Hacker News is the place to be for anyone interested in the latest trends in technology and startups. With millions of monthly visitors and thousands of daily submissions, rising to the top of HN is the dream of every tech blogger and founder. And the title of your post is the gateway to that traffic windfall.
As a web scraping expert and data aficionado, I couldn‘t help but wonder: what patterns lie hidden in the most successful Hacker News titles? I set out on a quest to uncover the secrets, analyzing over 3.2 million HN submissions from 2006 to the present day. Here‘s what I found.
Hacker News in 2024: By the Numbers
Let‘s set the stage with some key HN stats. So far in 2024, the site is receiving around 350k submissions per quarter, continuing its steady growth:
However, the volume of submissions doesn‘t necessarily translate to engagement. A whopping 68% of posts still struggle to get more than 2 points, showing just how challenging it is to grab the attention of the HN crowd.
Interestingly, title lengths have shown a gradual decline over the years, with the median length dipping from 8 words in 2010 to just 6 words today:
This suggests an increasing preference for snappy, concise titles that get straight to the point.
The Anatomy of a Top-Performing Title
To unpack what separates the most successful posts from the rest, I analyzed various factors, starting with post categories. HN posts can generally be grouped into a few common types:
- "Show HN": posts showcasing a project, product or something the author has made
- "Ask HN": posts asking the HN community a specific question
- "Tell HN": posts where the author is sharing something with the community
- Posts that mention a YC-backed company
- "Who is hiring?": job listings from companies looking to recruit
Segmenting the data by these categories revealed some notable trends:
Posts mentioning a YC company soar above the rest with a median score of 53 points, compared to just 2 for generic posts. This effect is particularly pronounced for lesser-known YC startups – a mention in an HN title provides a major visibility boost.
Job-related posts also punch well above their weight, with "Who is hiring?" threads garnering a median of 194 points! HN has clearly become a go-to talent pool for companies to find top-tier developers and engineers.
Diving deeper into the linguistic patterns, I aggregated the top 500 most frequent terms used in titles, excluding common words. The results paint an interesting picture of what piques the HN crowd‘s interest:
| Term | Median Points | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Show HN | 27 | 62534 |
| Ask HN | 14 | 48492 |
| [company] | 53 | 38853 |
| Linux | 44 | 6273 |
| 160 | 5811 | |
| JavaScript | 19 | 4285 |
| AI | 68 | 3960 |
| Open Source | 63 | 3659 |
| Web | 36 | 2744 |
| Data | 32 | 2618 |
Unsurprisingly, topics like Linux, JavaScript, AI and open source are perennial favorites. Dropping the name of tech giants like Google grabs eyeballs. And of course, anything related to YC companies is a reliable points-earner.
Engineering the Optimal HN Title
Based on these insights, what does the ideal Hacker News post title look like? Here‘s a playful example:
Show HN: [YC Startup] – Open-Source AI Tool for Linux Servers
This hits several of the high notes we identified: it uses the "Show HN" tag, mentions a YC company, and includes popular keywords like AI, open source, and Linux. Of course, your mileage may vary, and there‘s no substitute for genuinely interesting, valuable content.
It‘s also worth noting some general stylistic tips that emerged from the data:
- Keep it concise. The most successful titles tend to be under 8 words. Get to the point quickly.
- Lead with the hook. Put the most attention-grabbing part of your title first to reel readers in.
- Ask an intriguing question. Titles phrased as questions see a slight bump in median points vs statements. Pique the reader‘s curiosity.
- Name-drop if relevant. Mentioning a hot startup or big tech co can attract clicks, but only if it‘s authentic to your content.
Beyond the Title: Quality Still Reigns
While the data reveals some clear patterns in top-performing titles, it‘s crucial not to lose sight of the bigger picture. No amount of keyword-stuffing or gaming the algorithm can compensate for low-value content.
The HN community is notoriously sharp and skeptical – they‘ll quickly sniff out and penalize anything that feels like clickbait or fluff. The title is just the entry point, the hook to grab initial attention. But the true measure of a post‘s success is the quality of what lies behind that title.
As Paul Graham, founder of YC and Hacker News, once said: "The most important thing to remember about titles is that the better the article is, the less important the title."
A great title might earn you an initial click, but it‘s the substance of your post that will earn upvotes, engagement, and lasting impact.
Final Thoughts
Analyzing these patterns in HN post titles offers a fascinating window into the community‘s interests and preferences. It also underscores the immense value of web scraping and data analysis for uncovering insights – this study wouldn‘t have been possible without the ability to gather and parse large volumes of data from the site.
Of course, Hacker News is a unique microcosm, and these findings may not translate directly to other communities. But the general principles of understanding your audience, playing to their interests, and pairing an enticing title with genuinely valuable content are universally applicable.
So go forth and craft those irresistible titles, but don‘t forget what truly matters: enriching the HN community (and the broader tech world) with novel ideas, useful tools, and thoughtful discussions. See you on the front page!
