How to

1. Create a SEO-friendly article

2. And then upload the article at WordPress

Onboarding Tutorial
www.NewsGram.com
- By Dr. Munish Raizada
Last updated on September 1,2017
 NewsGram is a Chicago-based International media organization that
brings you news and views across the World. Thus, we present
Mission International or global news and views. In addition, India is a focus area.

News (current/hard) and views: aimed at International or global readers. In

addition to core news, do publish stories that have interesting elements and have
What do we Publish longer relevance.
 Create a SEO-friendly article
• Two steps are involved:
1. FIND Keywords using a] Google AND
b] Google KeywordPlanner
2. Write the article placing keywords in a
natural manner.
• Whatever topic, you are going to write on:
• A] First search it on google and see, how
others have written the stories and what
keywords they have highlighted.
• B] Then go to Google Keyword Planner
 Go to www.adwords.google.com
Log in via:
username: adwords@newsgram.com
password: BESTseo123
Then, Go to Tools and then click on Keyword Planner
Or, Directly at http://adwords.google.com/KeywordPlanner
Now, in the search area, type a few words /phrases that you would help you find what you are
looking for.
Either type the words/phrases in separate lines or in a single line separated
by coma (see next slide)
• Click on “Get Ideas”
• Now, Keyword Planner will display the results
 Pick the stuff
• So, now after your search, Decide on one (1) Primary and 1-2 secondary
keywords
• I will pick one Primary Keyword:
• Rainbow flag (33,000 searches per month , thus High search volume)
• Note: The term ‘Gay Flag’ (60,000 searches per month) is also competing here
with ‘rainbow flag’. So, I will ensure that I insert this word also in my article.
• I will pick 1-2 secondary keywords out of these 3:
• Gay pride rainbow (800 searches per month = low search volume)
• Gay rights flag (800 searches per month = low volume)
• Pride flag (33,000 searches per month = high volume)

• Thus, your choice of keywords should be a combination of high search volume

(which everyone is looking for) and Low search volume ( lesser number of
people are looking for this phrase, so at least our article will be found by
them).
 Another example
• Supposing you have decided to do a story
on: oldest languages in the world that are still
spoken today.
• Go to: http://adwords.google.com/KeywordPlanner
• Now put the following query in search box:
World oldest languages
Results
• The search throws many key words. But these 3 search
items are the ones that make a good sense to be
included in the article that we plan to create.
• world oldest language
• Oldest language in the world
• Oldest language: this keyword is going to be used
anyway in the article, because the article is based
upon this theme only.
• So, we are left with these 2 key words:
• world oldest language
• Oldest language in the world
 Once your research on Keyword is
over, now:
• Now, write your story or article in a natural way as you will write.
• Primary Keyword should be used minimum 2- 2.5% in the article (a must
do thing). If your article is 500 worded, Primary Keyword should be
applied at least 10 times (2 %).
• The first time use of the primary keyword should be included in your write
up as soon as possible, typically in first paragraph.
• Insert secondary words also 2-4 times in the body of the text.
• Insert these keywords in a natural flow of your writing.
• Do not Exceed the usage of Primary and secondary keywords (i.e., NO
need to spam). Google will hate that. Just write as natural as you would.
• Sub-headings (within the article) are best places to place your primary
keywords. They take away the pressure to create additional sentences too.
 Heading (Permalink) & Sub-heading

• Heading & Sub-heading play an important role in

readability and SEO as well. Headings structure the entire
article & helps Google to understand the main
topics/matter of a long post and therefore can help in
better ranking.
• Do not simply “BOLD” the sub-headings , use “h2/h3/h4
/h5 tag (any one of them “as H1 tag is for title only & By
default, in any SEO-optimized theme, the post title uses
an H1 heading”) for highlighting the sub-heading. In order
to make your articles more user friendly, you should use
subheadings. Subheadings help readers scan your article
easily and clarify the structure of your articles.
 Long Tail Keywords
• In your stories, also learn to insert Long Tail
Keywords
 Example of Long Tail Keywords:

• Supposing your article is on the topic of ‘Indian Diaspora in Nigeria’

