Why SEO best practices still matter

Search audiences arrive with intent

My internet nostalgia remains strong, so strong that, gun to my head, I could recite quite a few Albino Black Sheep flash videos from memory. My favorite relic of the old internet, though, is StumbleUpon. You created an account and made an exhaustive list of all the things you loved or found interesting. Then you hit the Stumble button, and the site would serve up articles, videos, recipes — anything that fit your interests that you'd likely never seen before. You "stumbled upon" it.

This is the exact opposite of how readers use Google. They search with intent. They are not there to casually find your content or news stories. They have a purpose. If your content fits that purpose, then it's up to you to make it as easy as possible to find your articles with a solid SEO strategy.

Meet the SEO sisters

So here's how I teach SEO best practices. For reporters and editors, this comes down to three components that I usually refer to as the "Charmed" method, so named after the 1998 WB TV series about three witch sisters. Not everyone, sadly, has seen this show, so when I meet those people, I teach it as oldest, middle and youngest sisters.

Prue: Your SEO headline

The SEO headline represents Prue, or the oldest sister (sorry Paige fans, no disrespect, but this metaphor works best for seasons 1-3). This is the headline that appears in Google search results, and it should be no more than 65 characters long. Prue is canonically the strongest of the three sisters, and she sets the standard for how everything else should follow, as does the SEO headline. These are straightforward headlines with relevant keywords right at the front. In fact, the first three or four words should be your strongest keywords or phrase, the words people will use to find your story.

Piper: Your URL structure

Next is your URL, Piper or the middle child. Piper and Prue are close, so Piper tends to follow Prue's lead. That's why the first few words in the URL should mirror the first three or four keywords in the SEO headline. Then Piper follows her heart and asserts herself. The end of the URL might include a major name, company or location — something that middle sister cares about or considers important.

Phoebe: Your meta description

Finally, there's the meta description, the youngest sister, the Phoebe. This is the brief description that appears in search results. Its character maximum is 155, and while it loves and respects what the SEO headline and URL are doing, it's not afraid to go out on its own and grab attention. In news writing, that could be including more names and locations or highlighting the drama of the news (Ex: "Schenectady City Council wants to impose a new housing tax, but activists with Housing Action Now say that's misguided."). This is a great place to highlight what makes the story worth reading.

Takeaway: Consistency creates audience growth

In my last role, every editor and reporter knew these SEO basics, and together with proactive work from the audience team, we grew search traffic by 550% over three years. Subscriber search traffic doubled. Of course, these are the very basics, but having that foundation helped us be consistent and make some magic for our readers.

What SEO habits still make the biggest difference for your audience team?