How to Connect Great Journalism with the Greatest Possible Audience. Brent D. Payne Charlie Meyerson

Transcription

1 How to Connect Great Journalism with the Greatest Possible Audience Brent D. Payne Charlie Meyerson

2 What SEO is What is SEO? SEO = Search Engine Optimization A division of online marketing with the purpose of building content that is more understandable and readable by search engines. What SEO is NOT Building pages ONLY for search engines Engagement of unethical practices to gain search engine favor. An exact science

3 Who is Brent D. Payne? Brent D. Payne is NOT... not a journalist in any way, shape, or form not the best SEO for all fields of SEO not a poised, professional speaker Brent D. Payne is... passionate about SEO and how it helps journalists significantly experienced in SEO dedicated to TEACHING people about SEO

4 SEO Jargon Top 10 Vocabulary Terms That ll Be Talked About Today Googlebot The collective name for the thousands of servers crawling the web PageRank The factors Google uses to determine where a particular page should be listed in the search results PageRank Number/PR# - The Google toolbar s assigned number to a particular domain or page Spider/Robot Same as Googlebot above but not Google specific (i.e. could be any search engine) White Hat/Black Hat Whether you work with Google or against Google Anchor/Anchor Text The blue underlined link ALT/Alt Text The text you see when you scroll over an image The Algo/Algorithm All the engineering and coding that is the core of a search engine s code Microhoo The theoretical search engine created by the merging of Microsoft and Yahoo! 301/301 redirect The process of telling the search engines a page has moved

5 Why the Obsession with Google? Yahoo! 15% Microsoft 8% Ask 3% All Others 2% Google 72%

6 Why Should You Care About SEO? AOL 357,025,000 Ask.com 169,116,000 All Others 386,024,000 MSN/Live! 841,457,000 Google Yahoo! Total Search Engine Traffic MSN/Live! AOL Ask.com Google 5.4 Billion Searches per Month Yahoo! 1.4 Billion Searches per Month MSN/Live! 841 Million Searches per Month Yahoo! 1,448,140,000 Google 5,421,943,000 All Others Source: Nielsen Dec 08 Pwn d! That s 2,024 Google searches per second!!

7 70% of Users Don t Go Beyond the 1 st Page of Search Engines! Well, looks like getting to that first page is REALLY important then.

8 Tribune SEO Statistics Tribune s Search Engine Traffic 2007 SEO 2008 SEO 2009 SEO % of Visits from SEO % of Visits from SEO Doubled SEO Visits Y/Y 08 to YTD 36% of Visits from SEO What s Driving the Growth Source: Omniture HTML Changes CMS Enhancements & SEO Tools SEO Planning of Future Events Newsroom SEO Training Seminars 100% of Newspapers Already Trained (Basic SEO) Tribune Broadcast Sites 95% Trained SEO Task Force Development Key SEO Wins Breaking News Topic Galleries Election/Inauguration Oscars Weather, Horoscopes, Trials

9 How Do Search Engines Work? Links Popularity Popularity Trust Importance Importance Similar Content Relevance

10 What We Know and Don t Know Authority Popularity Relevance x x ( k 1) 1 ( k ) i j j B j Page N Rank i

11 The Psychology of Googlebot Literal Googlebot doesn t understand puns Googlebot doesn t get jokes Googlebot is a robot not a buddy of yours Context Googlebot only understands what you tell him Get Lucky! Laptop case versus laptop bag CompactFlash vs Compact Flash Blind spots Googlebot can t read iframed content Googlebot can t read images (needs ALT text) Googlebot can t read javascript Googlebot barely understands flash files

12 Media Companies are Treated Differently by the Search Engines We are different in a good way Crawl rates are considerably more frequent Endless pipe of quality content Google likes us more (but still doesn t need us) High authority Direct relationships with the search engines We are different in a bad way Expiring content Duplicate content Never ending changes to our content Horrid CMS/site structure Direct relationships with the search engines ;-)

13 SEO: Where Do I Start? Weather Local News Fashion Sports Movies Politics What are people searching for? How can I find out? Food Horoscopes Travel <Relevance>

14 Related Terms & Estimated Volume (Month Lag) Provides long list of related terms (exports) Shows approx. search volume Shows advertiser competition for terms Shows keywords by URL

15 Just Because YOU Search THAT Way... Compare multiple terms to determine which term receives the highest volume of search traffic. Use the drop down menus to change the date range and regional data sets. Export the data to a CSV (Opens in Excel, must be logged into Google Account).

16 Google Trends: What is it?

17 Get an Indication of Search Volume (Hourly) Only chase after Volcanic search terms, others don t have the volume to justify the effort Watch graph, catch terms while they re still spiking Note the related searches, use them in your body text

18 Why the Search Term is Suddenly Popular (Hourly)

19 Compare Differing Search Terms Volume (3 Day Lag) Compare multiple terms to determine which term receives the highest volume of search traffic. Use the drop down menus to change the date range and regional data sets. Export the data to a CSV (Opens in Excel, must be logged into Google Account).