• Naturally your keywords (or, meta keywords) will be:
• India, Indian, NRI, Diaspora, Nigeria, Indian Diaspora, India abroad
• But a Long TAIL Keyword will be:
• Indian Diaspora in Nigeria, Indians in Nigeria, NRIs living in Nigeria.
• Thus, in meta-keywords and Tags, we must put a mixture of two:
• - India, Indian, NRI, Diaspora, Nigeria, Indian Diaspora, India abroad
• - Indian Diaspora in Nigeria, Indians in Nigeria, NRIs in Nigeria

• When we search at Google.com, typically as you start typing, it starts suggesting something.
That is actually a Long Tail Keyword.
• Use those Long Tail Keywords.
• Note: Use common sense in creating Long Tail Keywords. You can create good Long Tail
Keywords (think what you type when you search for something at Google). Same logic
applies here.
 An example of NOT writing without
using Keywords
• This article:
• https://www.newsgram.com/food-lovers-
indulge-in-gluttony-this-dim-sum-festival-in-
maharashtra/
• You see that URL has not been shortened. This
is another mistake in this article. Permalink
should be shorter.
This is what has been published at NewsGram
Results
 First of all, spelling mistakes are not allowed. Circled words are spelled wrong
in this article exposing lack of proof reading. Grammarly app would have been
helpful.
I added these 2 keywords
• Also , inserted these 2 keywords in Meta
keywords.
 Part 2
• Now, let us go to part two of our exercise:
Upload the SEO-friendly content on
WordPress and take some additional SEO steps
The blank surface for posting the text will
appear.
 Log in at
www.NewsGram.com/wp-admin
NewsGram will supply you Username and Password
 Once logged in:

Click on: + mark (New Post)

 Insert your write-up as shown below
and Give a suitable title.
Note: Include your primary Keyword in the title of the story.
 Make a suitable Title (Headline) of the article

• Title should be long and SEO -friendly with key

word included.
• Do not put period/ full stop (.) after title!
• Examples: (These are actual titles taken from some other news portals)
Here's what a cheetah sees when it's running at full speed (and it's the
fastest land animal)
Or
The UCLA shooter was reportedly a student who killed his professor
over bad grades
Or
Uber’s rivals in Africa think they can win with happier drivers, traffic
jam deals and even price haggling
 Now create Permalink
• Create Permalink (or URL)
• It is just below title.
• At NewsGram, we write long Titles (headlines) of the story.
• Permalink has to be smaller than title, but must not miss the important
keywords.
• Example: we gave this title to our story:
• How did Rainbow Flag attain the prestige of representing the LGBY
community?
• But for Permalink, or URL, we shortened it:
• Rainbow flag represents lgbt community
•
• In permalink box, copy and paste your
shortened title and press OK. For eg:
• rainbow flag represents lgbt community
• Note: once you post it, it will automatically
take hyphenated format.
• Important: Permalink MUST NOT contain
Uppercase letters. Keep them lowercase.
See the result here:
 Note: Permalink is shorter than title of the story
How to create permalink? Copy your title and paste it in Permalink box. It will automatically take shape with dashes
Example:
Title: All is well (copy and paste this in permalink)
Permalink: all-is-well (these dashes will emerge automatically)
Note: If you change title, do not forget to update the Permalink.

• Correct:

Incorrect: see below

 To summarize: Headline (HL) Vs Permalink/URL

• Give a long healdline to the article , using 1-2 keywords. But make Permalink (URL)
shorter.
• Example:
• HL: India's Connection to Shaolin Temple in China : Here is Why it is the base of
Buddhism!
• This is a good HL. But, permalink can not be this big.
• Create a shorter permalink:
• Shaolin temple in China and Buddhism
• Now, copy and paste this in permalink box. This will populate automatically with
hypens.
• Title length: 65 characters
• Always try to keep your primary keyword in the
beginning of the title as google gives priority on
keywords as they are arranged(left to right) in the
title. Also, keep the main message with primary
keyword within 65 characters as google doesn’t read
after 65 characters. Characters/words after 65 are
useless for google.
Now, Go to Post-settings
AND
Create a sub title
 Sub title (continued)
• Sub-title will appear below Title in the article.
• Create a suitable sub-title. It must be very
meaningful and convey something crucial.
• The sub-title should NOT be too lengthy.
• Do not put full stop or period after sub-title.
 Now Let us do Yoast SEO
• Go further down and you will see Yoast SEO
• Follow these simple steps:

