SEO for the Newsroom. Dana Allegretti SEO specialist McClatchy Interactive

Transcription

1 SEO for the Newsroom Dana Allegretti SEO specialist McClatchy Interactive 1

2 Agenda q Search engine overview. q Writing SEO-friendly headlines. q Writing a SEO-friendly Summary. q Optimizing your story for SEO. q Writing Meta Keywords. q Other SEO elements. 2

3 Search engine overview All search engines have specialized search for images, video, news, shopping and blogs. Only image formats can rank within image algorithm. Only e-commerce sites can rank in shopping algorithm. Each of the specialized search algorithms can show up in a general web search. 3

4 Search engine overview Real-time Search Recommendations News algorithm search result. Shows in addition to 7 or 10 search results. All web search results. 4

5 What the search engines show Current: Aurora: Headline Sitename [time] DATELINE Short summary or first paragraph CHAPEL HILL: Chapel Hill fire destroys six apartments Ne 1 hour ago CHAPEL HILL A mid-morning fire destroyed six apartments and damaged nine others, displacing residents Monday at the University Garden... DATELINE: Headline Sitename.com [time] DATELINE Short summary or first paragraph 5

6 Writing the headline First SEO priority: Writing strong headlines. Use proper nouns, especially familiar ones. Keep it relatively short: 60 to 80 characters. Be literal and direct; who, what, where, when. Place keywords at the beginning of the headline since readers are scanning search result lists for their keywords. Let the dateline and headline work together. Use a location in one or the other. The dateline must be entered in the dateline field for this to work properly. 6

7 Example re-write 7

8 Example Re-write 'Our gold rush Rewrite: q SAN LUIS OBISPO: Local Athletes Compete in Beijing Olympics q 'SLO Athletes Compete in Beijing Olympics' Key words and phrases: 'San Luis Obispo 'Athletes 'Beijing 'Olympics' 8

9 islandpacket.com & thestate.com Which would be positioned higher in Google search? 9

10 The State 1st Island Packet 7th 10

11 Example of possible rewrites Original: Hospital techs guilty of patient assault Rewrite: Former NC Cherry Hill Hospital techs, guilty of patient assault. Original: Slain woman's assets subject of lawsuit Rewrite: RALEIGH: Wrongful death lawsuit filed in the murder of Michelle Young. Original: Husband's DNA found at fatal beating scene Rewrite: Husband Jason Young s DNA found at Michelle Young s crime scene in Raleigh home. Original: Smoke thins, but air remains unhealthy Rewrite: Sacramento Valley wildfires effecting air quality. Original: Families still haunted by killings six years ago Rewrite: TACOMA: Riley family mourns six years after the Thanksgiving Day murder of daughter Kimberly.

12 What is a summary? Secondary SEO priority: Write a short summary Summaries are crucial for the online story. Purpose is to give the reader a catchall sentence on what the story is about. It is displayed on section fronts and home page and on search engine results pages. 12

13 Writing the summary q Write summaries as if the reader doesn t know the first thing about the story. q Write them conversationally. Typically, these will only be one sentence, sometimes two. q Nut graph is commonly used for the short summary. q It s OK to repeat the theme of a headline or a lede, but don t use the exact phrasing. q Don t worry about fancy writing keep summaries basic and pack them with information. 13

14 Section front 14

15 Google search index 15

16 Writing SEO friendly content Third SEO Priority: Write your content q Your story must support what your written in your headline and short summary. q Your story should be self-supporting don t rely on images or headlines to help tell the story. q Use keyword throughout your story, but don t be too repetitive. q Obvious keywords are often forgotten. For example, the term basketball is rarely mentioned in a story. 16

17 Content example The Associated Press CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Danielle Butts beat the buzzer with a game-winning jump shot to help No. 11 North Carolina hand Miami a rare home loss Sunday. With UNC (19-2, 7-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailing 62-60, the Tar Heels' Tierra Ruffin-Pratt stole the ball from Krystal Saunders and hit two free throws after being fouled by Stefanie Yderstrom. When Suriya Mcguire missed a layup for Miami (14-6, 5-4) with 5 seconds remaining, UNC's Brittany Rountree gathered the rebound and moved the ball up the court to Butts, who hit the winning jumper. Ruffin-Pratt paced the Tar Heels with 19 points. Miami's Morgan Stroman scored a career-high 28 points. Missing Keywords: Basketball The loss snapped an 11-game home winning streak for Miami and was Women s just its second loss in its past 54 home games. University of North Carolina University of Miami The lead changed hands 10 times in the second half, including seven Hurricanes times during a 4-minute stretch in the middle of the frame. NCAAW ACC 17

18 Meta keywords Final SEO priority: Meta keywords Meta keywords are used by the news engines to help rank content. Write in comma separated form. Use all the terms that describe the story. Doing this in extremely important if you want to show up in Google, Yahoo! or Bing News. The system gives a 25 term limit. List terms in order of importance. Example: accident, wreck, I-85, highway, interstate, back up, backup, delay, Charlotte, Concord, local, news, traffic 18

19 Other SEO elements q Linking content together: Related content on your site Related content on other McClatchy news sites External relevant content q Add story weight by adding assets: Photos Galleries Videos Maps 19

20 Summary q Search friendly headlines include location and strongest keywords. q A short summary is one or two sentences explaining who, what, where, and why. q Add keywords to your story. The other elements aren t always there to tell the story. q Write meta keywords in comma separated form. q Cross link related stories, sites, and resources. q Add weight to your story through assets. 20