The document provides SEO strategies for news publications, focusing on keyword research, image optimization, and crafting engaging headlines to enhance search visibility. Key resources for keyword research include Google Suggest, Keywords Everywhere, and Google Trends, while effective image naming and alt tag practices are also highlighted. Additionally, the document outlines the importance of sharing content on social media and factors influencing Google News rankings.

1. SEO Research For
News Publications
Joe Balestrino

2. Table Of Contents
● Keyword Research
● Google Suggest
● Keywords Everywhere
● Google Trends
● Create Search Friendly Headlines
● When to Use Keywords
● Image Optimization
○ Properly Name Images
○ Image Naming Tips
○ How to Name Similar Images
● Writing ALT Tags for Images
● Sharing News Content
● How Does Google Rank Stories?

3. Keyword Research
Once you’ve decided on a topic. Some keyword research
tools you can use are:
● Google Suggest
● Google Suggest + Keywords Everywhere (chrome
extension)
● Google Trends

4. Google Suggest
When using Google
search you’ll see
suggestions based on
what people are
searching most.

5. Keywords Everywhere
This a chrome extension plugin
that will help provide additional
keywords and insights into
keywords.
The Keywords Everywhere
extension is a free SEO keyword
research tool that shows you
useful google keyword search
volume and cost per click data on
multiple websites.

6. Keywords Everywhere
In search results you’ll
find other related
keywords along with
the search volume.

7. Google Trends
Google Trends has
a few useful tools
that can help you
craft the perfect
article.
At a glance you
can see what’s
trending on
Google for the
day, real time and
by location.

8. Google Trends
You can also
find out what’s
trending by topic
(people, cars,
politicians,
teams, TV shows
etc…)

9. Google Trends
Compare
keywords to find
what’s used
most often.

10. Google Trends
You can also
compare those
same keywords
by location.

11. Create Search Friendly Headlines
Headlines should contain:
● Who
● What
If possible add one or two of the following:
● Where
● When
When people perform a search it’s to follow up on a news story they heard or read
somewhere else.
Title stories to attract readers with words that invite curiosity or invoke strong
feelings!

12. When to Use Keywords
Your target keywords should appear in the:
● Title of the article - Google typically displays the first 50–60 characters of a
title tag. If you keep your titles under 60 characters, research suggests that
you can expect about 90% of your titles to display properly.
● Meta description - 300 characters or less.
● First sentence / paragraph
When sharing on social media you can use more “edgy” titles to entice viewers to
clicks.

13. Image Optimization
● Images should be named using keywords
● Alt tag should support image
● This image is named GettyImages-1040019822-550x330.jpg
This image is not about Getty
Images.
This is a photo of President
Donald Trump Speaking at the
UN

14. Properly Name Images
Here is how CNN named the image 80925062657-president-trump-speaks-at-un-
in-2017-super-tease.jpg

15. Image Naming Tips
Images can include the following:
● Names of people, Places & things
● Dates (month, day or year)
● Descriptive - Colors
Alternative ways to describe this photo:
1. Donald-Melania-Trump-Air-Force-One
2. Melania-Trump-Red-Coat
3. Donald-Trump-with-First-Lady-Melania
How you name the photo can depend on what the story you’re writing is about.

16. How To Name Similar Images?
There are different ways to optimize similar photos on a page. Multiple photos of
the president speaking at the UN could be written...
● President-Trump-UN
● Trump-Speaks-at-the-UN
● President-Donald-Trump-speaks-UN
● President-Trump-United-Nations
● President-Trump-UN-Sept-2018
You can always abbreviate the naming of the image and be more descriptive in the
alt tag.

17. Writing ALT Tags for Images
Okay alt text: alt="man on escalator"
Better alt text: alt="man walking on
escalator"
Best alt text: alt="man wearing backpack
walking down escalator"
Keep it (relatively) short. The most popular screen readers cut off alt text at around 125
characters, so it's advisable to keep it to that character count or less.

18. Sharing News Content
After an article has been completed it should be shared on both the writer’s and
the organization’s social media accounts. Use relevant and popular hashtags.
You can use Hashtagoftheday to identify the most popular hashtags to use.

19. How Does Google Rank Stories?
In general, Google News aims to promote original journalism, as well as to expose
users to diverse perspectives. Ranking in Google News is determined
algorithmically based on a number of factors, including:
● Freshness of content
● Diversity of content
● Rich textual content
● Originality of content
● User preferences for topics or publishers

20. Q & A