• Look for ‘Snippet Editor’: Click on "edit snippet':

• Then you will see 'SEO title' and 'slug‘. DO NOT TOUCH them. They will form automatically

• Then, below you see "Meta-description'. Here you have to work!

• Write / create Meta-description

• This is typically about 25 words long. Thus, it is not too lengthy. But, Meta Description is most
critical part of whole SEO exercise. Write this in your own words (or take a part from article that
includes buzz word or punch words ) that conveys the essence of the article.
• Once you start writing meta description, a BROWN line starts appearing underneath. Keep writing
until the line turns GREEN (by that time you would have written about 25 words or 155 characters).
Do not exceed, otherwise the Green line will turn Brown again.
• Ensure that meta description is error free in terms of grammar.
 Again, MetaDescription is Crucial
• As said earlier, Meta Description length: “155-
160 characters”
• This is something that “jo dikhta ha wo bikta hai”. you need
to add your keywords and create a description(gist of the
article) that is seductive enough for users to click on it. try
keeping primary keyword & main message within 155
characters as google doesn’t read after 165 characters.
 Title (URL or Permalink)) & Meta Description:

• Remember:
• Title (Permalink or ULR): How your reader sees the title of the post
on your website.
• Meta Description: How search engines show your post in search
results.

• While writing the “Title & Meta Description” of the articles, first
type the raw title on “Google” & browse top 10 results to get an
idea on “how to write compelling Titles & Meta Descriptions”.
Google’s top 10 results based on your “search query”..can also help
you getting you good & targeted “KEYWORDS” to be used in your
article.
SEO (continued)
 SEO (continued)
• b) Enter Focus keyword.
• This is just one to two words.
• Do not include words such The, in, of, at, etc
• Do not include dash (-), comma, etc.
Example:
Correct: Hand washing. Incorrect: hand-washing
• c) Enter Meta-keywords: about 5 to 7 words or
phrases.
• If you do all the aforementioned steps correctly, the
SEO bulb will turn Green.
• If the SEO bulb is Red: not acceptable. Keep working to
make it Green.
SEO Bulb Must Turn Green before you can
rest!
 In addition to Meta-description
• These 3 Terms are important:
• Focus Keyword, Meta keywords and Tags
• Keywords and Meta keywords are a ‘backend’ thing that readers do not
see at the website
• Tags are what readers see at the end of article.
• Focus keyword must be included in title and meta description.
• If you copy paste Focus keyword and meta keywords into Tag Box, it will
safely take care of all important words.
• Meta keywords and Tags MUST be meaningful. It is important to create
LONG TAIL Keywords.
Tags are on the side
 What is the purpose of Tags?

• Strictly speaking, Tags are not a part of SEO. But, they help
readers find similar stories at NewsGram.
• Example: If you create a tag “Ebola”, then if reader clicks on
this tag, NewsGram will display results of stories that have
Ebola word in it.
• Thus, create only relevant Tags. Infact, use preexisting tags as
far as possible (when you start creating tags, WordPress
suggests pre-existing tags of NewsGram content)
 Below is example of a few Un-necessary/wasteful tags.
For eg: 79 Indian students, English, Indian
They are vague tags and if some one clicks on Indian, so many search results will be displayed
that it will not be of much value.
 Important Reminder
• Please identify Keywords (primary and
secondary) via Google Keyword Planner
• Use these identified Keywords in the body of
your article and meta-description
• Insert these identified Keywords as Meta
keywords and TAGS also (so that desk editor
does not miss your results of Keywords)
 Next step

