News Site SEO: Deep Implementation Checklist

1. Foundational Technical SEO

Core Technical Setup

●       Use a clean site structure (e.g. /news/politics/article-title)

●       Always use HTTPS with valid SSL certificates

●       Ensure mobile-first design and responsive layout

●       Setup robots.txt and sitemap.xml (include news-specific sitemap: news-sitemap.xml)

●       Submit news sitemap to Google News Publisher Center

Crawl & Indexation

●       Set a fast crawl rate (update frequency matters)

●       Articles should be indexed within minutes of publication

●       Avoid soft 404s, broken pages, orphaned URLs

●       Use Google Search Console to monitor indexation anomalies

2. News-specific On-Page SEO

Article Markup & HTML Essentials

●       Add structured data (schema.org) using:

○       NewsArticle

○       Article

○       Author, DatePublished, Publisher

●       Include clear timestamps on articles: publish & update

●       Use canonical tags to prevent duplication

●       Ensure proper title, meta description, and H1 tags

Headlines Optimization

●       Use click-enticing, emotionally charged but clear headlines

●       Place target keyword early in the title

●       Keep title tags under 60 characters

Example:
 “What Happened in Washington Last Night?”
 “US Election Results 2024: Key Takeaways from Washington”

3. URL Structure & Timeliness

●       Use permalinks without dates for evergreen news

●       Use dated URLs for daily breaking news, like:
 /2025/07/15/snapchat-data-breach-revealed

●       Avoid stopwords in URLs (/breaking-news → not helpful)

4. Update Strategy (Freshness Algorithm)

●       Update older articles when new facts emerge

●       Use “Last updated on [Date]” tags visibly

●       Link old articles to new follow-up updates

●       Add timelines, live updates, and “story so far” segments

Google favors continuously evolving stories.

5. Internal Linking & Category Architecture

●       Implement contextual internal links across news articles

●       Every article must link back to its:

○       Parent category (/politics)

○       Related subtopics or tags

●       Use breadcrumbs navigation

●       Create author profile pages with structured data

6. Multimedia SEO

●       Use optimized images (compressed + alt tags)

●       Name image files with context: us-election-ballot-box.jpg

●       Embed YouTube or video snippets

●       Apply VideoObject schema if embedding videos

7. Topical Authority & Content Depth

●       Build content hubs around:

○       Elections

○       Tech privacy

○       Sports tournaments

○       Financial reports

Example:

/politics/

/politics/us-election-2024/

/politics/us-election-2024/key-results/

/politics/us-election-2024/controversy/

●       Cover all angles: timeline, opinion, analysis, interviews

●       Add expert sources and citations in controversial stories

8. Performance Optimization

●       Apply lazy loading for images

●       Use a CDN for asset delivery

●       Minify CSS/JS/HTML

●       Keep LCP < 2.5s, FCP < 1.8s, CLS < 0.1

●       Audit with Google PageSpeed + Web Vitals extension

9. AI & Google SGE Optimization

●       Use clear definitions, summary boxes, and FAQ

●       Answer user-intent driven questions (e.g. “Why did X happen?”)

●       Include stats, facts, and expert quotes — these get cited in AI Overviews

●       Include related entity names (e.g. brands, politicians, events)

10. Google News Optimization

Publisher Guidelines

●       Apply via Google Publisher Center

●       Use structured content — avoid opinion-only blogs

●       Ensure bylines, author bios, and contact info are visible

●       Mark news section properly (<news:news> in sitemap)

11. AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) (Optional)

●       Implement AMP for mobile speed boost

●       Test AMP articles via Google’s AMP Test

●       Monitor crawl/index via GSC’s AMP tab

12. Tools to Use for News SEO

Tool	Purpose
Google Search Console	Indexing & performance monitoring
News Publisher Center	News listing eligibility
Ahrefs / Semrush	Keyword & backlink research
Screaming Frog	Technical SEO auditing
Google Trends	Identify emerging news topics
Google Alerts	Track brand/news mentions
WebPageTest / Lighthouse	Page speed testing

Final News SEO Implementation Board

Task	Owner	Status
Setup technical base + sitemap.xml/news-sitemap.xml	Dev	☐
Implement article schema & AMP	Dev	☐
Optimize categories + URL structure	SEO	☐
Plan topical clusters + evergreen hubs	Editor	☐
Create/update content with "last updated" timestamps	Editor	☐
Integrate video + alt-text optimized images	Media	☐
Submit for Google News listing	SEO	☐

In Details

1. Site Architecture for News SEO

Why it matters:

Search engines prioritize crawl efficiency and freshness. A messy or deeply nested architecture slows down crawling.

