headlines and writing for the web
DESCRIPTION
Tips on writing headlines and stories to maximize search engine optimization and to increase readershipTRANSCRIPT
HOW TO GET PEOPLE TO SEE, READ AND ENJOY YOUR STORIES
OnlineGetting there, staying there
What we will learn
How to drive people to Web stories by writing headlines that use effective search engine optimization (SEO) strategies
How to write for online so that people find and read your stories
It’s a sideways world
Users don’t browse – they search 80% of Internet sessions begin with a search
engine About 40% of traffic from search engines (SNO:
30%); 50% of that from Google (SNO: 75%)
Traffic also comes from other Web sites Facebook, Twitter, Drudge, blogs …
Visitors often come to a story sideways, bypassing the homepage SNO: 25% typed in or bookmarked; 75% from other
sites
What Google looks for
Google crawls, searches for and indexes words in the title bar, URL, headline and tops of articles (includes summary in Publicus)
An example
When the pope died, The New York Times had this headline: ‘Thousands flock to Vatican’ Nobody flocked to the Web page
Then, an SEO expert saw it ‘Pope dies’ People slammed the servers
Responding ≠ pandering
In print there is context
Say what?
Web heads are often displayed out of context. They need to stand on their own. (For some, head is the story.)
Write for the scanner
On the Web, it’s even more important to serve the scanner (F-shaped: Nielsen Norman Group, 2006)
Headline rules and regs
Start with keywords Such as “Pope dies” First 11 characters, about 60 characters long
Use names, not descriptions, in headlines when a famous person is involved “(North Carolina) Governor Perdue,” not just “Gov.” “Michael Jackson,” not just “Pop icon”
Michael Jackson or Pop Icon?
A few more rules and regs
If the person is not a celebrity, use keywords not names“Woman gives birth to eight children” (until the name becomes well-known, then you can use “Nadya Suleman” or “Octomom”)
Don’t forget to use company names in headlines
Write a metatitle for stories that will update with a keyword-filled headline that won’t need to change
Points in Publicus
More rules and regs
Use city namesYes: “Southport fire kills three”No: “Fire kills three”
City names should be used with sports teamsYes: “Wilmington Sharks win home opener”No: “Sharks win home opener”
“Port City” is not a well-known option people search for.
For columnists, put names upfront“Master Gardener - Birds help your garden grow”
Know your readersHurricane, home sales, heroin
Helpful tools
Finding effective keywords http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com
Example: “weather forecaster” used in 43 searches. “Meteorologist” in 294
http://google.com/trends Example: “meteorologist” far outranks “weather
forecaster” https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExt
ernal Example: “weather forecaster” has 8,100 searches/month
vs. 165,000 for “meteorologist.”
About articles
Hard news ledes outperform feature ledes because of front-loaded keywords Who, what, when, where and why – inverted
pyramid Remember, the first reader is likely a Web spider
Remember how Google searches
What goes up first, gets picked up first
File short and quick, then update Wire service thinking with constant updates Make a new article when there’s enough to merit it
Write for the scanner
On the Web, it’s even more important to serve the scanner (F-shaped: Nielsen Norman Group, 2006)
Write for the Web
Good writing is good writing Don’t change the text just to stick in keywords
Pages with many references to location rank higher in search engines
Avoid local jargon (like “Port City”)
Use keywords in links
Avoid all caps (resembles spam)
What would Google think?
Exercises
Let’s go to the handouts
Web writing is good writing
10 tipsHaving a good story always helps
Break up long blocks of copy with subheads
One thought per paragraph
Paraphrase long quotes
Avoid listing numbers and stats in the text – make a box instead
Web writing (cont.)
Write for the eye – Not just scanners; look for white space and get rid of long blocks of text. Use boxes, timelines and other devices
Be obvious
Active voice
Strong verbs
Look at the art while you’re writing – they could be right next to each other online
But that’s just good writing
Exactly
Summary
Front load headlines and text – 11, 60
Think about keywords
Control what you can – headlines, subheads, ledes
Online readers are scanners, grab their attention and don’t let go
Sources
Gil Asakawa (@GilAsakawa)Manager of student media for the University of Colorado’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication; previously manager of audience development with MediaNews Group Interactive
Dennis Joyce (@DJoyceTBO)Metro editor at The Tampa Tribune
Amy Eisman (@aeisman)Director of media entrepreneurship and interactive journalism at American University
Presentation based on one by Michael Baker, editor of STATE Magazine, Oklahoma State University, and former local news editor for The Oklahoman
SEO sources
SEOmoz.org: http://seomoz.org SEOmoz Blog:
http://www.seomoz.org/blog Matt Cutts: Gadgets, Google & SEO:
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/ SEO Browser.com:
http://seo-browser.com PPC Blog: http://tools.ppcblog.com/ Wordtracker.com:
http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com Google.com/trends:
http://google.com/trends Google Webmaster Tools:
http://www.google.com/webmasters/ ReelSEO: http://www.reelseo.com/ SEO Egghead:
http://www.seoegghead.com/blog/ Search Engine Journal:
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/ Search Engine Watch:
http://searchenginewatch.com/ Search Engine Optimization 101:
http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/other/search-engine-optimization-101/
Search Engine Watch Blog: http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/
John Battelle’s Searchblog: http://battellemedia.com/
SEO Chat: http://www.seochat.com/ SEO Chat’s SEO Tools:
http://www.seochat.com/seo-tools/ SEO Scoop: http://www.seo-scoop.com/ Natural Search Blog:
http://www.naturalsearchblog.com/ Applied SEO:
http://www.appliedseo.com/ Mashable – The Social Media Guide:
http://mashable.com Micro Persuasion – Steve Rubel:
http://www.micropersuasion.com/ Website Analytics Toolbox (great list of
tools): http://designm.ag/resources/website-analytics-toolbox/ Compiled by Gil Asakawa Manager of Audience Development,
MediaNews Group Interactive