Optimising Content for Online News Audiences

SEO and Social Media Best Practices

be.linkedin.com/in/truusheremans @trooogle

www.sociallyvisual.com

Journalists use their headlines to hook readers into a story, to convince them of the importance

of reading a particular article

Great newspaper headlines – like "Gotcha” – do not work online, it is said…

• Online, people search for news and information • Using specific terms or keywords • To find the information they are looking for • On search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo

How do Search Engines work?

• Googlebot – Google’s web crawling robot

• Indexing the pages that are found

• In Google’s Index Database

• So that it appears in the Search results

When you enter a search query into a search engine using keywords, the engine examines its index database

and provides a listing of best-matching web pages

How do Search Engines work?

Google Algorithm

• A program used by Google to determine rankings of pages in its search results

• A number of factors – Keywords

– Freshness

– Links

– Content

– URL

– Social

How can you get people to best find YOUR headlines and specific news articles online?

This is where SEO comes into play

What is SEO and how does it work?

• Search Engine Optimisation

• Improving the visibility of your content in the search listings

• For relevant search terms or ‘keywords’

Why is SEO important?

85% of all traffic on the internet is referred to by search engines

90% of all users don’t look past the first 30 results - most only view top 10

SEO is not the enemy of good writing!

The purpose of SEO is not to destroy your writing’s artistic integrity, it’s to make sure people can

actually find your work better

Online, articles can have FOUR headlines, that affect your search

engine rankings

1. Content (articles) 2. Connecting your story to other pages 3. How you appear in the search results 4. Social media

HEADLINE 1 CONTENT OPTIMISATION

Content

On-page headline

Image

Content

• The content of a page is what makes it worthy of a search result position

• It is what the user came to see and is thus extremely important to the search engines

Use likely search terms in your article content and headline

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Riots in Stockholm Likely searched

key terms?

Images

• Google cannot understand what the images are about

• Use ‘text’ to describe what the image represents • Caption • Place near to the article’s headline • Google Images Search

HEADLINE 2 INTER-LINKING

• Home page

• Channel pages – International

– Sport

– Culture

• Tag pages (related content)

There are many ways to reach a news story once on a news site…

• Google takes account of the words used to link to a page

• Another way you can target a page for certain keywords

• Write short versions of headlines for navigation pages

• Use Anchor text

Internal Linking

Link descriptively

• Latest developments in ongoing saga - link to previous articles to give some background

• Use relevant keywords (i.e. headlines) – NOT: ‘click here for my previous article’ or ‘for more information click

here’

• Search engines look at the hyperlinked anchor text to help assess the relevance of a page

HEADLINE 3 HOW YOU APPEAR IN GOOGLE SEARCH RESULTS

Title tag

Meta description

URL

Title Tag

• Shown in Google Search Results and your Web Browser • Ideally 60-70 characters • Keywords are critical • Make compelling so that people will click on them • Can be different from your on-page headline, but

should both include most important keywords

Follow a "keywords: headline" format

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Meta description

• Further explains what your article is about in the search results

• Include keywords, but also make it compelling • Optimally 150-160 characters

URLs

• Include keywords • Avoid too lengthy URLs

– Lengthy URLs get cut off easily – Diluted effect

• Make sure that the category hierarchy of the given website is reflected in URLs

Types of Search

News Results

• Priority – fresh and original content

• Use format “keyword:headline”

And they will pick up even more traffic from the search box in the normal web results…

News Results

• Use images

• Be quick publishing breaking news – References from other sources

– Increases authority

– Publish immediately, and edit/elaborate later if needed

– Use social media as a support

News Results

Google Trends

Search insights – what are people looking for?

Google Trends

http://www.google.com/trends

SEO Copywriting Best Practices

• Use explanatory terms people could be looking for

• Understanding typical users ‘search habits’ (Google Trends)

• Write unique content

• Spell out in detail the ‘what’ and ‘who’ of the story

• Link descriptively

• Consider keywords, without sacrificing quality

Consider keywords without sacrificing quality

• Avoid keyword stuffing

• Don’t abbreviate, unless well known

– Use people’s full names

– Companies

• Cover likely terms searched-for to increase your content’s relevance

You can still write great on-page headlines while benefitting from search engine traffic

HEADLINE 4 SOCIAL MEDIA

“If searching for news was the most important development of the last decade, sharing news may be

among the most important of the next”

