by Graeme Newell, 602 Communications
[email protected]
Search engines like Google are constantly searching web sites all over the world cataloging and indexing every word on a myriad of sites. These days most visitors to your news site will enter through the side door, not the front door. Readers will use search engines to find the content and go right to the specific page on your site, completely oblivious to your carefully crafted index on your home page. The importance of your home page is waning.
Plain and simple, the best way to create traffic to your site is to make powerfully sure the search engines can find you - and find you easily. An entire industry has sprung up around these complex search criteria. Millions are spent tweaking copy and placing the perfect words in the perfect place. Most retailers have discovered that search engine optimization isn't just the best way to promote their site - it's the only way.
Because this task is done blindly using complex computer algorithms, human understanding and judgment never enters into the process. That means great creative writing that dazzles and titillates will go a long way in moving your site to the scrap heap of oblivion. In the TV world, our primary focus is on entertainment and human interaction, and our writing reflects that. We enjoy reading and hearing simple terms made more interesting with a turn of phrase.
Go to Google right now. Put in the phrase "leader of the free world." We all know this is "the president." But notice all the different listings that the search engine came up with. When I say "Arnold," a famous movie star with a penchant for politics comes to mind. Unfortunately, both of these phrases will hinder the search engines in finding this content. If I want the search engine to easily find these stories, I should refer to them as "the President of the United States, George W. Bush," and "California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger."
In the web news world, that means you want your headlines to be very literal. For example, "woods ablaze in the Valley" will be passed over by the search engines. Put this phrase into Google and you will get sites that deal with woodland real estate sales, hiking trails that are "ablaze with color" and a digital photographer's blog about computer use in the back country. Instead it should be "brush fire in Phoenix Arizona." While it is not as sexy, your readers will be able to find it using the search engines.
Also, this phrase and other simple key words should appear several times in the body of the article. The more it appears, the more chance you have of Google listing it high up the search rankings. So simple words like "forest fire," "Maricopa County," "firefighters" "firemen" and "grass fire" should appear in there. Think hard about the search words an average person would use to find your story. The more you use, the better your chances.
Want people to flock to your weather page? Make sure that all the county names, region names, the state and other unsexy information appears on the page and metadata. I am continually amazed at all the weather pages with no mention of the town or state. The headline will read "Reg's forecast." Instead, it should read "WBBC Channel 41 Reg Thomas Weather Forecast for Smithville Arkansas."
Also, make sure these terms are in text form, not embedded in graphics. You may create that perfect design component by exporting your text and graphics as jpg files, but to Google, they don't exist. Make sure all keywords are in text format.
Watch for pages that have little or no copy, for example, video streaming pages where we let the video speak for itself. Text makes your site more searchable. Ideal is 200-500 words of text on the page. Google is suspect of pages that don't contain a modicum of text. Integrate all of the keywords you can. Don't worry about using the same keywords over and over again.
If you're wondering what keywords will yield the best results, check out Google's Keyword Tool. Put in the word or phrase you're using and Google will give you suggestions of other similar words that deliver solid search results.
http://s4587.gridserver.com/pages/media_items/google-keyword-suggestions302.php
In summary - remember Dorothy, you are not broadcasting in Kansas any more. This is the internet and it requires a radically different writing style that appeals to both the general public and mindless searchbots tucked away in some cold warehouse equipment rack in cyberspace. Don't lose your creativity, but make sure you include the basic components that demand attention from the search engines.
