Elections or sports championships are among the most searched topics on Google in Slovakia. Learn about the award-winning SEO strategy that helped the news website www.sme.sk win these kinds of events in organic search for the last couple of years. This presentation was part of my appearance at SEO Zraz 2020.

1. How to Take Down
a Server of a Big Media
Website

3. Too Much SEO

4. Mikulas Prokop
Freelance SEO Consultant
Blog: www.mikulasprokop.com/blog/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mikulasprokop/
Twitter: twitter.com/mikulasprokop
Email: sayseo@mikulasprokop.com

5. Big News Events

7. Why bother with SEO?

8. The Ice Hockey World Championships 2015-2017
2015 2016 2017

9. The Ice Hockey World Championships 2015-2018
+ 1 700 %
2015 2016 2017 2018

10. The Ice Hockey World Championships 2015-2019
+ 134 %
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

11. Doing SEO = doing better content

12. 5thingsyoushouldknow
1. know your time
2. know your topic
3. know your SERP
4. know your assets
5. know your weak spots

13. Know your time

14. Traditional SEO

15. News Events SEO

16. 3 stages

17. Before

18. During

19. After

20. “User intent & SERP
is changing at every
stage of the event.

21. Keyword: “presidential election 2019”
Date
Candidates
Preferences
News
AfterDuringBefore
How
Where
Exit Polls
Live results
Results
Maps
Numbers

22. Start early
● Create the event section and supporting pages at
least half a year before the event
● Create as much content as possible in advance
● Test your content before the main event

23. Know your topic

24. Read & learn

26. Source:Sitebulb

27. Imagine all the content formats!
● news article
● video article
● interview
● podcast
● static event page
● homepage
● live results
● live commentary
● entities
● infographics
● graphs
● images
● debates
● guides
● results
● glossary

28. Target every topic
that relates to the event.
Use all the forms and
formats that fit the SERP.
“

29. Know your SERP

30. Two years ago,
I barely looked at SERP.
Now, I am looking
there most of the time.
“

34. Different users want
different types of content.
Repurpose your content
as much as possible.
Target every user/content
preference.
“

37. When your domain
authority is high enough,
keyword cannibalization
is not an issue.
It’s an opportunity.
“

38. Mobile SERP looks different

39. Know your assets

40. Take the full advantage
of your domains, sub-
domains, and content
that already exists.
“

41. Internal links are huge!

42. Cross-domain navigation

43. Site-wide navigation

44. Site-wide widgets

45. Section-wide widgets

46. Entities

47. Articles

48. Know your weak spots

49. One week after
the event, you don’t
remember a lot of
what you did/saw.
“

50. Thorough reporting
● Take notes before, during and after the event
● There is always room for improvement
● Don’t just report the data, learn from the data
● What was working the last year, doesn’t have to
work the next

51. 5thingsyoushouldknow
1. know your time
2. know your topic
3. know your SERP
4. know your assets
5. know your weak spots

52. Award Winning Strategy
Digital PIE
● Digital PIE 2019 (winner)
● Digital PIE 2020 (winner)
European Content Awards
● Media / Publishing Content Campaign of the Year
(winner)
● Pan European Content Campaign of the Year (finalist)
● Content Strategy of the Year (finalist)
● Low Budget Content Campaign of the Year (finalist)
European Search Awards
● Best Low Budget Campaign (finalist)
● Most Innovative Campaign (finalist)
Global Digital Excellence Awards
● Global Organic Content Campaign of
the Year (finalist)
Global Search Awards
● Best Low Budget Campaign (finalist)
● Most Innovative Campaign (finalist)

53. sayseo@mikulasprokop.com