Implementation Checklist:

●       ☐ Use a flat URL structure (e.g., domain.com/news/topic-title)

●       ☐ Avoid excessive pagination — use Load More or AJAX-based loading

●       ☐ Build siloed category structures (e.g., /politics/, /tech/, /sports/)

●       ☐ Keep important news ≤3 clicks from the homepage

●       ☐ Avoid duplicated content paths (e.g., same article in multiple categories)

Pro Tip: Add breadcrumb schema for both navigation and featured snippet eligibility.

2. Crawlability & Indexability

Implementation Checklist:

●       ☐ Submit your site to Google News Publisher Center

●       ☐ Include a dedicated news sitemap (/news-sitemap.xml)

●       ☐ Ensure article pages include lastmod metadata in sitemap

●       ☐ Add a robots.txt file allowing crawlers full access to main content

●       ☐ Avoid blocking important sections with JavaScript

Tip: Use GSC “Crawl Stats” + Screaming Frog to monitor crawl coverage & errors.

3. Article Structure and Markup

Implementation Checklist:

●       Use <article> and semantic HTML5

●       Include these Schema types:

○       NewsArticle

○       Organization

○       BreadcrumbList

○       ImageObject

●       Ensure metadata includes:

○       headline

○       datePublished

○       dateModified

○       author

○       publisher

●       Add featured image with structured data

●       Make sure AMP version (if used) mirrors canonical version

AMP still matters for Top Stories on mobile in some regions.

4. Speed and Core Web Vitals (Crucial for News)

Speed affects crawl frequency and UX. Google prioritizes fast-loading, clean sites for news surfaces like Discover and Top Stories.

Implementation Checklist:

●       LCP: Load main content within <2.5s

●       FID: Minimize input delay to <100ms

●       CLS: Limit layout shift to <0.1

●       Lazy-load images below the fold only

●       Use WebP or AVIF formats for article images

●       Avoid render-blocking JS/CSS

Tool: Use PageSpeed Insights + GSC Core Web Vitals report per URL segment (/news/, /world/, etc.)

5. News-Specific Keyword Strategy

Implementation Checklist:

●       ☐ Use Google Trends to identify real-time surges

●       ☐ Combine breaking topics + evergreen categories

○       E.g., “Elon Musk Twitter Update” vs. “How Twitter’s Algorithm Works”

●       ☐ Track Google News rankings using tools like:

○       NewsDashboard

○       Semrush (News Tracking)

○       Newzdash (real-time monitoring)

●       ☐ Optimize headlines with trigger keywords:

○       “Breaking”

○       “Exclusive”

○       “Revealed”

○       “Leaked”

Pro Tip: Title tag ≠ headline. Optimize one for clickability, the other for SERPs.

6. Internal Linking for News Sites

Implementation Checklist:

●       Link new articles to relevant evergreen pages

●       Update older articles to link to newer updates

●       Use sidebar widgets or “Related Articles” modules

●       Tag articles with proper taxonomy (categories/tags)

●       Include topic hubs (/topic/elon-musk) and interlink them

Use tools like Link Whisper or custom plugins for automation if on WordPress.

7. Discover & Top Stories Optimization

Discover (Mobile):

●       Use high-quality, original images > 1200px width

●       Include strong E-E-A-T: bylines, bios, publisher markup

●       Avoid clickbait or thin headlines

●       Use AMP (optional) + valid NewsArticle schema

●       Focus on user engagement signals (CTR, time on page)

Top Stories (SERP carousel):

●       Publish fast (within minutes of story breaking)

●       Ensure schema is clean

●       Maintain a consistent publishing frequency

●       Use short paragraphs, bold lead, image near top

8. Mobile-First + User Experience

Implementation Checklist:

●       Use a responsive design (not m-dot or mobile subdomains)

●       Avoid intrusive popups or overlays on mobile

●       Keep font sizes ≥16px

●       Test on real mobile devices (not just emulator)

●       Prioritize scroll engagement (related posts, infographics)

Check mobile usability reports in GSC + Chrome DevTools.

9. E-E-A-T for News Publishers

Checklist to demonstrate Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust:

●       Include author bio on every article

●       Link to author social profiles (especially Twitter/X)

●       Use About, Editorial, Ethics policy pages

●       Show publisher details in footer and schema

●       Use HTTPS, real contact info, business address

Build up brand entity in Google's Knowledge Graph through structured data and link mentions.

10. Advanced: Programmatic SEO for News

If you're building topic hubs or tag pages, follow this:

●       Create static pages for each topic (/topic/elon-musk/)

●       Include: bio, timeline of articles, images, links

●       Optimize with FAQ schema + internal links

●       Cluster similar news stories using tags/entities

Use Python scripts or CMS automation to generate topic hubs programmatically.

Full Execution Plan — In One Place

Task	Status
Flat URL structure
News sitemap + lastmod enabled
NewsArticle schema applied
Core Web Vitals meet thresholds
Author bio + publisher transparency
Internal linking + topic hubs
Mobile-first UX, AMP ready
Discover + Top Stories eligibility
Real-time trend tracking setup
Page-level schema validation (tool)