Download - SEO: Helping People Find Your Work
SEO: Helping PeopleFind Your Work
Steve ButtryBennington Banner
March 21, 2013
Read more about it• stevebuttry.wordpress.com (#twutorial)• slideshare.net/stevebuttry• @stevebuttry• [email protected]
Keys to SEO• Relevance• Keywords in headline• Keywords in story (best in lead)• Understand how people are searching• Relevant links
Relevance rulesKeep SEO in mind as you write, but …• Relevance matters; popular but
irrelevant keywords can hurt you• Quality matters• Social matters, too, and people share
good reads• Relevance matters in links
Keywords in headline• What words would you use to search for
this post?• Use those words in headline• If possible, start headline w/ key phrase• Check Google Trends• Use full names• (VIDEO) in headline
Keywords in headline• Use location names:(Vermont, not
“state”• No puns (unless you can do it with
keywords)• Headline needs to be enticing w/
keywords• Google stops reading after 65 characters
Keywords in lead• Most important: good lead• Sharing drives traffic, too, so don’t write
for search engine• Edit for search engine; would search
terms help or hurt original lead?• If keywords don’t work in lead, be sure
head is strong & use them high
Fill in metadata• “Blurb” field in NGPS• Fill in keyword-rich SEO descriptions,
cutlines, etc. for photos, videos• Alternate text for images
Links help people find you• Relevant outbound links boost
Googlejuice• Pingbacks bring you inbound links &
boost Googlejuice• Add links as you do research• Use relevant anchor text (not “click
here”)
Don’t forget internal links• Link to earlier stories on your site• Go back and link earlier stories to
updates• Internal links drive more views directly • Internal links help SEO
Links provide:• Attribution• Context• Authority• Credibility
Consider whether context implies endorsement of linked views/content
Reach a wider audience• Effective use of social media (Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube, Foursquare, etc.)• Relevant comments (w/ links) on related
blogs• Emails/tweets/#hashtags call to attention
of influencers
Write 2 headlines• Write a headline for a story you’re
working on• Find an ineffective headline on your site
& strengthen its SEO
Read more about it• stevebuttry.wordpress.com (#twutorial)• slideshare.net/stevebuttry• @stevebuttry• [email protected] • zombiejournalism.com