20 Find Top Volume Search Terms by Category (3 Day Lag) Discover the top volume search terms by category Discover fastest rising search terms by category

21 Celebrity/Entertainment Keyword Research Trends Data Updates multiple times per day Graph of trend history Categories Hmm. Gates, got xrank right at least. Celebrities Musicians Politicians Related Articles News Images Videos

22 The Most Important HTML Elements Title Tag The most important HTML element Communicate loudly but don t spam Must be unique! Description Important mainly due to click through not SEO factors themselves Should be unique, H1 Reiterate what the title tag states, one H1 per page Beat up your designers that use if tor style instead of SEO emphasis H2 Loosely reiterate what your H1 tag states, insert noise 2x the number of H1 tags on the page Bold, H3, Italics, URL, etc. H3 for breadcrumbs, featured areas, etc. Bold tag, strong tag = same thing URL is important for relevance with inbound links

23 Write Boring Headlines REQUIRED Include targeted keyphrase RECOMMENDED Exact match keyphrase Place keyphrase in front Differentiate from SEO title Be succinct DO NOT Use AP or other newswire headline Use hyper-local buzz phrases Be too witty at cost of search relevance

24 Write Somewhat Boring Subheads REQUIRED Include core targeted keyword Differentiate from headline and SEO title RECOMMENDED Include all words from keyphrase Use plural or singular version of keywords Use different tense for some keywords Be more verbose to create SEO noise DO NOT Use of AP or other newswire headline Use of headlines from other Tribune pages Field usage for other purposes

25 If Your Slug Is Publicly Displayed... REQUIRED Use targeted keyphrase Separate words with hyphens RECOMMENDED Avoid usage such as story, sl, front DO NOT Abbreviate or omit vowels, etc.

26 Keyword Usage: Examples SEO Title Michelle Obama s Dress: Who made Michelle Obama s dress, plus photos -- Chicago Tribune SEO Description Michelle Obama's dress and other wardrobe choices have been a breath of fresh air in the fashion industry. Learn about her dress at the Headline Who made Michelle Obama s dress? Subheadline Michelle Obama s dresses attract attention on Inauguration Day [not actually used] URL/Slug /chi-michelle-obama-dress-story

27 Linking Structure: Unorganized Section C Article 1 Article 2 Links for Topic X Article 3 Blog 1 None of this content is that popular. I m not going to rank it well. Section B Blog 2 Section A Blog 3

28 ... and why it s bad for SEO. The competitor is really popular for Topic X. I m going to rank the competitor really well. Competitor Story 1 Story 2 Story 3 Blog 1 Blog 2 Blog 3

29 Linking Structure: Organized Story 2 Story 3 Blog 1 Blog 2 Blog 3 Section A Section B Story 1 Predetermined landing page for Topic X Section C Now this is popular content. I m going to rank it well.

30 ... And why it s good for SEO. Your site has some really popular and relevant content. I m going to rank it better than CNN, MSNBC, etc. Your site! CNN MSNBC FOX News Reuters NY Times NPR

31 Google News: It s About the One-Box Google News One-Box Appears on first page of Google Web for breaking news content Is piped into several other Google products Google News Homepage Decent traffic (though not like Yahoo! Homepage) Increases crawl and indexing in alternative search engines

32 Google News: Inclusion Submission Google News Inclusion Submission Form Google News is by submission only. Furthermore, the site must be approved by Google to be in Google News. Submission Form URL

33 Google News is a Different Animal URL Differences First impression is REALLY important. Slow to recrawl Prefers Fresh URLs (i.e. new URLs) MUST Have at Least a 3-digit Number in the URL (or sitemap) Traffic Trends Greater Peaks & Valleys Easier to Win But Evaporates Quickly Google News One-Box in Google Web is Unpredictable Less Understood Robots Activity More a Script Than a Spider Change to Site Requires Notification to Google News Google News Homepage = Uncertainties Much More Reliant on Sitemaps (Specifically News Sitemaps) No Separation of Googlebot from Gnewsbot Causes Control Issues for Webmaster

34 Google Webmaster Tools Top Nine Things to Pay Attention to in Webmaster Tools Be granular in your site submissions to Google Webmaster Tools Download crawl errors at least weekly, look for patterns to fix Track changes to how many sites are linking to your top pages Compare top search query impressions to top search query clickthroughs Watch for generic terms in your keywords list, minimize unwanted Watch crawl errors, specifically News crawl errors Monitor crawl stats for both pages crawled and kilobytes downloaded Increase your crawl rate (if Google will let you) MAKE SURE YOUR SITEMAPS ARE ALL WORKING PROPERLY!

35 Twitter Account Types: News Feed Create a News Feed from RSS Use your most frequently updated quality content Do NOT at reply users from this account Do NOT follow people back from this account; follow your own accounts

36 Twitter Account Types: Celebrities Force Celebrities to Create Accounts Make it a job requirement to have a Twitter profile Give them freedom to be human (i.e. complain about their commute) Get them to interact with their followers (follow them back, at reply, DM, etc.)

