Thanks to an insightful article by Barry Adams, a leading professional in news media SEO, we came across a piece focused on optimizing news stories for SEO in digital newspapers. What’s notable is that it zeroes in on purely editorial considerations, setting aside issues of authority and technical factors. Let’s review the points he raises and add a bit of personal experience along the way.
SEO Optimization of News Headlines
This is the first aspect Barry emphasizes. It’s extremely important, not just from an editorial standpoint, but also for SEO. A headline is the first point of contact with Google Search and the various channels, carousels, and modules that draw on news content—so getting it right is crucial. The title must clearly reflect the topic of the article and should include your chosen keyword as early as possible, while still sounding natural.
In many cases, Google will pick up on terms even if we don’t use them verbatim—for instance, if we mention “Lebrón” in a sports context, it may infer we’re talking about “LeBron James.” But if there’s any doubt, it’s better to use the full name. We should also be mindful of potential double meanings to ensure Google correctly interprets the news item. And of course, we must always keep the reader front and center.
Content Freshness
Fresh content is something Google consistently favors. The assumption is that a recently published article is more current and therefore less likely to be outdated or inaccurate. This is especially critical for appearing in Google News and certain news carousels.
Publishing first can be advantageous, but sometimes it’s worth taking a bit more time to craft a stronger piece that establishes you as the go-to source on a subject in Google’s eyes. In other situations, you might want to follow up with additional coverage to maintain momentum. As for quick tricks like changing publication dates or URLs, proceed with caution—what works today could be penalized tomorrow.
The Featured Image or “Hero Image”
While images themselves aren’t strictly a ranking factor, a compelling photo can significantly boost click-through rates. It’s generally ill-advised to publish a news piece without an accompanying image. According to Barry Adams, in the realm of news products specifically, Google may not deeply analyze images due to the computational expense. Even so, Adams suggests that images of people often yield the best results in terms of engagement.
Prominence
Prominence has always been—and will continue to be—one of the most critical factors in newsworthiness. A famous person or institution is always going to draw more attention than an anonymous subject, and the bigger or more important the story, the better its placement on websites and newspapers. In that sense, prominence translates to how digital news outlets promote certain stories—for instance, showcasing them prominently on the homepage, which is often the site’s most influential page in SEO terms.
Subtitle or Lead Paragraph
Subtitles or “entradillas” are widely used in newspapers. Sometimes they serve as a brief hook for the reader; other times they’re a concise summary of the article. This section is an ideal spot to include a few secondary keywords that relate to your main keyword. It’s also a good idea to mark this text with an HTML <h2> tag.
The Article Body
Surprisingly, Barry Adams notes that the body of the text isn’t as pivotal as many might think. As an SEO specialist, he prefers giving journalists the freedom to focus on strong reporting. That said, he does recommend maintaining a coherent hierarchy of HTML headings and sprinkling in phrases that help Google understand the topic or entity being discussed—ensuring there’s no confusion. He also suggests posing questions within the article and then answering them, which could prompt Google to highlight those Q&A snippets in search results.
Internal Links
Traditional SEO manuals have always stressed the importance of adding a few internal links to other articles on your site, plus maybe one to an authoritative external website. Although technology is evolving and links may carry slightly less weight for large news outlets these days, internal linking still helps reinforce signals of authority. Many modern CMS platforms even offer automated options for internal linking—sometimes powered by AI.
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