How to do SEO training in a newsroom

Training expands the reach of audience/SEO editors, demystifies the work and is a catalyst for building relationships with colleagues

WTF is SEO?

Nov 25, 2024

NewzDash: 90% Off - Google Discover LIVE Monitoring

Monitor Google Discover in real-time!

Discover global content opportunities;
Stay ahead of the trends;
Spy on your competition;
Identify content opportunities;
Uncover hidden gems;
Analyze historical trends;
And much more!

Buy now!

Hello, and welcome back. Jessie here, fresh off a banner week: collage club, week five of pottery class, a Local Natives gig and a library haul featuring Intermezzo and The Plot. Crafts, music and socialism for books: name a better trio.

This week: SEO training for the newsroom! Training expands the reach of audience/SEO editors, demystifies the work and is a catalyst for building relationships with colleagues. We cover actionable tips and how to cater your training sessions to different editorial roles or key SEO concepts. Tell us in the comments (or on Slack) if you’ve led training in your newsroom — we’d love to curate a list of tips!

Gather round! Here be training! Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

Let’s get it.

In this issue:

The value of newsroom training
How to train your newsroom — for roles and by SEO effort
Building a culture of collaboration and feedback

THE 101

Why should you offer SEO training to your newsroom?

It’s easy to forget that SEO and audience are still new-ish media jobs. Not everyone understands what it is or how it helps their work.

Training spreads the SEO gospel; if everyone understands the basics, you can focus on higher-impact efforts. It amplifies your impact and shows colleagues what you, as an SEO or audience editor, bring to the table. Training demystifies your role, serving as a starting point to integrate audience in the newsroom.

You’ll know your training is a success when:

Copy editors consistently follow SEO best practices;
Editors and writers proactively reach out to collaborate with you or seek guidance;
SEO is a normal, consistent part of the newsroom’s workflow.

THE HOW TO

How to train your newsroom on SEO

Newsroom training varies for each publication. Stakeholder priorities, work arrangements (in-office or remote) and the existing knowledge base will influence the frequency and content covered. However, the core principles of effective training are consistent.

One-and-done won’t cut it: A single session isn’t enough to teach news SEO and its value. Recurring training works best. Start with a monthly drop-in session covering different topics.

At The Globe and Mail, I organized two monthly sessions: a workshop on a specific topic (e.g., Google Trends or Glimpse) and one for on-page SEO best practices, specifically for the copy editors (who handled the headlines, internal links and other treats for all stories). The result was more consistent implementation of SEO best practices and earlier collaboration for keyword research.

Journalism and SEO change rapidly. Use training to refresh your newsroom on what their priority focus should be. Yes, it’s a time-intensive investment, but the payoff is worth it.

Identify any gaps and address the easiest wins first. For example, work with the copy desk to improve internal linking. Start with what’s manageable and makes sense for your newsroom. Some training is better than none.

How to start newsroom training

Start with a session focused on what reporters and editors need to know. Skip the technical stuff for now.

Schedule a drop-in session open to the entire newsroom, including leadership (their interest might surprise you, and their buy-in is so valuable).
Schedule a time to cover the basics:
- Who you are, your role and how to get in touch (Slack, email, where your desk is in the office);
- The fundamentals of SEO and your search strategy;
- How audience/SEO work benefits the organization (and improves the visibility of their stories);
- How reporters and editors can reach out for help on stories.
Record the session and share it widely.

After, create a schedule for future training and topics to cover each session. Promote this at the end of the first session and regularly communicate these trainings to the newsroom.

Pick a lane: By role or by topic

Establish a training cadence and decide on an approach, either by role or by topic. (You can also elect to use a hybrid approach: topic-based workshops tailored to each role.)

By role: Tailor content to the needs of specific teams

Key focus: Align SEO best practices and goals with editorial priorities. (This list is not comprehensive, but rather ideas to get you started.)

