SEO is More Important Than AP Style
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Robert Niles of The Online Journalism Review makes a compelling point. As journalism shifts more to online content, so should the style in which it is written. So say good-bye AP style and hello SEO.
Some may wonder, what is SEO? SEO stands for search engine optimization. This allows readers to find you based on the information they are searching for, instead of you going to readers through ads.
Instead of you ad just popping up at random, it will pop up because you have posted something with several keyword matches the potential reader has been searching for.
SEO techniques help to provide clear cut writing that stays to the point and on topic. It also helps to frequently reference words and phrases that match the articles topic.
This would be great if, like AP style, there was a book to tell writers how to do this effectively. One day though, SEO might just be the new AP style and taught to journalism students through out the country.
4 comments:
SEO is more an art than a science, as opposed to AP style, which is designed to create clear rules. If someone could figure out sure-fire SEO protocols, they'd be just as rich as Sergey Brin and Larry Page.
In the money-driven world we live in, everything has to be monetized. SEO has been regarded as the go-to in online advertising. While this can be a helpful component in advertising, it can only be a part of a company's marketing mix.
Unfortunately, SEO can be abused. Writers can pack an article full of buzz words in order to make it more visible in searches. Practices like these will severly hinder the effectiveness of the SEO method.
SEO protocols are very complicated. I sell and advise my clients on effective marketing solutions and this is one of them. Search Engine Optimization takes not only money, but lots and lots of time. Not only does it look at how your stories/web pages are written, but they look at the overall structure of the website itself. The company constantly spiders your site to see if it contains keywords (moderate use, not too heavy) and "grades" you accordingly. This is definitely an effective marketing tool, but like Meredith said, it should only be used as part of your whole marketing solution.
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