Here's a post from my blog. You can read more blog posts here.
So, a big news story breaks in your town, and you know you'll post it online. You want people to read your story, right? So you figure you'll use some of that SEO -- search engine optimization -- you've heard about. But does it really work? I mean, those headlines sure don't measure up from a pure print perspective.
Mark Colosimo, executive editor of Suburban Life Publications in Chicago, knows SEO works. Here's why.
A guy named Eric Gilford was wanted in the murder of his pregnant wife. The story had big potential, and Colosimo wanted readers coming to his websites for the story. Gilford is from Downers Grove -- one of the big towns in the Suburban Life portfolio -- and his wife was found slain in Villa Park, a nearby suburb. But Colosimo also knew news organizations in Chicago would be crawling all over the story.
Once Colosimo's team had some good stuff -- one of their employees had worked in Fargo, N.D., where Gilford's car was found, so they had some good info early -- they worked hard on the headline to move up in online searches. Here's what worked:
- Use the first and last name. Colosimo's team used Eric Gilford's full name in the online headline.
- Use the full town name. They went with both Gilford's hometown and the town where his wife was found in the headline.
- Include other words folks would search for. The story was about a man wanted in the slaying of his pregnant wife, so "pregnant wife" definitely made it into the headline.
In the end, the headline was long, but effective. In Google Analytics, the stories about Gilford are worth almost 10,000 pageviews. The story, follow-ups and related stories still sit atop a Google search for "Eric Gilford" and a Google News search for his name. Here was the final headline:
Manhunt continues for Eric Gilford of Downers Grove after Villa Park slaying of pregnant wife
And the original headline (before SEO):
Man sought for questioning after fatal stabbing of pregnant wife
As they added specifics, Colosimo saw the story jump to the top of those searches. Here's the way a Google News search looks today:
If you have examples of how SEO worked for you, comment here or send me an email at jhodges@gatehousemedia.com.
Here's a post from my blog. You can read more blog posts here.
So, a big news story breaks in your town, and you know you'll post it online. You want people to read your story, right? So you figure you'll use some of that SEO -- search engine optimization -- you've heard about. But does it really work? I mean, those headlines sure don't measure up from a pure print perspective.
Mark Colosimo, executive editor of Suburban Life Publications in Chicago, knows SEO works. Here's why.
A guy named Eric Gilford was wanted in the murder of his pregnant wife. The story had big potential, and Colosimo wanted readers coming to his websites for the story. Gilford is from Downers Grove -- one of the big towns in the Suburban Life portfolio -- and his wife was found slain in Villa Park, a nearby suburb. But Colosimo also knew news organizations in Chicago would be crawling all over the story.
Once Colosimo's team had some good stuff -- one of their employees had worked in Fargo, N.D., where Gilford's car was found, so they had some good info early -- they worked hard on the headline to move up in online searches. Here's what worked:
- Use the first and last name. Colosimo's team used Eric Gilford's full name in the online headline.
- Use the full town name. They went with both Gilford's hometown and the town where his wife was found in the headline.
- Include other words folks would search for. The story was about a man wanted in the slaying of his pregnant wife, so "pregnant wife" definitely made it into the headline.
In the end, the headline was long, but effective. In Google Analytics, the stories about Gilford are worth almost 10,000 pageviews. The story, follow-ups and related stories still sit atop a Google search for "Eric Gilford" and a Google News search for his name. Here was the final headline:
Manhunt continues for Eric Gilford of Downers Grove after Villa Park slaying of pregnant wife
And the original headline (before SEO):
Man sought for questioning after fatal stabbing of pregnant wife
As they added specifics, Colosimo saw the story jump to the top of those searches. Here's the way a Google News search looks today:
If you have examples of how SEO worked for you, comment here or send me an email at jhodges@gatehousemedia.com.
