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?

More questions still?

Rob Flahertywww.ravelrumba.comEmail: rob@ravelrumba.comTwitter: @ravelrumba