SEO trends in the media industry

Gwen Milder, Senior SEO Editor at The Washington Post, delves into SEO for the media industry and breaking news. Unlike other industries where SEO can become standardized and formulaic, the media vertical constantly introduces fresh challenges. Beyond the volatility of SERPs, there's the ongoing challenge of understanding and adapting to the evolving news consumption habits of people. Today, Gwen discusses SEO trends in the media industry.
About the speaker

Gwen Milder

The Washington Post

is a little camera shy

Gwen is Senior SEO Editor at The Washington Post

Show Notes

  • 01:28
    Navigating SEO in the news and media industry
    Media companies face unique challenges in SEO due to their coverage of a wide range of topics. Given the rapid and volatile nature of SERPs in the media industry, these companies must prioritize SEO strategies to maintain visibility and relevance.
  • 02:23
    Monitoring SERP volatility for actionable insights
    The Washington Post focuses on metrics like rank and average rank, but they also connect these metrics to what the audience wants. By making the connection between the KPIs, metrics, and audience, SEO can provide actionable advice for content creators within the company.
  • 04:08
    Balancing SEO and news coverage at The Washington Post
    The Washington Post Writing equips its writing, editing, and reporting teams with SEO best practices. While they capitalize on topics with high audience interest, they also leverage the Post's authority in certain areas and search data to ensure they're meeting the search user.
  • 06:17
    SEOs approach to breaking news at The Washington Post
    In breaking news situations, SEO advises on keywords and topics for headlines, ensuring timely publication while optimizing for search. It also guides editorial decisions by anticipating audience interest in news events or topics, enhancing content relevance for search.
  • 09:10
    Building relationships with non SEOs in news and media
    This involves translating technical aspects into understandable terms for editorial teams and prioritizing data storytelling over just presenting metrics. Trust is essential; it's cultivated over time through small, daily news wins, transparency, and setting expectations about experiments.
  • 11:58
    Considerations for SEOs entering the news and media industry
    Working in news SEO presents daily challenges, but the unique mission of journalism and the opportunity to tackle new and diverse SEO challenges can be exciting. The industry offers the chance to innovate and experiment, especially as news consumption habits evolve.
  • 14:01
    AI and adapting to changes in search
    As AI becomes more integrated in search, SEO will continue evolving with an emphasis on content quality. Rather than fearing change, focus on leveraging AI to streamline tasks and remain adaptable and adapt to evolving search dynamics within Google.
  • 16:42
    The Washington Post's approach to AI
    The Washington Post maintains a cautious approach towards AI, with high standards set for its usage and discussion. There isn't an official stance yet, as the organization is taking time to observe developments and assess implications with input from standards and ethics experts.

Quotes

  • "With KPIs and metrics, one of the things we do is relate it back to an audience in terms of what elements on the SERP indicate about the audiences wants. This produces more actionable advice for content creators." - Gwen Milder

  • "The quality of the content will continue to become more and more important if AI can answer certain queries." - Gwen Milder

  • "You could argue Google hasn't figured out how people are changing their news consumption habits. In that way, you can be innovative and be more experimental than other industries or verticals within the SEO space." - Gwen Milder

  • "Sometimes we can retroactively update fields such as the headline. But, with news SEO and the recency bias, we want to get breaking news out as quickly as we can." - Gwen Milder

About the speaker

Gwen Milder

The Washington Post

is a little camera shy

Gwen is Senior SEO Editor at The Washington Post

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