- Amy Mitchell, Tom Rosenstiel & Leah Christian

Where social media links come from

http://stateofthemedia.org/2012/mobile-devices-and-news-consumption-some-good-signs-for-journalism/what-facebook-and-twitter-mean-for-news/

Where social media links come from

Facebook • Friends and family

• News they might well have gotten someplace else if Facebook did not exist

Twitter • A more even mix of family and friends and news

organizations

• Most of these users also feel that without Twitter, they would have missed this kind of news

• Social media platforms continue to emerge as newsgathering tools

• They offer exciting opportunities • for reporters to collect information • for news organizations to expand their reach

Social media for News

But they also carry challenges and risks

And that’s why its important to identify best practices and policies

Engage in two-way communication

Social media isn’t broadcasting, it’s interacting

and responding

USA TODAY responds and interacts successfully

Be careful

• There are often limits to the value of engagement

• Social media opens the door to dialogue with readers and viewers – but not all dialogue is friendly

• Participate in conversations but avoid arguments and angry responses

• Sometimes it’s better to not respond

Be Accurate and Verify

• Social media is instantaneous and in real-time • Reporters should maintain similar investigative standards

for material obtained by means of social media as to any other information source

- Is it accurate - Is the source reliable?

Boston Bombing

Different platforms, different purposes Twitter • Rapidly aggregated information and images

from everyday people at the scenes • #BostonStrong • Less personal

Facebook • Care and support • Friends and family • Facebook Page

• Social media, a great supplier of information for many • However, a source of inaccurate information and frustration

for some

Break news on your site, not Twitter

Social Media • A great way to drive traffic and increase reach • Include links where possible

Careful, as competitors • Could snap up your scoops first hinted at on Twitter • To accelerate the publication of a story • Moving forward with your story, receiving all the traffic

However, there are times when it is advisable to post on Twitter before a story posts on your website… • Press releases • Press conferences

Be transparent and correct mistakes if you make them

• Quickly admit when you’re wrong…

- Mistakes happen, just like in print - Issue a correction tweet or Facebook post thereafter

• Only delete the post if you have noticed the mistake right away

- If interaction has already occurred, do not delete it! - Instead, respond and provide the correct info

Optimise your profiles

• Fully complete your profiles • It’s your first impression • It’s how people can find you

Twitter Best Practices

• Include Twitter bio • Optimise visuals, including header image • Use hashtags, to help people discover your content • Follow others

• You have 140 characters, use 120 of them. This allows your followers to easily RT you

• Retweet, but do it wisely

• Automated tweets - Do it, but in moderation - Also craft your own messages

Twitter Best Practices

Use Hashtags

Make sure they are relevant!

Don’t hashtag everything!

Twitter for News

https://twitter.com/TwitterForNews

Choose a compelling cover photo

Add custom tabs

Facebook Best Practices

Fill out the ‘About’ section

• Include compelling images • Ask questions to generate interaction

Storytelling

Share breaking news

• People want to be informed about news as it happens • Included terms such as “breaking” or “breaking news” for higher engagement • Keep people updated as the story develops

Storytelling

Use a Conversational Tone • Facebook is a people-driven

platform. • Let your audience know there’s a

person behind the posts

Storytelling

Reward Your Audience with Exclusive Content

• Post "sneak peeks" or behind-the-scenes content that rewards your audience

Storytelling

Share Behind-the-Scenes Photos & Videos To Grab Attention

• Provide a glimpse into the newsgathering process • Show your audience that you’re on the ground

Monitor

• Monitor key terms – Hashtags

– Events

– Ongoing stories

• Monitor your brand

• Monitoring tools – Hootsuite

Hootsuite • Set up and track relevant keywords and hashtags • To keep up to date with the latest – all easily accessible in one place • Connect to your social profiles

– Monitor mentions – Retweets – DMs

Social media alone doesn’t close the deal…

• Social media for news

– Still relatively small audience

– Not frequently

• Other methods of getting news are still popular

– Going directly to websites

– Via Apps

– Via search

http://stateofthemedia.org/2012/mobile-devices-and-news-consumption-some-good-signs-for-journalism/what-facebook-and-twitter-mean-for-news/

be.linkedin.com/in/truusheremans @trooogle

www.sociallyvisual.com