News Site

Content and SEO Strategy

Headline (Title)

Length

The ideal range is 50-60 characters, which is about 10 words. This allows the full headline to be visible on a search engine listing.

Examples
  • 鈥淯SF selected as the international headquarters of the Global Virus Network; Dr. Robert Gallo, world-renowned scientist and co-discoverer of HIV, joins USF medical school faculty鈥� (153 characters, 177 characters with spaces, 26 words)
  • 鈥淯SF named international headquarters of Global Virus Network, HIV co-discoverer joins faculty鈥� (83 characters, 93 characters with spaces, 12 words)
  • 鈥淣ew study: How healthy food samples influence what you buy鈥� (49 characters, 58 characters with spaces, 10 words)

Content

Keywords
  • Include the primary keyword/phrase
  • Search engines need to understand the content through keywords
    • 鈥淗ow music can help boost cognition in cancer patients and COVID-19 survivors鈥�
  • 鈥淗ealing power of music鈥� (not enough information)
Action-Oriented Words
  • Utilize action-oriented words (why/how)
  • Users typically incorporate a question into their search
  • Google鈥檚 algorithm prioritizes content that answers questions
    • 鈥淗ow healthy food samples influence what you buy鈥�
Include 鈥淯SF鈥� in Headline
  • When to include 鈥淯SF鈥� in the headline:
    • Major announcements
      • 鈥淯.S. News ranks USF a top 50 public university, best value among all Florida universities鈥�
    • Content unique to USF as an institution
      • 鈥淯SF community mobilizes to aid in hurricane recovery鈥�
    • Goal is brand awareness
      • 鈥淎AU membership fueling USF鈥檚 momentum鈥�
Do Not Include 鈥淯SF鈥� in Headline
  • When it鈥檚 not necessary to include 鈥淯SF鈥� in the headline:
    • Research findings with national/international interest
      • 鈥淣ew study finds working while sick actually harms productivity and retention鈥�
    • Internal audience and/or length constraints
      • 鈥淭wenty-seven faculty members recognized with Outstanding Research Achievement Awards鈥�

URL (Filename)

Content

  • The URL should the exact naming convention of the headline. The maximum character limit is 120 characters (including spaces).
    • /news/2024/how-healthy-food-samples-influence-what-you-buy.aspx

Structure

  • Make sure 鈥�.pcf鈥� in included at the end of the filename. Otherwise, it will cause an error.
    • how-healthy-food-samples-influence-what-you-buy.pcf

Article Content

Text

  • Establish a key phrase (primary keyword) that describes the main topic
  • List the most important words and/or phrases
  • Put yourself in the mindset of your audience. What would they type in the search bar? List those words and/or phrases.
  • Compare the two lists. If they don鈥檛 align, modify the content so that it includes more of the keywords your audience is searching for.
  • Utilize key phrase and 鈥溌槎故悠碘�� within the first 100 words
  • Use synonyms (secondary keywords) for the key phrase throughout the text
  • Embed hyperlinks (1 per 150 words)
    • 2-5 internal links (USF websites)
    • 1-3 external links (government websites, journal publication)
  • Include long-tail keywords (4 words is ideal)
    • 鈥淗urricane Helene volunteer opportunities鈥�
  • When applicable, include a call to action
    • 鈥淥pportunities for members of the USF community to give back, support, and volunteer for Hurricane Helene relief can be found in our Disaster Relief Resources.鈥� (hyperlink)

Visuals

  • Include captions (formatting doesn鈥檛 always allow space for captions)
  • Alternative Description (alt-text): fully describe the image
    • 鈥淯SF President Rhea Law greets USF students at USF Day at the Capitol in Tallahassee鈥�

Metadata

MultiEdit > Parameters

Description
  • Descriptions tell searchers what they will find when they click on your article
  • They can get shortened in search results if it鈥檚 too long.
    • They should be no more than 155-160 characters (including spaces) to ensure it doesn't get cut off mid-sentence.
  • Include a Call to Action
    • Provide a strong CTA and a description that tells them about the content in your article (this helps with Click Through Rates (CTRs)!)
  • Using keyword(s) in your descriptions allows search engines to understand the intent of your article and promote more clicks
  • Include 麻豆视频
    • Not just 鈥淯SF鈥�
Example
  • Original: USF researchers are stepping up, launching critical initiatives to strengthen hurricane preparedness and insights following historical Milton and Helene.
  • Updated: Discover how 麻豆视频 researchers are launching initiatives to strengthen hurricane preparedness following historical Milton and Helene.
Keywords
  • Google no longer takes them into account in ranking for SEO
  • Include keywords in the Description and article content, but not in 鈥淜eywords鈥� field.

MultiEdit > MultiEdit Content

Listing Summary
  • Should summarize the article (150-160 words) with keywords, not just the first sentence of the article
  • Include 鈥溌槎故悠碘��
    • Not just 鈥淯SF鈥�
Alt Text (Image Description)
  • Alt Text is descriptive text that conveys the most basic and important information
  • It ensures screen reader users can access the image information
    • If an image fails to load on a page, this text will appear in its place
  • Do not use "Image of鈥�/鈥淧icture of鈥� unless it adds context
  • Ex: Watercolor painting of crashing waves in the Atlantic Ocean
  • Search engines also use alt text when ranking web pages on their search results page
    • This does not apply to the homepage, which utilizes the headline as the image description