7
Web isibili y and jou nalism: SEO
ips and bes p ac ices
Ca los Lopezosa
Uni e si a de Ba celona, Spain
h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0001-8619-2194
Rubén Alca az-Ma ínez
Uni e si a de Ba celona, Spain
h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-7185-0227
Ma i Vállez
Uni e si a de Ba celona, Spain
h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-3284-2590
Ma io Pé ez-Mon o o
Uni e si a de Ba celona, Spain
h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0003-2426-8119
Lopezosa, C., Alca az-Ma ínez, R., Vállez, M., & Pé ez-Mon o o, M. (2025). Web isibili y
and jou nalism: SEO ips and bes p ac ices. In J. Gualla , M. Vállez, & A. Ven u a-
Cisquella (Coo ds). Digi al communica ion. T ends and good p ac ices (pp. 7-14).
Ediciones P o esionales de la In o mación. h ps://doi.o g/10.3145/cu icom.01.eng
8
Web isibili y and jou nalism: SEO ips and bes p ac ices
Ca los Lopezosa; Rubén Alca az-Ma ínez; Ma i Vállez; Ma io Pé ez-Mon o o
Digi al communica ion. T ends and good p ac ices
Abs ac
This chap e explo es he s a egic in eg a ion o Sea ch Engine Op imiza ion (SEO) in
digi al jou nalism, emphasizing i s ole in enhancing he isibili y, c edibili y, and economic
sus ainabili y o media ou le s. I begins by de ining SEO and i s e olu ion owa d seman ic
SEO and Sea ch Expe ience Op imiza ion (SXO), s essing he balance be ween algo i hmic
op imiza ion and jou nalis ic in eg i y. The chap e ou lines bes p ac ices o keywo d
esea ch, headline op imiza ion, seman ic ma kup, and use expe ience imp o emen s,
p o iding ac ionable ecommenda ions o jou nalis s, edi o s, and echnical eams. Finally, i
discusses SEO as a c i ical componen o sus ainable business models in media, ad oca ing
o an e hical and quali y-d i en app oach o digi al con en p oduc ion.
Keywo ds
SEO; Digi al jou nalism; Web isibili y; SXO; Keywo d esea ch; Seman ic SEO; use expe i-
ence; Media sus ainabili y; News ooms; Con en op imiza ion.
1. In oduc ion
Sea ch engine op imiza ion (SEO) is a key ac o o online media ou le s (Codina e al.,
2016), as i de e mines how many po en ial use s ( eade s) can access he news published on
he in e ne (Dick, 2011). To ensu e ha news a icles and epo s each he wides possible
audience, jou nalis s mus apply good SEO p ac ices—a se o s a egies aimed a imp o ing
he anking o con en such as news, a icles, epo s, e c., in sea ch engines like Google.
SEO in he jou nalis ic ield in ol es aspec s such as esea ching ele an keywo ds and op-
imizing headlines (Lopezosa & Codina, 2018), making op imal use o ags and ca ego ies
(Giomelakis & Veglis, 2015a), s uc u ing ex s clea ly (Iglesias-Ga cía & Codina, 2016), and
p ope ly using echnical elemen s such as me a desc ip ions and ALT ags o images (Gio-
melakis & Veglis, 2015b). In addi ion, i is essen ial o c ea e o iginal, well-documen ed, and
high-quali y con en (Lopezosa e al., 2019).
Implemen ing all hese s a egies no only inc eases isibili y and o ganic a ic, bu also
helps s eng hen he c edibili y o he media ou le and makes i easie o eade s o ind
eliable and ele an in o ma ion (Lopezosa & Codina, 2018).
This chap e aims o p o ide a p ac ical guide o unde s anding how SEO can be e hically and
e ec i ely in eg a ed in o jou nalis ic news ooms.
2. Fundamen als o SEO in digi al media
As p e iously men ioned, SEO e e s o he se o s a egies and echniques aimed a
imp o ing he isibili y o a websi e in sea ch engines, p ima ily Google (Giomelakis & Veglis,
2015a). In he con ex o jou nalism, his means maximizing he chances ha a news a icle,
epo , o in o ma ional con en appea s among he op sea ch esul s o a use ’s ela ed
que y (Iglesias-Ga cía & Codina, 2016).
