News properties are some of the most popular sites online and there is tough competition to get top search engine rankings for news-related terms, and there are some simple ways to boost your site’s rankings.
First, it’s important to identify just what keywords users are likely to use. Some are obvious, such as “news,” but others aren’t. One good technique is to hold a brainstorming session with various staff members (and members of the public if you can) to develop a list of words users would be likely to use when searching for the content you offer online. Use the results to fuel the rest of your strategy.
On the Web site itself, the <title> tag for Web pages should be descriptive of both the content of each individual page and the site overall.
A good strategy that many sites use on their homepages is to include the words “news,” “weather,” “sports” and “information” in this tag, along with key geographic terms. When selecting these geographic terms, it’s important to use ones that users are likely to type in and not ones that may be more marketing-speak. For many markets, this will likely mean including the names over several major towns, cities or regions served.
Inner pages should include a shorter variation of this but also include a well-written headline that corresponds to the story on the page. When writing headlines, the newsroom should be encouraged to use keyword-rich text that will get picked up by search engines well. It’s important to remember that news aggregation services such as Google News are becoming more popular and the more relevant keywords you can include, the better chance your content will reach the right audience.
There is such thing as too many keywords in <title> tags. Some evidence suggests “stuffing” your <title> tag can actually do more harm than good. One great candidate for removal, if it’s included, is the station slogan. These taglines appear frequently in TV station Web site <title> tags, but often do little to enhance search engine rankings. One exception would be a keyword-rich slogan that could do double duty as a branding tool and keyword booster.
The content of pages is also vital. When copy is being rewritten for the Web, make sure there are both topical and geographic keywords included in the story. Find ways to “sneak in” alternative names for locations and topics as well. Another possibility is to make use of HTML’s heading tags (<h1>, <h2>, etc.) to divide stories into sections. By using keyword-rich headings, you’ll not only help readers navigate stories better by breaking information into more manageable blocks, but search engines often give higher weight to text contained in these tags.
NewscastTip is a weekly column with tips for your newscasts. See past editions here. The column is available every Friday in our e-mail newsletter and posted here the following Wednesday. Sign up for the newsletter to get it delivered directly to your in box every week.
Michael P. Hill is founder and publisher of NewscastStudio. Contact him with your own tips and feedback.
