Case Study: Deseret News boosts headline CTR with Chartbeat

How Headline Tests Energized a Newsroom A case study with Deseret News

Deseret News, a Salt Lake City-based newspaper, had been partnering with Chartbeat since 2013 but had only lightly used its headline-testing features. As traffic began to stagnate, the newsroom needed a better way to improve headlines and grow audience engagement, while also breaking down silos between digital operations and the traditional newsroom.

Chartbeat helped Deseret News operationalize headline testing through Chartbeat Headline Testing and the Heads Up Display, turning it into a month-long, organization-wide contest that encouraged collaboration and experimentation. The newsroom ran more than 1,000 tests during the initiative and saw average CTR gains of 45.5% in July, 49.1% in August, and 48.7% in September, proving that testing headlines at scale could significantly boost engagement.

Deseret News

Aaron Shill

Content Director