A headline may be compelling, but it must not mislead. The governing question is whether the destination delivers what the headline led the reader to expect. Where it does not, the headline does not comply.
The standard
- Every factual claim must be true, current and substantiated on the destination.
- The headline must describe what the destination actually offers.
- The advertiser must be identifiable — from the brand name, the creative or the destination.
- Anything a market requires to be disclosed must be disclosed where a person will see it.
Writing and formatting
- Sentence case, and normal punctuation.
- Up to 90 characters, written to be complete rather than truncated.
- Specific, concrete language: what it is, who it is for, why it is worth a click.
- ALL CAPS, or capitalised words for emphasis.
- Repeated punctuation — "!!!", "???" — and gratuitous symbols, emoji or unicode decoration.
- Deliberate misspelling, letter substitution or spacing used to slip past review.
- A word or phrase repeated for keyword weight, and text that reads as machine output.
- Titles that end mid-thought to force a click.
Curiosity without deception
Curiosity is a legitimate technique. It becomes a policy breach when the headline conceals the subject entirely, or when what is revealed after the click is not what was implied.
- "You will not believe what happened next", "this one weird trick", "doctors hate her".
- Vague referents that hide the subject: "this device", "this new method", "what they found".
- Numbered listicle promises the destination does not contain.
- Implying a personal connection that does not exist — "someone you know", "people in your area".
- Naming a city, region or device drawn from the request to imply local relevance the offer does not have.
Claims requiring substantiation
Where a headline makes a claim of the following kind, substantiation must be present on the destination and must be verifiable:
- Superlatives and rankings — best, number one, fastest, cheapest, most popular.
- Comparisons with a named or implied competitor.
- Statistics, percentages, ratings and review counts.
- Awards, certifications, accreditations and memberships.
- Scientific, clinical or "proven" claims.
- Prices, discounts, savings and "from" figures, including what the saving is measured against.
Results and outcomes
- Guaranteed outcomes of any kind — income, weight, health, approval, results.
- A specific figure or timeframe attached to a personal result.
- An individual testimonial used as evidence that the same outcome is typical.
- Health claims about treating, curing or preventing a condition, unless the product is approved for it.
- Financial claims of risk-free, fixed or assured return.
Urgency, scarcity and pressure
A genuine deadline or a genuinely limited stock level may be stated. What is not permitted is manufacturing either.
- Countdowns that reset, and "ends today" on an offer that runs every day.
- "Only 3 left" where the number is not the real stock level.
- Warnings of loss, penalty, expiry or missed entitlement that are not real.
- Framing a routine offer as a closing window on an unrelated event.
Impersonation and authority
- Writing as a news organisation, a government body, a regulator, a bank or a health authority.
- Naming a public figure, celebrity or brand to imply an endorsement that has not been given.
- Presenting an advertisement as editorial, a personal story, a warning or a public notice.
- Using another business’s name, product name or trade mark in a headline without the right to.
Personal and sensitive framing
- Addressing a person by an inferred attribute — age, weight, health condition, debt, religion, sexual orientation, immigration status.
- Implying knowledge of an individual’s circumstances, browsing or purchases.
- Shame, fear or alarm about a person’s body, family, finances or safety used as the hook.
- Any suggestion that someone has already been diagnosed, selected, approved or accepted.
Descriptions
The description field carries up to 90 characters and is held to the same standard as the headline. Use it to make the offer concrete — what it is, what it costs, who it is for — rather than to extend the tease.
A headline that passes here still has to be supported by its creative and its landing page. Review considers all three together.