What is the rule when the headline is a question?

Blog ≫ 2025 ≫ What is the rule when the headline is a question?

Mon Jan 6

I have a theory that when the headline is a question, the answer is no. It's not my theory, I stole it from somewhere, but it works a lot. Seriously it's nearly always true, when the headline is "Can you lose weight by eating only chocolate?" and so on, which you see a lot. I just can't find any examples right now. So anyway, I have a new theory, and a slightly adapted rule for "what is the rule when the headline is a question?".

The old rule obviously only applies when the question is a yes / no question, but I'm seeing a lot more question headlines, and this has prompted a new theory. The new ones are all websites trying to get their content into AI results. Things like google are now using AI to parse the search results for your question and come up with an answer. I don't trust it still - it got it wrong when I asked a question about christmas in Czechia - but it's becoming important. I do quite like the summary on amazon review results, and I think tripadvisor are doing a similar thing. They are just using AI to summarise the results, so it's good for tellling you what kind of thing you're going to look at when you read the rest, but it's not a substitute for doing more research.

So anyway if your headline is a question, and then lots of people read it, and even link to it, then your article becomes a good answer for that question. The AI is taking over, but the SEO types can still manipulate the results in the same old way. The AI is only as good as the crap that is pumped into it. Good luck using the internet.

So, can I have a question as a headline every day this year? That would be a challenge, and I think my original rule still applies.

42Kph winds and sunny intervals, 1 - 6℃.

⬅️ Run stats 6/1/25 - 5'26/K :: Should I buy more premium bonds? ➡️