Building successful, effective brands take copious amounts of work and dedication. For entities seeking to dominate among one or more particular audiences, search engine optimization is without a doubt a very valuable tactic. While some brands may be able to afford to promote their offerings via digital marketing campaigns on social media and beyond, organic reach through passive means is inherently valuable.

News websites in particular must have a strong SEO game, as being able to rank highly in search results for late-breaking stories can make or break the brand itself. Today, we’ll examine which SEO tactics are absolutely essential in improving the performance and reach of news sites.

Incorporate Evergreen Content Where Possible

News websites face a fundamentally challenging dilemma that many other websites don’t: the content they create also immediately begins to lose its value. Unlike static websites reporting on ideas and topics that don’t necessarily change, news websites focus on late-breaking items and current events. By pinging servers with this type of content, you’re restricting the inherent long-term value of content.

However, news websites can find ways in which to incorporate evergreen content into their news items. One such strategy involves incorporating and linking to various evergreen posts and pages in each news article. By integrating evergreen content into as many news items as possible, you can ensure your traffic flow continues to remain viable and that both news items and evergreen content get attention.

Target Search Engine News Sections

Essential for any brand promoting a news agenda, being featured in news sections on search engines like Google can help deliver tons of new traffic. There are guidelines that must be met to ensure inclusion on these sites, but once achieved, you can then target keywords and SERPs both in traditional search segments and in news sections. When people search for a particular news item, the chances of your article being seen – especially if created and published in a timely manner – increase exponentially. News websites from all walks of life and with followings large and small have a good opportunity of being seen when quality news content is delivered to search engines.

Use Mobile and Index-Friendly Infrastructure

News sites in particular must strive to be as functional as possible, given their need to dominate and attract attention within such short time spans and due to the sheer amount of content they host. Arguably the two most important optimizations for news sites are mobile friendliness and crawling capabilities.

In the case of mobile-friendly infrastructure, it’s more important than ever that sites serve up content that is easily viewed by mobile devices. Since more people use mobile devices to read the news than traditional computers, users will look elsewhere if your content is not easily perused. For the same reason, search engines will nerf your site visibility if it is not compatible with mobile devices.

Additionally, news sites rely on search engine crawlers quickly finding, indexing and pinging servers with your content. As such, utilizing effective strategies (including site maps) to help these crawlers find everything can make a huge difference.

News websites in many ways are different from other websites, but many of the same rules apply. For news platforms specifically, ensuring that your site is friendly to both crawlers and mobile users, incorporating evergreen content as often as possible, and targeting search engine news sections can help improve overall SEO strategies regardless of niche.