Assignment/commissioning editors: Explain how SEO helps for story planning, headline optimization, evergreen content and when stories should be published. Ask about upcoming tentpole events or key coverage areas to understand their priorities and how to help. The goal is to build relationships with editors.
Programming or homepage editors: Highlight the SEO value of the homepage and section URLs. Explain the benefit of re-promoting evergreen content and updating the navigation with tag pages for specific events for visibility and reach of the journalism. Success is having homepage editors promote relevant content regularly without reminders.
Writers/reporters: Explain the basics of keyword research. Demonstrate how to use tools like Google Trends to identify story ideas or uncover questions relevant to their beat. You’ve succeeded if reporters seek your help enhancing their stories.
Copy editors: Review on-page SEO best practices (headlines, meta descriptions, links, images and URLs). Go over internal tools used for SEO, like spreadsheets or Slack docs. Ask for feedback on improving workflow. Success is a collaborative working relationship and consistent adherence to best practices.

By topic: Tailor content to a specific area of SEO

Key focus: There are three main content SEO concepts the newsroom should know: keyword research, on-page SEO best practices and tooling.

Keyword research: Aimed primarily at writers/editors. The focus of this session is using free/accessible tools like Google Trends, Glimpse and Google itself to uncover story ideas, subtopics and questions to include in reporting. Also, include how to ask SEO/audience editors for help.
On-page SEO: Aimed primarily at editors who handle “page furniture.” The focus of this workshop is best practices for headlines, decks, URLs, internal linking, etc. Leave room for conversation about workflow for handling stories.
Tooling: Open to anyone, this session likely overlaps with other workshops as it covers tools like Google Trends and Glimpse, but can also review internal resources like spreadsheets, Slack docs or channels. Make time in the sessions for conversations around improving internal workflows.

How to get people to show up

Make sure everyone in your newsroom knows about the training. Reach out to section editors and ask them to encourage their teams to attend. Offer to join section meetings to provide guidance or run a condensed version of the workshop. Always record training sessions for those who can’t attend. Bribes can help too — if you can expense a box of Timbits (or the regional equivalent), great! Use every channel available to promote the workshop: send emails, post on Slack, put up posters. Whatever works!

More practical tips for effective training

Use real-life examples to highlight successes. Choose a story where SEO or audience editors provided guidance, such as conducting keyword research for reporters. Outline the process, showcase the resulting story and highlight key success metrics (e.g., page views, read time or conversions).
Bring in your champions. Ask reporters you've worked with to vouch for you and speak about their experience and what they found useful.
Have a tip sheet. A one-page takeaways document can reinforce key lessons. Include links to useful resources for further learning.
Show off some tools, but don’t overwhelm. Including a demo of a tool, like Google Trends, is valuable, but keep it short in a large group setting. Make more intensive training available in smaller groups or one-on-one, where people are more likely to ask questions.
Ask reporters what stories they’re working on. If a sports reporter says they're working on the NBA finals, or a politics reporter is planning coverage of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, take notes. Ask what coverage is already planned, then follow up with suggestions for explainers, watch guides, evergreen or durable content and any other opportunities to fill gaps in their plans so far.
- Pro tip: Our focus is building relationships; frame these suggestions accordingly. Don't come off critical of the reporter's work. SEO/audience work is additive.
Build a culture that values open and honest feedback. Actively seek and make use of feedback. Dedicate time during training for feedback and follow up directly with attendees to ask what was helpful and what fell short. A simple form works, but intentionality is better.
Say thanks (and mean it): Send a follow up thank you note to anyone who took time out of their day to attend, and make a recording available to anyone who couldn’t.

Start small, stay consistent and refine your training. With time, SEO and the training you provide will become a cornerstone of your newsroom’s success, helping improve the reach of your journalism.

The bottom line: Newsroom training helps demystify SEO roles, make collaboration possible and integrates audience into the organization. Altogether, that work helps amplify the reach and impact of our journalism.

Support WTF! Buy a tote!

#SPONSORED - The Classifieds