37 Twitter Account Types: Employees Allow Employees to Tweet Set some ground rules about proprietary information Underscore that company grievances should be addressed with Human Resources Provide information to employee about libel/slander and the consequences Allow them to promote the company and the competitor Allow them to be genuine and personable Give them freedom to be themselves in all aspects of their lives Understand and accept that mistakes and issues will occur Do NOT officially endorse them

38 Twitter Account Types: Brand Persona Create a Brand Persona Create a character that your audience can connect with personally Spend time to create a decent avatar Mimic your brand perception or mimic the target audience demographic Create a detailed personality, writing style, interests, etc. for the persona Be sure to have the persona engage with the audience via at replies, direct messages, and even send event invites Keep who s behind the veil of Oz private, always Do NOT allow those behind the veil to inject personal opinions inconsistent with the brand persona Make it your brand s social media face

39 Get Big Fast: Promote Your Profiles Make Your Audience Aware Use your readership of print media to promote your twitter profile Use your viewership of television to promote your twitter profile Promote your twitter profile to your listeners via radio Don t forget the easiest of them all your website visitors!

40 Get Seen: Use Twitter Directories Use Twitter Directories List yourself in the top Twitter directories WeFollow, Twellow, Muck Rack, etc.

41 Engage the Locals: Have a Tweetup Tweetup = Local Engagement POUH YOUR COMPETITOR Invite top referrers or bloggers specifically Pick a decent venue that can handle 2x expected turn out Utilize event sites like EventBrite or Meetup.com Have one or two celebrities attend to create a draw Clarify dress code, theme, location, food or no food, etc. Promote the Tweetup from all profiles Have large nametags available and plenty of pens Take lots of pictures and post them publicly Remember to MINGLE! Do NOT buy the alcohol!

42 Take Off The Gloves: Poach Poach Your Competitor s Followers! Follow those that follow your competitor and engage with them POACH YOUR COMPETITOR

43 Get A Little Dirty: Cheat Twitter Automation POUH YOUR COMPETITOR Auto-follow all followers of a particular user Auto-follow all those that a particular user follows Auto-follow those that follow you Auto-follow those that tweet a particular keyword Auto-follow by geography Auto-unfollow anyone that isn t following you Only follow those that have x number of followers but under y number Only follow those that have tweeted at least x number of times Only follow those that have a non-default profile image Setup a tweet for a later date and time MUCH, MUCH, MORE!! NOTE: I do NOT condone cheating!

44 Google Blog Search Google Blog Search Quick Tips Use RSS Auto-Discovery Submit your blog URL to Google Compare your blog vs. your non-blog content Google rankings/traffic Submission Form URL

45 SEO for WordPress Blogs Plugins! SEO Overview Keyword Research How a Webpage Ranks Well in Search Engines Search Engine Market Share User Search Behavior Google Trends/Hot Trends/Insights for Search Google Keyword Research Tool MS/Bing xrank Site Structure Linking Structure Duplicate Content Mitigation HTML Elements for SEO Emphasis Site Visibility Essential Plugins to Do It! Sitemaps & Google Webmaster Tools Google News Site Submission/Nuances Google Blog Search Site Submission all-in-one-seo-pack, get-recent-comments, googlenews-sitemap-generator, google-sitemap-generator, page-links-to, redirection, seo-automatic-links, etc.

46 SEO Plugins: All in One SEO Pack All in One SEO Pack Allows for significant flexibility on the most important SEO aspects such as: title tag editing, flexibility to enter additional metas, duplicate content mitigation, canonical URLs, etc. Download this Plugin

47 SEO Plugins: Get Recent Comments Get Recent Comments Best for smaller blogs because the links to the posts with the most recent comments get linked to from the homepage. Increasing freshness in the Google index. Download this Plugin

48 SEO Plugins: Google News Sitemap Generator Google News Sitemap Generator Generates a sitemap in the proprietary Google News Sitemap format. Download this Plugin

49 SEO Plugins: Google Web Sitemap Generator Google Web Sitemap Generator Generates an XML Sitemap that is compatible with Google and most other major search engines. Increases ease of crawlability for the search engines and also improves frequency of crawl. Download this Plugin

50 SEO Plugins: Page Links to Page Links to Allows you to redirect any page/url to any other page/url of your choice. You can even choose a 301 redirect or 302 redirect option. Note: Always use 301 redirect though. Download this Plugin

51 SEO Plugins: Redirection Redirection Unlike Page Links to, this plugin allows you to find 404 pages and redirect them to other locations. Download this Plugin

52 SEO Plugins: SEO Smart Links SEO Smart Links Allows for consistent inline links in posts, comments, etc. to specified destination URLs. Helps to drive consistent anchor text to landing pages of your choice. Download this Plugin

53 Contact Info Brent D. Payne Director, Search Engine Optimization Tribune Company, 435 N. Michigan, Chicago, IL Phone: Instant Messenger/Personal (follow w/ caution) Driver s License Number: BDP24456U8 Passport Number: