Patrick Beeson

Newspaper Web sites should be information mines for folks searching the Web using Google, Yahoo! and other other search engines. Yet many sites don't even come up in the top 10 search results for the city in which they're located.

There are several things newspapers' can do to improve their search engine optimization, or SEO. Some are as easy as writing more keyword-laden headlines, others may take a entire site redesign.

But all are important to the success of newspapers on the Web, which directly correlates to their long-term survival.

Headlines are very important to search engines in several ways.

First, the headline is usually pulled into the "title" HTML element for a story template. Keyword use in the page title is one of the most positive factors for effective SEO.

If your content management system isn't displaying the story headline in the page title, you need to ask your site manager to make this happen immediately.

In addition to the "title," headlines are also be pulled into a "heading" HTML element on a given story page. This is usually an "h2," since the site branding occupies the "h1" element. (Remember to use "h1" only once per page!)

This example from a CNN political blog contains several flaws, most noticably the lack of a "heading" element (view source to see code). Search engines don't place as high of a priority on "div" elements, even with a sematic class.

Headlines also play a role in RSS feeds and throughout a site itself. Many folks, myself included, don't even bother clicking to a story unless it effectively describes the content to be displayed.

It's never a good idea to rely on context for Web headlines. Assume that the only thing a user will see is the headline itself, not the thumbnail photo beside it on your homepage.

Well-written headlines for the Web should contain keywords that relate to the content to which they belong. Proper nouns such as names, locations, brands and other items are all good to use.

Google has a tool developed for their AdWords product that can help derive keyword ideas.

Often, bad headlines are those taken directly from the print newspaper. Those headlines depend on the context provided by the packaging of content such as photos, read-in text and other elements.

Here is one example taken from the Web site of The Tuscaloosa News:

Sudduth's space

This headline makes no sense when presented on the T-News' site, which doesn't display the story's read-in text:

Folk artist's spot to be left unfilled as Kentuck festival mourns loss of five

With a little massaging, this read-in could be the story's headline on the Web.

A good tip for writing effective Web headlines is to think: "How would someone searching for this story find it? What keywords would I use in Google?"