The Washington Post has published a document outlining its internal SEO and web performance best practices that anybody in news SEO will want to read.
The document, Web Performance and SEO Best Practices and Guidelines, outlines what the Post calls “proven strategies and guidelines for optimizing web performance and search engine optimization (SEO).”
SEO and web performance best practices. The Post’s document breaks down all of its guidelines into what is essentially a checklist, consisting of four buckets: on-page SEO, content optimization, technical SEO and off-page SEO.
The web performance guidelines focus on loading, rendering and responsiveness. It also shares many of the tools it uses to monitor performance – including Lighthouse, WebPageTest, Google Search Console and Google Analytics.
The purpose of the guidelines. The Post wants to make sure it:
- Provides a positive user experience.
- Increases website visibility.
- Drives organic traffic.
- Improves the site’s overall success.
What they’re saying. The document was officially announced today, although it appears the document was published May 31. The Post said it is publicly sharing its guidelines and tools to help others ensure their “own site practices are optimal”:
- “We identified a need for a Web Performance and SEO engineering team to build technical solutions that support the discovery of our journalism, as the majority of news consumers today read the news digitally. Without proper SEO and web performance, our stories aren’t as accessible to our readers,” according to Arturo Silva, engineering lead.
Read the document. Web Performance and SEO Best Practices and Guidelines
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About the author
Danny Goodwin has been Managing Editor of Search Engine Land & Search Marketing Expo – SMX since 2022. He joined Search Engine Land in 2022 as Senior Editor. In addition to reporting on the latest search marketing news, he manages Search Engine Land’s SME (Subject Matter Expert) program. He also helps program U.S. SMX events.
Goodwin has been editing and writing about the latest developments and trends in search and digital marketing since 2007. He previously was Executive Editor of Search Engine Journal (from 2017 to 2022), managing editor of Momentology (from 2014-2016) and editor of Search Engine Watch (from 2007 to 2014). He has spoken at many major search conferences and virtual events, and has been sourced for his expertise by a wide range of publications and podcasts.
