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
  • “USF 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” (153 characters, 177 characters with spaces, 26 words)
  • “USF named international headquarters of Global Virus Network, HIV co-discoverer joins faculty” (83 characters, 93 characters with spaces, 12 words)
  • “New study: How healthy food samples influence what you buy” (49 characters, 58 characters with spaces, 10 words)

Content

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

URL (Filename)

Content

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

Structure

  • Make sure “.pcf” 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’t align, modify the content so that it includes more of the keywords your audience is searching for.
  • Utilize key phrase and “University of South Florida” 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)
    • “Hurricane Helene volunteer opportunities”
  • When applicable, include a call to action
    • “Opportunities for members of the USF community to give back, support, and volunteer for Hurricane Helene relief can be found in our Disaster Relief Resources.” (hyperlink)

Visuals

  • Include captions (formatting doesn’t always allow space for captions)
  • Alternative Description (alt-text): fully describe the image
    • “USF President Rhea Law greets USF students at USF Day at the Capitol in Tallahassee”

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’s 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 University of South Florida
    • Not just “USF”
Example
  • Original: USF researchers are stepping up, launching critical initiatives to strengthen hurricane preparedness and insights following historical Milton and Helene.
  • Updated: Discover how University of South Florida 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 “Keywords” field.

MultiEdit > MultiEdit Content

Listing Summary
  • Should summarize the article (150-160 words) with keywords, not just the first sentence of the article
  • Include “University of South Florida”
    • Not just “USF”
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”/“Picture of” 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