9
Web isibili y and jou nalism: SEO ips and bes p ac ices
Ca los Lopezosa; Rubén Alca az-Ma ínez; Ma i Vállez; Ma io Pé ez-Mon o o
Digi al communica ion. T ends and good p ac ices
The impo ance o SEO o media ou le s has wo main componen s: no only does i allow
a la ge po ion o eade s o access con en h ough sea ch que ies (Asse , 2012), bu i also
enables media o ganiza ions o each mul iple a ge audiences, inc ease hei in luence as
digi al media, and be e mone ize hei con en —whe he h ough ad e ising o subsc ip-
ion models.
One migh hink, hen, ha media o ganiza ions a e o ced o hink mo e abou sea ch engines
han eade s, bu no hing could be u he om he u h. I is impo an o emphasize ha
in eg a ing SEO s a egies in o jou nalis ic p oduc ion ou ines does no mean subo dina ing
in o ma ional quali y o he demands o Google’s algo i hm. Ra he , i in ol es adap ing con-
en o make i mo e accessible, disco e able, and isible (Smy naios & Rebilla d, 2009).
Clea ly, he ise o sea ch engines as he main ga eway o news has o ced media ou le s o
econ igu e hei ou ines, bu as we will see, wha ul ima ely ma e s is he quali y o he con-
en and keeping ci izens a he cen e (Fe an-Fe e e al., 2013).
In addi ion, SEO has e ol ed signi ican ly since i s incep ion. The way i was done in he pas
is e y di e en om how i is done oday—and i will change in he u u e. In ac , in i s ea ly
phase, known as adi ional SEO, op imiza ion was based on ac o s such as keywo d densi y,
HTML s uc u e, o he use o links. Howe e , his highly echnical and igid app oach soon
showed i s limi a ions as Google’s algo i hms began o p io i ize con en quali y and use
expe ience (Smy naios, 2015).
This led o he de elopmen o app oaches such as seman ic SEO and SXO (Sea ch Expe-
ience Op imiza ion). Seman ic SEO emphasizes he meaning o con en , using ools such
as s uc u ed da a, seman ic ags (like hose om Schema.o g), and w i ing ha aligns wi h
na u al language (Lopezosa e al., 2018). A he same ime, SXO ocuses on use expe ience,
highligh ing he need o con en o be use ul, easy o na iga e, accessible, and capable o
os e ing in e ac ion be ween he websi e and he use (Alca az-Ma ínez, 2024).
Today, bo h app oaches—seman ic and expe ien ial—a e inc easingly in eg a ed and com-
plemen each o he wi hin he isibili y s a egies o digi al media (Giomelakis, 2023).
Google’s Sea ch Quali y Ra ing Guidelines, i s published in 2013 and con inuously upda ed
(Google, 2025), o e aluable insigh in o he c i e ia used by he sea ch engine o e alua e
websi e quali y. Among he mos signi ican concep s ou lined in hese guidelines a e he EEAT
p inciples —Expe ience, Expe ise, Au ho i a i eness, and T us wo hiness (Alca az-Ma ínez,
2024). These p inciples add ess a ious dimensions ela ed o con en , au ho ship, and he
o e all c edibili y o a websi e, wi h he aim o de e mining whe he he in o ma ion p esen -
ed is eliable—speci ically, whe he i is p oduced by indi iduals wi h ele an knowledge and
whe he i e lec s di ec o p o essional expe ience.
Google places pa icula emphasis on applying hese p inciples in sensi i e domains such as
heal h, inance, law, and jou nalism, whe e con en quali y, accu acy, and edi o ial esponsi-
bili y a e c i ical o p e en ing misin o ma ion and sa egua ding use s. Expe ience assesses
whe he he au ho possesses i s -hand knowledge o he subjec ma e . Expe ise e e s o
he au ho ’s educa ion, compe ence, o specialized knowledge in he ield. Au ho i a i eness
e alua es whe he he au ho , page, o websi e is ecognized as a epu able sou ce wi hin i s
domain. Finally, T us wo hiness measu es whe he he con en is secu e, accu a e, u h ul,
and anspa en .
