clarity in regard to what this article’s content is about, I am increasing the chances of this article ranking higher in Google’s SERP for the right users as Google will understand what value it can provide to them. Overall, my first headline of “33 Perfectly Timed Photos That Turn Everyday Moments Into Accidental Comedy” is very effective when it comes to emphasising the element of a good headline which is creating clarity. 

For my second headline, I wanted to shift my focus to the element of triggering the curiosity of potential readers to encourage them to click on the article. The headline I created to fulfill this goal was “You Won’t Believe What’s Happening In These 33 Perfectly Timed Photos”. The justification for the creation of this headline in particular the fact that it intentionally creates a curiosity gap among potential readers that the article’s content can ultimately fulfill. It is telling people very clearly that there were 33 timed photos featured within the article however it does not tell them what exactly happened within each photo but rather it creates a strong sense of suspense and urgency to find out. Urgency, which is one of the 4 U’s, that takes place here is coming from the loss aversion which potential readers will likely experience upon reading this headline as they will wonder what they could potentially be missing out on. This is very beneficial as this helps to lead potential readers to actually open up and view the article to read what exactly it is saying as my headline frames the content featured in the article as being somewhat unbelievable, which suggests to readers that they should be curious about what happened in each of the 33 photos that were timed out so well. These potential readers will likely be left to wonder about what each of the photos are showing and if they are funny, embarrassing, silly or even chaotic. Seeing as how this curiosity gap was even created in the first place, readers will feel the need to take action and click on the article to read through it to fill this gap and release the suspense they feel. Therefore, this all takes into account what we discussed in regard to psychology in advertising as users loss aversion and curiosity gaps are considered. Overall, by having created such a curiosity gap for potential readers, this is an effective headline with its strong focus on suspense and urgency as effective ways of driving viewers to click on the article.

For the third version of this headline that I was able to come up with, I decided that I would try to emphasise matching the actual intent of the user who is searching through Buzzfeed to find an article. The headline I created to do this is “33 Hilariously Timed Photos That Will Instantly Improve Your Mood”. For my reasoning behind creating this headline, I can justify it by referring back to the element of aligning the headline with the user intent on Buzzfeed generally speaking. So, I knew that when creating this headline I really needed to make sure that I understood what the tone and voice that Buzzfeed usually uses are. I understand that the voice is pretty consistently lighthearted and upbeat while the tone shifts depending on the content as in some articles it is more funny and others more relatable. In this headline, I made sure that humour was clearly shown to be an aspect of Buzzfeed’s tone for this specific article. I did this by including the word “Hilariously” to signal that the content is intended to be perceived as funny. More often than not, when someone is going onto Buzzfeed’s website in search of some content they are looking for something that can provide them with entertainment and content to help improve their overall mood. Going back to my headline, I emphasised this specifically through the intentional wording I used to claim that this article “Instantly Improve Your Mood” makes it useful (one of the 4 U’s we discussed in class) to the typical Buzzfeed reader. This aspect of the headline is clearly signalling that the article is aligned with the Typical Buzzfeed user’s intent as it is telling potential readers (and Google for SEO) that this is an article which provides a quick emotional response for readers. My headline here is not trying to be overly serious or complex as I recognize that the average Buzzfeed user is not in search of an article with this intention. Therefore, this headline is one which is clearly matching the intent of users on Buzzfeed overall through aiming to clearly communicate the emotional benefits that reading the article will provide. The headline also is highly in alignment with the typical tone and voice that Buzzfeed uses throughout all of their content as a whole.