Investigating Search Engine Optimization Factors in Media Websites

Giomelakis, Dimitrios; Veglis, Andreas

doi:10.1080/21670811.2015.1046992

Cited by 59 publications

(48 citation statements)

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“…In this context, recent studies have indicated that a significant percentage of users turn to search engines first when shopping online or when information gathering really matters [3,4]. As a result, online search remains one of the best traffic sources for any website [5][6][7]; however, it should be noted that the vast majority of all search traffic comes from the top rankings in search engine results [8,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

SEO inside Newsrooms: Reports from the Field

2019

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The journalism profession has changed dramatically in the digital age as the internet, and new technologies, in general, have created new working conditions in the media environment. Concurrently, journalists and media professionals need to be aware and possess a new set of skills connected to web technologies, as well as respond to new reading tendencies and information consumption habits. A number of studies have shown that search engines are an important source of the traffic to news websites around the world, identifying the significance of high rankings in search results. Journalists are writing to be read, and that means ensuring that their news content is found, also, by search engines. In this context, this paper represents an exploratory study on the use of search engine optimization (SEO) in news websites. A series of semi-structured, in-depth interviews with professionals at four Greek media organizations uncover trends and address issues, such as how SEO policy is operationalized and applied inside newsrooms, which are the most common optimization practices, as well as the impact on journalism and news content. Today, news publishers have embraced the use of SEO practices, something that is clear also from this study. However, the absence of a distinct SEO culture was evident in newsrooms under study. Finally, according to results, SEO strategy seems to depend on factors, such as ownership and market orientation, editorial priorities or organizational structures.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

SEO inside Newsrooms: Reports from the Field

2019

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“…Based on what is known about SEO and the news websites [33,40,44], this study tries to expand the relevant literature by finding if the most important news websites of the world, Greece, and Cyprus allow their users to comment on the news articles of the websites. Through that method, it should be apparent whether they allow dynamic interaction between the users and the professionals of the field.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the importance of the SEO practices, the attractiveness of the content of the news websites still plays an important role in the visibility of the website. Actually, it seems to be the most crucial factor for the high visibility of a website [33]. Consequently, this is one of the main reasons why the current research paper studied, according to alexa.com ranking, the most prominent websites of the world, and from two countries (Greece and Cyprus), to see if the most popular news websites promote the commenting of the public via relevant commenting sections or features.…”

Section: News Websites Users' Comments and Seomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Meanwhile, it tries to raise awareness regarding the importance of comments in the field of SEO, as according to Dover and Dafforn [32], users' comments are one crucial parameter for improving the importance and the popularity of a website, due to the raw content and the engagement of the users. More specifically for the news websites [33] (p. 388-389), "Bounce rate is the percentage of single-page visits (visitors who enter the site and leave without viewing other pages or interacting within the same site). Do visitors spend time reading or "bounce" away quickly?…”

Section: Social Media Platforms Social Influence and Information DImentioning

confidence: 99%

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SEO Practices: A Study about the Way News Websites Allow the Users to Comment on Their News Articles

et al. 2019

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In the current media world, there is a huge debate about the importance of the visibility of a news website in order to secure its existence. Thus, search engine optimization (SEO) practices have emerged in the news media systems around the world. This study aimed to expand the current literature about the SEO practices by focusing on examining, via the walkthrough method, the ways that news companies allow the users to comment on their online news articles. The comments on the news websites are related to the notions of social influence, information diffusion, and play an essential role as a SEO practice, for instance, by providing content and engagement. The examined sample was collected by the most visited news websites' rankings of alexa.com for a global scale and for the countries Greece and Cyprus. The findings reveal that the news websites throughout the globe use similar features and ways to support the comments of the users. In the meantime, though, a high number of the news websites did not allow the users to use their social media accounts in order to comment the provided news articles, or provided multiple comment platforms. This trend goes against the SEO practices. It is believed that this finding is associated with the difficulty of the news organizations to regulate and protect themselves by the users' comments that promote, in some case harmful rhetoric and polarization.Future Internet 2019, 11, 188 2 of 13 behavior. In the meantime, social influence is related to information diffusion. Many studies in the field have revealed the connections between the social influence and the information diffusion [10][11][12][13][14]. Information diffusion and social influence have become of great importance due to the daily use of social media platforms and the operation of search engines.Additionally, previous studies of social media platforms, such as YouTube, have demonstrated that users with similar cultural and political ideas tend to like or dislike the same cultural products [15]. For instance, Japan was one of the most characteristic examples of a country that became successful in the spread of its culture on a global scale. The anime and the manga cultural products have turned into global products. According to Otmazgin [16], this development allows Japan to have a greater influence on different state and non-state actors throughout the world. The aforementioned description regarding the influence of a country has led Nye [17] to create the theory of "soft power." According to him, "soft power" is the capability of causing individuals to adopt beliefs, results, opinions, etc., without getting paid. For a country, its "soft power" can be its policies and culture.Nowadays, social influence and information diffusion are strongly linked with the World Wide Web, social media platforms, and social participation. For more than twenty years, scholars have tried to explain the role of the new technologies in the participation of the public in crucial events, such as demonstrations and collective actions [18]....

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“…These new web technologies have a significant impact on journalism and its relation to the audience (Goode, 2009). The so-called new media alter the narrative news industry into a more database-like information source, allowing at the same time several channels of feedback and dialogue (Giomelakis & Veglis, 2015;Kluver, 2002). In this context, there is a rise of active "produsage" (a contraction of production and usage) that blurs the boundaries between passive consumption (users) and active production (producers) (Bruns, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Web Third-Person Effect Hypothesis: Do likes and Shares Affect Users’ Perceptions?

Antonopoulos¹,

Giomelakis²,

Veglis³

et al. 2016

JMC

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This paper studies the web third-person effect (WTPE) hypothesis in the context of news websites and social media.Specifically, the study examines the role of social media metrics (i.e., shares and likes of news articles) in shaping users' opinion about the websites. Users' news sharing intention in social media is also investigated. Based on a structured online questionnaire (N = 7,404), the results confirm that WTPE can be found in social media metrics without the presence of specific message content. It should be noted that the effect was found at three perceptual levels, self, friends, and other users. Regarding intention for news sharing, text was indicated as the most important reason among Internet users. Finally, the work demonstrates significant correlations between WTPE and article characteristics that influence people's attitudes to share news online.

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Investigating Search Engine Optimization Factors in Media Websites

Cited by 59 publications

References 16 publications

SEO inside Newsrooms: Reports from the Field

SEO inside Newsrooms: Reports from the Field

SEO Practices: A Study about the Way News Websites Allow the Users to Comment on Their News Articles

Web Third-Person Effect Hypothesis: Do likes and Shares Affect Users’ Perceptions?

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