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Web isibili y and jou nalism: SEO ips and bes p ac ices
Ca los Lopezosa; Rubén Alca az-Ma ínez; Ma i Vállez; Ma io Pé ez-Mon o o
Digi al communica ion. T ends and good p ac ices
3. SEO Bes p ac ices o jou nalis s and news ooms
Below a e some o he mos common SEO p ac ices used in news media, speci ically ocusing
on keywo d selec ion and op imized w i ing, dual headlines, seman ic ma kup, and he op i-
miza ion o design, na iga ion, and websi e a chi ec u e.
To a la ge ex en , any sea ch engine op imiza ion s a egy begins wi h he iden i ica ion o
ele an keywo ds (Smy naios & Si e, 2014). In he jou nalis ic sec o , hese keywo ds should
accu a ely e lec he co e opic o he news s o y and ma ch he sea ch e ms use s commonly
employ o ind in o ma ion. To ca y ou keywo d esea ch, jou nalis s can ely on hi d-pa y
ools such as Google T ends, SEM ush, Ah e s, Majes ic, Sis ix, o e en Google’s own au o-
comple e and sugges ed sea ch e ms.
Once he p ima y and seconda y keywo ds ha e been iden i ied, hey can ypically be in e-
g a ed in o he headline (H1 ag), he i s pa ag aph, subheadings (H2, H3), he body o he
ex , he URL, and he me a desc ip ions.
This in eg a ion should be done na u ally—wi hou o cing he w i ing o comp omising he
con en ’s quali y. The e o e, na a i e luency and jou nalis ic igo emain p io i ies abo e any
SEO ac ic.
Ano he widely used SEO s a egy in news ooms is he p ac ice o dual headlines (Asse ,
2012). This in ol es using a sho , di ec headline on he media ou le ’s homepage, while
applying a second, mo e SEO-op imized headline wi hin he a icle i sel . This p ac ice, i s
adop ed by he BBC and la e s anda dized, allows media ou le s o combine edi o ial impac
wi h web isibili y (Smy naios, 2015).
Beyond he headline, i is also ecommended o s uc u e con en s a egically. This usually
in ol es including hie a chical subheadings using H2 and H3 ags o guide he eade , w i ing
sho pa ag aphs in clea and simple language, using lis s, and inco po a ing in e nal and ex-
e nal links ha p o ide added alue o he eade .
Addi ionally, i is essen ial o apply seman ic ma kup co ec ly, using echnologies such as
Schema.o g. Fo news media, i is ecommended o a leas implemen he NewsA icle sche-
ma. This can be added di ec ly o he HTML code o h ough specialized plugins wi hin he
con en managemen sys ems (CMS) used by each media ou le . The esul is he appea ance
o ich snippe s in sea ch esul s—enhanced lis ings ha may include news headlines, a -
ings, images, da es, au ho s, ca ego ies, knowledge g aphs, e c.—which bo h inc ease click-
h ough a es and enhance he pe cep ion o he ou le as a us ed sou ce (Giomelakis, 2023).
As al eady men ioned, SEO has mo ed beyond simply anking con en h ough keywo ds o
backlinks. In ecen yea s, sea ch engines—especially Google—ha e begun o conside use
beha iou as a quali y signal. This has led o he eme gence o Sea ch Expe ience Op imiza-
ion (SXO) (Alca az-Ma ínez, 2024), which combines SEO and usabili y o ensu e ha con en
is bo h isible and mee s he eade ’s expec a ions.
In jou nalism, his means ha a news a icle mus no only be well- anked, bu also deli e a
sa is ying eading expe ience h ough clea , use ul con en and op imized na iga ion. I use s
quickly abandon he page, do no in e ac , o ail o na iga e o o he a icles, Google in e -
p e s his as a nega i e signal, which can ha m he websi e’s anking.
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Web isibili y and jou nalism: SEO ips and bes p ac ices
Ca los Lopezosa; Rubén Alca az-Ma ínez; Ma i Vállez; Ma io Pé ez-Mon o o
Digi al communica ion. T ends and good p ac ices
Wi hin SXO (Sea ch Expe ience Op imiza ion), websi e a chi ec u e plays a key ole, as i s
main objec i e is o encou age eade e en ion and enhance hei expe ience while na iga -
ing he si e. In gene al, some key ecommenda ions o imp o e use expe ience in his ega d
include:
– Responsi e websi e design, meaning he digi al news pla o m mus adap seamlessly
o mobile de ices and able s.
