Some practical tips on how journalists can use SEO in their daily operations

1. SEO

2. SEO
The Bad, Good & Ugly

3. CHRIS

4. CHRIS
twitter.com/chrisgeorgiev
Web Gravity
StockPodium
Client.bg

5. ONLINE MARKETING TRENDS
Search is the King

6. ONLINE MARKETING TRENDS
Search is the King

7. SEARCH ENGINE TRAFFIC

8. SEARCH ENGINE TRAFFIC
off-line media online media
49 % 80 %

9. OTHER TRAFFIC SOURCES

10. OTHER TRAFFIC SOURCES
references/links 27-30 %
home page 20-25 %
facebook 4-10 %

11. SEO?

12. SEO?

13. SEO?
#1 in Google

14. SEO?
#1 in Google

15. SEO?
#1 in Google
second Coming for a dying
industry

16. SEO?
#1 in Google
second Coming for a dying
industry

17. SEO?
#1 in Google
second Coming for a dying
industry
slotting specific words and
phrases into a piece simply to
con people into reading it

18. WHAT IS SEO?

19. WHAT IS SEO?

20. IT’S A
PROCESS

21. IT’S A
PROCESS
1. Identify your audience and
set targets
2. Get your site rank as high as
possible (off-page & on-page)
3. Constantly track your
progress and adjust

22. WHAT SEO IS
NOT

23. WHAT SEO IS
NOT
Online advertising
Public relations
Free traffic
Writing a book for free
download

25. SEO is important because it makes sure people can see your
content.

27. Journalism needs to discover how to make money again.
And SEO is a part of that.

28. TO BE
SUCCESSFUL
IN SEO

29. TO BE
SUCCESSFUL
IN SEO
Understand how search
engines work
Develop SEO strategy
Think long term

30. SOME SEO TIPS

31. SOME SEO TIPS

32. WHAT DOES THE HEADLINE
SAY (1)

33. WHAT DOES THE HEADLINE
SAY (1)
• Suspect Denies Killing Woman
Who?
Where?
Is this in my town?
Do I know this person?

34. WHAT DOES THE HEADLINE
SAY (2)

35. WHAT DOES THE HEADLINE
SAY (2)
• Victory and Ruins
that might be about anything

36. WHAT DOES THE HEADLINE
SAY (3)

37. WHAT DOES THE HEADLINE
SAY (3)
• Officials Vote to End Talks
Talks about what? Where?
• School District Wrestles with Financial Questions
Which school district? What financial questions?

38. HEADLINES FOR SEO

39. HEADLINES FOR SEO
• headline is usually pulled into the "title" HTML element
• title tag is what’s displayed as the link in search results
30 %
influence click through
• well-writtenheadlines should contain keywords that relate to
the content to which they belong

40. THE HEADLINE SALES

41. THE HEADLINE SALES
• payspecial attention to sub-lines - include words that will grab
readers attention (important for Facebook)
• first line should contain keywords and key phrases
43 %
influence on click through
• cite reliable and trusted sources (include links)
• use full names instead of abbreviations

42. GOOD HEADLINES

43. GOOD HEADLINES
• Good headlines sell more

44. GOOD HEADLINES
• Good headlines sell more
• Headlines should explain your content well

45. GOOD HEADLINES
• Good headlines sell more
• Headlines should explain your content well
• Onlineheadlines are often displayed out of context and are
the only thing you see of an article

46. GOOD HEADLINES
• Good headlines sell more
• Headlines should explain your content well
• Onlineheadlines are often displayed out of context and are
the only thing you see of an article
•8 of 10 people skip your content but they read your headline

47. GOOD HEADLINES
• Good headlines sell more
• Headlines should explain your content well
• Onlineheadlines are often displayed out of context and are
the only thing you see of an article
•8 of 10 people skip your content but they read your headline
• Your headline is a motivator, it’s like a main window to a shop

48. GOOD HEADLINES
• Good headlines sell more
• Headlines should explain your content well
• Onlineheadlines are often displayed out of context and are
the only thing you see of an article
•8 of 10 people skip your content but they read your headline
• Your headline is a motivator, it’s like a main window to a shop
• You’ve got 8 seconds to pitch

49. HEADLINE WRITING

50. HEADLINE WRITING
hunger, thirst, shelter,
• Target basic needs subheads clothing and sex
• Target safety and security physical, emotional and
needs financial security
• Target social (affiliation)
love, affection, companionship
needs
and acceptance
• Target esteem (self esteem)
achievement, recognition,
attention and respect

51. KEYWORDS OVER CLEVERNESS

52. KEYWORDS OVER CLEVERNESS
• writers
would rather be clever
and creative than clear
“10 ways to blast belly fat”
• potential monthly readers if
you use:
“lose weight” - 5 million
“weight loss” - 16 million
“diet” - 37 million

53. WHERE TO
USE
KEYWORDS

54. WHERE TO
USE
KEYWORDS
• headlines

55. WHERE TO
USE
KEYWORDS
• headlines
• subheads

56. WHERE TO
USE
KEYWORDS
• headlines
• subheads
• captions

57. WHERE TO
USE
KEYWORDS
• headlines
• subheads
• captions
• boldface

58. USE PLAIN
ENGLISH

59. USE PLAIN
ENGLISH
Search engines don’t understand
• wordplay, puns
• metaphors
• “Mourning crowds converge
on Vatican” vs.
• “Pope John Paul II dies in
Vatican.”

60. LINKS MATTER

61. LINKS MATTER
• inbound and outbound links
• collect
quality links from good
authority websites
• link > banner
• choose the rights text for the
link
• 75% of SEO = link building

62. GOOD
STORIES GET
LINKS

63. GOOD
STORIES GET
LINKS
• be scandalous
• be creative or funny
• be an expert
• news-breaker
• write for your audience

64. SEO AND
SOCIAL MEDIA

65. SEO AND
SOCIAL MEDIA
• headlines - attractive for
Facebook
• firstsentence - 140 symbols to
fit in Twitter
• use
pictures and video to
make your point
• bean active social user
yourself

66. THANK YOU!

67. THANK YOU!
Questions?
chris.georgiev@gmail.com