How to write headlines that work well with Google | #PR #ContentMarketing

From Ragan's: PR Daily 

When a press release, blog post, or article is indexed by Google and shows up in search results, the maximum character count runs between 65 and 80 characters (including spaces) before being cut off. Some rich snippets might show more, some less. 

Always plan for the low end, just in case. The actual length is determined by pixel size and total width, rather than a specific character count. (Newspaper headline writers quickly learn that the lowercase letters f, i, j, l, r, and t take up less space than other letters, especially m and w.) 

Write headlines that work in both the long and the short versions. A study showed that 80 percent of press release headlines were too long. Avoid making this common mistake.

Why longer articles will rank better on Google than short articles in 2014

From Jayson DeMers at the Search Engine Journal:

Not long ago, you could publish a couple 500-word blog posts per week and gain measurable traffic and authority with Google. While short articles do still have value, there’s definitely a trend within Google toward favoring longer content. 

In the future, I expect that articles will need to be a minimum of 1,000 words in length to rank well in Google, and better yet if they’re over 2,000 words. Google’s new in-depth article section is a good indicator of where things are going. According to Google, “Users often turn to Google to answer a quick question, but research suggests that up to 10% of users’ daily information needs involve learning about a broad topic.”

Why Google's new In-Depth Article feature is great news for the public relations profession

From Ragan's PR Daily:

The longer form has the added benefit of providing an opportunity for PR firms and their clients to tell a longer, nuanced version of their story.

Of course, no publication worth its salt is going to publish a 4,000-word puff piece. Enticing publications with first-time exclusive offers to interview a CEO and being willing to admit mishaps and mistakes—as long as you have the opportunity to explain those mistakes—will yield more positive results.

Assuming Google keeps this feature moving forward, it’s easy to envision PR firms dedicating resources and creating long-form news bureaus as a boutique product/service. Google will likely keep toying with the algorithm to include and exclude more in-depth publications, including some online-only and newly formed investigative outlets. Keeping track of these developments; adjusting your strategy accordingly will be extremely important to any PR strategy.

Want to attract Google? Write 'epic content'

From Jayson DeMers at  Search Engine Journal: 

The days when you could publish 500-word pieces on your blog a couple times a week and achieve authority status are fading away. While high quality, shorter pieces still have value, I predict we’ll see a migration toward “super articles.” Longer pieces that are a minimum of 1,000 words and more likely upwards of 2,000 will become increasingly valuable. 

It’s what Neil Patel has called “epic content.” There’s several ways to approach this. If the best articles in your niche offer 50 ideas, your round-ups could offer 100. You could get access to experts, develop detailed tutorials, or supplement your content with high quality videos or images. The key is going to be to follow an approach that sets you apart from the most basic content in your space, and grabs people’s interest for the long-term. The focus is on depth, quality, and ultimate value to the reader.

4 ways to create URLs that attract Google to your online content

If you want Google to find your content, it helps to create a URL that is easy for the search engine to recognize and catalogue.

That means you should:

1. Use words in the URL that tell the search engine about the content.
2. Keep your URLs brief and to the point; trim any extraneous information.
3. Avoid including generic information like page numbers or session IDs.
4. Avoid using too much keyword information in the URL; one keyword or phrase is probably enough.

Think of it this way: If you can recite the URL from memory a day after you created it, then it's a cinch for Google to find it. If you can't, then you are making it too hard for Google to find your content.