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EditorialSEO Strategy
www.ravelrumba.com
November 18, 2010
SEO Basics for Editorial TeamsRob Flaherty / @ravelrumba
What does Search Engine Optimization really mean?
It means structuring and formatting our websites in a way that makes it easy for search engines and users to find our content.
3 Main Goals
• Make it easy for Google to find our content
• Make it easy for Google to understand our content
• Make it easy for users to find our content
A lot goes into a comprehensive SEO
strategy.
It requires participation from Marketing,
Technology, and Editorial.
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/perfecting-keyword-targeting-on-page-optimization
Today we’re going to focus on just two parts:
Keywords &Article Titles
Keywords
What are Keywords?
Keywords are the words that users type when they search for things on the internet.
Keywords represent the specific language and terminology that users use when they search for things.
Do we write aboutClimate Change
or Global Warming ?
Multiple Factors
• Accuracy (just because terms are often used synonymously doesn’t mean they’re synonymous)
• Style, Usage
• Context
• And... SEO!
Multiple Factors
• Competing factors will need to be weighed on a case-by-case basis.
• Editorial integrity should come first.
• The goal is to reinforce our content with what we know about how users search for things.
How do we know what terms users search for?
Google Analytics
Google’s Keyword Tool
The goal is to optimize content by aligning our
language with the language that our readers use.
Another Example
“ETFs”vs.
“Exchange Traded Funds”
How Users Search for Stuff
Failed Search
Successful Search
Two places where keywords are most
effective:
In the first paragraph of a story.
And in...
Titles
The biggest opportunity Editorial has to optimize content: article titles.
A well optimized page is made up of many different
things.
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/perfecting-keyword-targeting-on-page-optimization
But the thing that has the most weight is the article
title.
What makes an article title SEO-friendly?
What constitutes a good title on the web is different
from what constitutes a good title in print.
The main difference has to do with context.
The print experience is immersed in context.
On the web, a story title has to stand on its own.
This is all Google sees:
<h1> Past, Present, Future</h1>
Often, this is all a user sees:
At most, there’s an excerpt:
Titles on the web have to do more work.
This concept is often referred to as
microcontent.
Microcontent
“Microcontent needs to be pearls of clarity: you get 40-60 characters to explain your macrocontent. Unless the title or subject make it absolutely clear what the page or email is about, users will never open it.”
-Jakob Nielsen
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980906.html
Writing Titles for the Web
• More literal, less figurative.
• Tell the story in the title. How do we give an interested user reason to click on a link when he/she has no information besides the title?
• Use keywords!
• Place keywords towards the beginning of titles.
Keywords have the most oomph! when placed at the
start of a title.
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/perfecting-keyword-targeting-on-page-optimization
Keyword positioning
BadThe New Roller Coaster
BetterThe New Roller Coaster: Volatility and Leveraged ETFs
SuperstarVolatility and Leveraged ETFs: The New Roller Coaster
Example
• Tweet Suite Digest - November 03, 2010
• Tweet Suite Digest - November 10, 2010
Instead of this:
We could do this:• OII, iPhone Apps, and Fantasy Football
Insurance - Tweet Suite Digest
• NASP, WCB, and Dr. Wecht - This Week on Twitter
Sometimes it’s easy (e.g., news articles).
Sometimes it’s harder (e.g., blog posts).
Workflow and Tools
The Workflow
1. What is this story about?
2. What is the language readers use when searching for this content?
3. How can we fine-tune the content to match what users are searching for?
Magazine Articles
Magazine stories published on the web can use different titles than those used in the print edition.
Two different titles for two different roles.
Tools
Google Analytics
Google’s Keyword Tool
Summary & Final Thoughts
Summary
• Editorial SEO should focus primarily on two things: Keywords and Titles.
• Keyword strategy is about getting in tune with our users.
• Article titles are paramount.
• Position powerful keywords at the beginning of titles and within the first paragraph of an article.
•
Summary
• Whenever possible, infuse titles with description (using keywords).
• Think of titles as “microcontent”. Aim for titles that can stand on their own.
• Use Google Analytics and Google’s Keyword Tool.
The point of all this is to make our content more
accessible, to extend our reach, and to increase
our readership.
These ideas must be balanced with other
editorial needs.
There’s more to editorial SEO than what we’ve talked
about, but keywords and titles form the foundation.
One last thought:
We want to make our content robot-friendly.But remember what the robots are trying to do...
...they’re trying to figure out what humans value.
The robots are just the middlemen. At the end of the day we’re still writing
for humans.
Great content is the best SEO strategy.
Questions, maybe?