– Op imized loading speed, as slow pages educe he ime use s s ay on he si e.
– Clea hie a chical s uc u e, wi h well-o ganized menus, ca ego ies, and ags.
– B eadc umb na iga ion, o guide use s e ec i ely and help hem unde s and hei loca-
ion wi hin he si e.
– In e nal linking, encou aging eade s o explo e ela ed, aluable con en .
All hese s a egies a e pa o a seman ic a chi ec u e, which no only imp o es he use ex-
pe ience bu also helps sea ch engines in e p e and ank a websi e’s con en mo e e ec i ely.
In addi ion, sea ch engines use mul iple in e ac ion me ics o de e mine whe he a piece o
con en sa is ies he use and mee s quali y s anda ds. Some o he mos ele an indica o s
include:
– Bounce a e: he pe cen age o use s who isi a websi e and lea e wi hou in e ac ing.
– Dwell ime: he a e age du a ion o a isi .
– Pages pe session: how many pieces o con en a use consumes du ing a single isi .
– CTR (Click-Th ough Ra e): he pe cen age o clicks a esul ecei es in ela ion o he
numbe o imp essions.
– Pogo-s icking: clicking on a esul and immedia ely e u ning o he sea ch esul s page
o choose ano he link, which signals use dissa is ac ion.
– Co e Web Vi als: a se o speci ic me ics de ined by Google o e alua e key aspec s o
use expe ience, ela ed o speed, in e ac i i y, and isual s abili y.
– O he echnical signals: mobile compa ibili y, use o HTTPS, e c.
These indica o s help unde s and and imp o e he use expe ience, and he e o e also impac
SEO and SXO. In he jou nalis ic sec o , his ul ima ely ansla es in o well-w i en con en ha
p o ides added alue, includes engaging isuals, use ul links, and a clea na iga ion s uc u e.
4. Business models in digi al media and sus ainabili y h ough SEO
Beyond i s impo ance as a isibili y s a egy, sea ch engine op imiza ion (SEO) is a key ool
o he economic sus ainabili y o digi al media. In o he wo ds, s ong sea ch engine ankings
no only a ac mo e eade s bu also imp o e a media ou le ’s abili y o mone ize web a ic
h ough ad e ising, subsc ip ions, sponso ships, and o he hyb id models.
O ganic a ic esul ing om well-implemen ed SEO ( ocused on he use ) is especially alu-
able because i is gene ally s able, a ge ed, and ee in e ms o acquisi ion cos s.
Howe e , media sus ainabili y canno be achie ed h ough echnical o comme cial means
alone. I mus be g ounded in a commi men o quali y, independence, and jou nalism’s social
ole. In his ega d, SEO can be a s a egic ally—as long as i is used e hically. Tha is, sea ch
12
Web isibili y and jou nalism: SEO ips and bes p ac ices
Ca los Lopezosa; Rubén Alca az-Ma ínez; Ma i Vállez; Ma io Pé ez-Mon o o
Digi al communica ion. T ends and good p ac ices
op imiza ion s a egies mus espec con en in eg i y, a oid in o ma ion manipula ion, and
help quali y jou nalism each he wides possible audience.
The challenge, he e o e, lies in in eg a ing SEO in o a esponsible edi o ial cul u e, whe e
me ics do no eplace jou nalis ic alues, bu a he se e as a ool o suppo high-quali y
in o ma ion.
5. SEO Recommenda ions o media ou le s
Inco po a ing SEO in o jou nalis ic news ooms does no equi e a adical ans o ma ion, bu
a he a sma and g adual in eg a ion. Below, we p esen a se o p ac ical ecommenda ions
ha can se e as a guide o building an SEO cul u e wi hin media o ganiza ions.
Fo epo e s and jou nalis s:
– Use clea , in o ma i e headlines wi h ele an and s a egic keywo ds.
