super stories

About

• Joined COX Media in May, 2014• Implementing/Monitoring SEO strategy

for all T.V. stations. • Previous: Senior SEO Strategist for

B2B eCommerce company, Instawares.• Background: Web Development,

WordPress, Video, Organic Link Building, Technical Site Optimization

Super StoriesOptimal Formats for Increased Search Engine Traffic

“Trifexis 700 Dog Deaths”

Rankings

[trifexis investigation] - #1[trifexis dog deaths] - #3[trifexis] - #6[trifexis deaths] - #4[flea drug deaths] - #1[drug that’s killing dogs] - #1[dog med deaths] - #1[trifexis recall] - #5 [flea medication causing dog deaths]- #1

Sustained Organic Traffic

Spiked Organic TrafficSubsequent national stories cause people to “research” the story online.

We receive high traffic to these pages during peak interest periods.

Google continually rewards us for being an “authority” on the Trifexis scandal.

Same way generations of students used the same text books for research projects.

Why The High Rankings?

Extra Special Attention For Trifexis Story

- Producers retroactively went back and “optimized” the pages in lieu of local Emmy nomination.

- Time was spent inserting relevant links, videos, pictures, and documents related to the story.

- It’s original content, first published by WSBTV and unique to our website.

Topic Hubs

Groups of Pages Focusing on One Topic http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/company-insists-flea-drug-not-cause-dog-fatalities/nbqgn/

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/owners-blame-700-dog-deaths-trifexis/nb5B4/

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/dog-owners-question-link-between-meds-and-deaths/nbpSg/

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/owners-vets-reporting-even-more-deaths-connected-t/ngq59/

Connect Stories

FUTURE RANKING CREDIT

Establishing Authority on a Subject

Because we’ve published so many articles regarding Trifexis it gives us authority when publishing follow-up stories.

Google associates WSBTV.com with Trifexis.

That first big article is critical when opening a story up. Paying extra attention to on-page factors pays dividends down the road.

Implementation - Basics

Title Tag & Headline

First thing Google crawls. Two Types: • Title Tag (bottom Medley)• Headline (top Medley)

Title Tag

Found in the “Metadata” section near bottom of page.Title Tag• Appears at the top of browser

when viewing a page.• Used by social networks as

link anchor text.• First element of a web page

Google crawls. • Capitalize Every Word

Optimizing Title Tag

Optimal Format: Primary Keyword – Secondary KeywordMeta DescriptionTry to follow the same format by includingkey phrases that searchers would beusing to find the story.

The Headline

H1 – The Headline of the Story (1 per page)

It’s the 2nd major piece of information Google Crawler sees (behind title tag)

Outputted Automatically

Optimizing The Headline

Be Descriptive As Possible

• Think of how you’d be looking for the article in a year. (what words you’d use to bring it up in search)

• If it’s location-based, then make sure to include location+keyword. I.E. – “Atlanta Area School Board Member Dismissed After 2nd DUI Conviction”

• Start Every Word With a Capital Letter

The Slug

Never Go Back and Change

• Important to be descriptive and include keywords related to the story.

• Exclude “stop” words: a, the, and, is etc.• Short and to the point, stripped down

version of the Headline.• URL is what many people will first see

when viewing in search results and social media.

Meta Description

Description in Search Results• Include keywords and be descriptive. • Try to accurately describe what the story

is about. • Found at the bottom under the “Metadata”

section. • Include main keyword(s) at the beginning.

Related Objects

A Better User Experience

It’s worth adding as many related objects as possible to a story.

Think of a user who seeks a comprehensive source for learning about the Trifexis case.

Increase the time a user spends on page by giving them more to look at.

Photos

• Sends quality signals to Google.• Pictures embedded in articles may

show up in Google Image search.• Users can pick which photo to

attach when sharing on social networks.

Optimizing Photos

Photo Meta Data is CrucialTitle: Be descriptive as related to the story.I.E.- “Bishop The Dog – Trifexis Case.”Slug: Same thing. Try to describe the picture and include a keyword from the article. Caption: Go into more detail about what the picture is about.I.E. – “Bishop the dog was treated with the Trifexis medication and began to suffer seizures. This is the last photo taken of him.”

Optimizing Videos

Try To Include Any Related Videos to the Story. (related to Trifexis in this case)

Most of the video meta data is pulled from Brightcove.

The Title is the most important element when adding related video objects.

Make sure to include keyword(s).

I.E.- “Trifexis Dog Deaths”

Optimizing Documents

Related Documents Are Also Helpful

Limited control over documents because they link to another page. The title though, is what appears as the link to the documents and should be as descriptive and keyword-rich as possible.

Adding Related Stories

Internal “Select story” often fails to bring up articles.

Going to website (WSBTV.com) to look for related stories isn’t the best solution either.

Related Stories Enhance Click-Through Rates and Add Relevance for Search Engines

Related stories encourage users to click through to learn more about the story. This reduces bounce rate. The most emerging factor in Google’s algorithm is whether users “bounce back” to search results after arriving on your page.

Best Way To Add Stories

Let Google Determine What The Top “Related” Pages Are

Use the Google operator site:yoursite.com + the keyword.

Google has determined via search results which story pages perform the best. It’s best-practice to point users (and search engines) to these stories.

In-Story Links

Contextual Links Have The Highest Value

Semantically, body links provide search crawlers context when assessing outgoing links.

Two Types: Internal Links – go to other pages on our website.External Links – go to other websites that may add more value to the subject matter of the article.

External Links

External Links Are Referrals

Links are still the #1 factor in search engine rankings.

Linking out to trusted sources makes the story more useful for visitors and also Google.

Think of when you post links on your social networks. You’re letting your “friends” know about a new song, concert, article, or funny video that you think they may like.

External Links

Sometimes it’s helpful to include links to outside sources to provide more information about who’s involved with the article.

Would the average user know about Elanco (company that makes Trifexis)?

Takeaways

1) Connecting related stories is important for users and search engines.

2) Be descriptive and include keywords in title tag, headline, meta description, and slug.

3) Related Objects are a great way of adding depth and relevance to a story.

4) Pay attention to how we tag and label these objects.5) Linking out internally and externally are a great way to

add value for users and search engines. 6) Use Google to add related stories. Don’t rely on Medley.

clayton.curtis@coxinc.com(770) 820-8925Skype: claytonalancurtis

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