• Assign a Category to your article

On right side, choose a category for the post. Pick up relevant category. Just choose 2-3 categories, never more: one has to be
'Lead Story' category every time. Note: Never assign "blog' category to your post.
8. Tags: Add as many as relevant tags, minimum 10 (must contain focus key word and meta keywords)
 Now add Featured Image
• Each and every image of that we use in the
article must be first COMPRESSED. No
exception.
• Go to www.tinypng.com and compress the
image and then only insert the image (s) in
your article.
 Add Featured Image
The featured image size should be minimum 800x500 pixels
Once you click on Add Featured Image, next screen you will see is this.
If you are uploading a new image, Click “Upload Files”
Ensure that important keywords are included in all 4 sections of
the image
 Alt Text:

• Never forget to add a little description and

naming of the images, used in the articles.
(google does not read image, text is how
google recognizes an image).
• What I meant from “naming the images” is,
when you download an images to use in your
article, generally it gets downloaded like
“imag098.jpg”…. edit it & name it properly
and then use it in your article.
 Source of Featured Image and other
images
• Add "Featured image" and then insert 2 images in the article itself.
• Note: Get images from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Images
• and
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Photographs
• Download picture with full magnification.
• In caption: Always add some description and also write ‘Wikimedia
Commons’ (if the picture is from Wikimedia Commons)
• Example: Picture of Saraswati river. Wikimedia Commons
 Take pics from these sources only as they provide
Royalty Free Images

1. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Images: Very Good source

2. https://pixabay.com/: Very good source
3. http://pib.nic.in/newsite/photo.aspx :
4. LifeStock: https://lifetimestock.com/media/images/ :
This is a paid service. NewsGram has subscribed to it. We will provide you log in
and password.

5. https://www.pexels.com/: NOT useful for India-related themes.

6. https://unsplash.com/: Not useful if you are looking for India-related themes.
7. https://stocksnap.io/: NOT useful if you are looking for India-related pictures

Additional: These websites have allowed us to use pictures:

5. ww.VOAnews.com
6. https://asianmediausa.com/ (useful for Indian Diaspora themes)
 Coming back to Text or draft of the article
In text, ensure you put bullet points in the beginning, and create hyperlinks as
shown below
A few more points
 Give credit to original source:
canonical URL
• If we publish a news from wires (with which we have agreement), and we are publishing the
story as such (say, 100 % copy paste), THEN, it is a good practice to give link to original
source.
• Example:
• Our editorial team decides to take the following news from VOA as such, without
modification.
• https://www.voanews.com/a/study-three-mutations-could-make-bird-flu-potential-
pandemic/3902857.html

• So, we change the title and copy paste the text of the story. At the end of the story, write
(VOA).
 Create Canonical URL
• Go to Yoast SEo and click on this Chakra:
Copy paste the URL from original source in Canonical URL box
 Additional Steps
• The uploading of an article at WordPress is
Not complete without these additional
important steps: (explained in next slides)
• 1. Insert a Click To Tweet.
• 2. At the foot of the article, add a standard
appeal for Donation or link to our mobile App
• 3. Social Locker
 Minimum 2 images
• Add at least one image in the body of the
article. Thus, each article must have at least 2
images:
• 1. Featured Image
• 2. In the body of the article.
 Click To Tweet
• Use this code:
• [bctt tweet="Meaningful, tweetable quote."]
• Example:
[bctt tweet="Male-to-female Hijras are considered auspicious by Hindus."]
• It will look like this in your article:
Social Locker
Appeal for Support to NG
 Final Word

• When you submit an article at WordPress in the final format (ie, save it as a draft to be approved
by the editorial team), please ensure:

• Part 1. The article is of good quality. Is not written shabbily, does not lack flow and is well
rounded.

• Part 2: Ensure that the all steps are complete (refer to the PowerPoint named " PPT on SEO
and WordPress Aug 2017".

• - Very Critical: Assume (yes, assume) that the editorial person may not do due diligence and
publish your article. End result: Your article will be published with mistakes.

• While working, assume that editor is missing and you have to write and submit the articles in a
perfect manner.

• Also, please make it a habit to re-visit your articles after they are published and modify or edit as
required (discuss with editor if some significant change is needed in the text).
Thank you!