Semantic Search Engine Optimization in the News Media Industry: Challenges and Impact on Media Outlets and Journalism Practice in Greece

Abstract

In today’s digital media environment, search engines constitute a significant gateway to news and an important source of traffic for online news outlets worldwide, identifying the significance of top rankings in search results. In this context, search engine optimization (SEO) has entered newsrooms as an essential element of disseminating the content of online media organizations, creating new practices and challenges for media professionals. However, the transition to the Semantic Web (SW) and the development of major search engines in recent years have led to the emergence of Semantic SEO as a new approach to old SEO practices, creating at the same time new challenges for the news media industry. This study investigates the application of Semantic SEO inside newsrooms and its impact on journalism and news media organizations. Drawing upon a series of semi-structured interviews with Greek SEO experts and a systematic review of the notion of semantic search and the corresponding semantic SEO technologies, the objective of this work is to present an analysis of how Semantic SEO affects news media and journalism content as well as to identify some of the technological practices that could contribute to enhancing the discoverability of news content in the changing context of online search.