– O ganize con en using hie a chical subheadings, especially H2 and H3 ags.
– Include in e nal links o o he con en om he same media ou le o expand on he
in o ma ion being p esen ed.
– Ci e ex e nal sou ces using high-quali y, ele an links.
– Add images wi h app op ia e al e na i e ex (al a ibu e) and desc ip i e i les.
– Imp o e he pe cep ion o accu acy, u h ulness, and anspa ency o he con en .
Fo edi o s and con en manage s:
– Implemen an edi o ial policy ha inco po a es SEO c i e ia.
– Moni o publica ions in e ms o leng h, equency, and quali y.
– Regula ly e iew he headlines and me a desc ip ions o published a icles.
– Apply dual headline echniques when app op ia e.
– Showcase each w i e ’s expe ise and specialized knowledge h ough au ho pages wi h
biog aphies and con en.
– T ain he en i e eam in SEO, usabili y, and use expe ience.
Fo echnical and web eams:
– Ensu e a clea and scalable websi e a chi ec u e.
– Op imize page loading speed and mobile/ able esponsi eness.
– In eg a e seman ic ma kup (Schema.o g), a a minimum using he NewsA icle schema.
– Gene a e upda ed si emaps (gene al and news-speci ic).
– Use SEO analysis ools (such as Google Sea ch Console, Ah e s, o SEM ush) o moni o
he anking and isibili y o news con en .
Abou he ools:
The e a e nume ous ools—bo h ee and paid— ha suppo he p ac ical applica ion o SEO
in media en i onmen s.
13
Web isibili y and jou nalism: SEO ips and bes p ac ices
Ca los Lopezosa; Rubén Alca az-Ma ínez; Ma i Vállez; Ma io Pé ez-Mon o o
Digi al communica ion. T ends and good p ac ices
Type Tools
Fo SEO audi ing Sc eaming F og, SEM ush, Sis ix
Fo use beha iou analysis Google Analy ics, Ho ja , Ma omo
Fo backlink and web au ho i y analysis Majes ic, Ah e s
I is wo h no ing ha while ha ing SEO knowledge wi hin news ooms is e y impo an , he
essen ial goal is o build an SEO mindse ac oss he o ganiza ion. To achie e his, key s eps
may include os e ing collabo a ion be ween w i e s, edi o s, and SEO specialis s, and help-
ing he eam unde s and ha quali y and jou nalis ic e hics mus always ake p ecedence o e
ankings and clickbai .
Ul ima ely, a news oom o ien ed owa d implemen ing SEO s a egies no only enhances he
isibili y o i s con en , bu also helps imp o e he quali y o i s jou nalis ic p oduc , b oadens
i s social impac , and s eng hens i s sus ainabili y.
6. Conclusions
Th oughou his chap e , we ha e aimed o p o ide a p ac ical o e iew o he key concep s,
echniques, and ecommenda ions o applying SEO in he media sec o .
As we ha e seen, in eg a ing SEO e hically and p o essionally in o jou nalis ic news ooms
does no mean abandoning he p inciples o good jou nalism, bu a he adap ing hem o
he demands o he p esen . Fo example, an op imized headline is no incompa ible wi h
u h ulness, a well-cons uc ed link does no diminish he quali y o a epo , and a use -
cen ed a chi ec u e does no weaken he na a i e. On he con a y, all hese elemen s
s eng hen he inal ou come o jou nalis ic p oduc s.
We would like o conclude his chap e by emphasizing ha SEO should no be seen as a
h ea , bu a he as a ool in se ice o jou nalism. In ac , we belie e ha when applied wi h
judgmen , igou , and p o essional sensi i i y, quali y con en eaches mo e people, a he
igh ime, and in he mos accessible o ma .
The e o e, a om dis o ing he p o ession, SEO can help ampli y i s social impac — ein o cing
jou nalism’s commi men o u h, i s public alue, and he ci izen’s igh o be in o med.
7. Funding
This wo k is pa o he P ojec “Pa ame e s and s a egies o inc ease he ele ance o media
and digi al communica ion in socie y: cu a ion, isualisa ion and isibili y (CUVICOM)”. G an
PID2021-123579OB-I00 unded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ERDF, EU.
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