STRATEGIC SEO RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ENTERTAINMENT SITES
Google’s September 2023 core algorithm Helpful Content Update was a key marker for the organic traffic dip for many entertainment sites. These updates have left publishers unsure of how to maintain site relevance and make their content rank high on SERP.
The Penske Media SEO team conducted a deep-dive analysis of the organic search traffic landscape for entertainment sites and the shared core strategies and tactics that have proven effective. These findings provide a pathway to rank better on Google SERP, grow organic traffic, and build credibility in a given entertainment niche. We’ve summarized their findings for the SHE Media Collective below.
Traffic Growth Updates for Entertainment/News Coverage
Google’s May 2022, September 2022, and September 2023 core algorithm updates were key markers for the organic traffic dip. Overall content quality must evolve to rank better.
News coverage has to evolve. Google's algorithm updates have shown multiple times that they are no longer ranking perishable news stories in the same way they have in the past. Google is deemphasizing certain content and the standards of a news story are evolving as reinforced by Google’s algorithm updates. “Google’s Core Algorithm makes clear that a quick two-paragraph news item spun from a press release or another website will become secondary to Google’s own modules, and the originators of that reporting”.
A website redesign and taxonomy overhaul exposes a site's past archives to Google during recrawls - can be good for traffic boost but has a dwindling advantage in 2023/24.
Entertainment saw a cultural shift from network to streaming, and websites that established foundational evergreens (i.e. specific shows) and topic types (I.e. sports, politics, streaming) have been able to keep up.
Every writer and contributor on a site needs to have a bio, photo, and contact info to improve E-E-A-T metrics.
Cultural Shift in Viewing Habits
Viewing habits and content formats have changed drastically over the past five years. Streaming, binge-watching, and limited series have all been introduced since the early days of television blogging.
Entertainment saw a cultural shift from network to streaming and sites that established foundational evergreens (i.e. for specific shows) and topic types (I.e. sports, politics, streaming) have been able to keep up.
Entertainment and news sites need to have some strong evergreen content on relevant verticals to increase its relevance and E-E-A-T in this space.
Entertainment Organic Traffic Analysis
Organic Impressions / Site Visibility: The May 2022 Core Algorithm Update hit SEO visibility for entertainment sites
An analysis of top-performing entertainment sites shows that they all have established authority on specific shows and personalities
We find that often that a site’s evergreen content needs to have a strong strategic direction for higher quality and should have more quantity.
When an entertainment site’s content is mostly perishable/short-term (5-7 days) news stories e.g. news stories tied to TV shows that have a short lifespan, it is not a stable traffic mover. These stories stop driving traffic after a short period.
Evidence shows that recent Google algorithm updates, particularly the Core and the Helpful Content Updates, have negatively impacted many of these short-term stories in the news space.
Google is consistently updating the way stories are ranked. Older, perishable news stories, are now being re-ranked downwards, losing out to more relevant content. It’s not that these stories are necessarily “bad”; it is that they were time-sensitive (i.e. no longer relevant today).
Research shows that Google’s search engine has adapted to surface fewer news stories for straightforward celebrity name searches and instead shows more broad social media and reference data for many of these TV and movie personalities. It’s logical to hypothesize that one of the past algorithm updates may have de-emphasized the news carousel for more general queries. (Enhanced tag queries could be a good strategy to help regain competitiveness for TV-related terms).
Content Formats and Approach for Entertainment Sites
a.) News Stories that expire quickly (quality)
News is the most vulnerable category to algorithm updates.
Solutions: Rethink and build more robust news story types.
b.) Intermittent Evergreen-ish Stories (quality)
These content types (e.g. recaps, Interviews, Awards, reviews) are more a matter of consistency and proper categorization. They have a longer lifespan than news stories and provide an opportunity for being a stabilizing force and a bridge between news and evergreen. Solutions: Be consistent, and current and provide proper categorizations of this content for better navigation and user experience.
c.) True Evergreen Tentpoles (quality) + (quantity)
Evergreen content are not tied to an episode, a season, or the lifespan of a show. Entertainment sites need better quality in the first two categories and more quantity (and guided quality) in the third of these three categories. Solutions: This is both a quality and quantity issue. Evergreen must have proper E-E-A-T.
What are Evergreens?
An evergreen piece of content is any story that is core to your brand and consistently generates traffic for a period longer than three weeks. Google wants to send users to sources that it has confidence in, and it will rely on past stories with keywords that continue to get traffic and engagement to help the algorithm inform that decision.
Misconceptions About Evergreens
There are certain misconceptions about Evergreen content that we would like to dispel. Evergreen content is 1. Not click-bait, 2. Might not get traffic right away, 3. Do not need to be very broad or general
Misconception #1: It’s clickbait.
Clickbait tends to be quick, easy stories without context. Evergreens can be deeply thoughtful pieces that inform the reader on a topic. They can also be extremely specific and in-depth. In this example of evergreen entertainment content, The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time readers are going to the story because of the opinions and authority of the brand itself.
Misconception #2: If it doesn’t get traffic right away, it’s a failure.
Evergreens must be tended to and take time to ramp up traffic. Expectation setting is key here. If you are competing for a highly valuable keyword, it may take a few weeks for it to take off, succeed, and rise to the first page of Google. This is also generating authority for that page and those keywords, so it needs to be tended to and monitored. You can also update the piece to match the moment.
Misconception #3: Evergreens need to be very broad and general.
In the past, evergreen content was best when it was broad, but we are seeing with the core algorithm updates that Google is looking for every site to be masters of their topics. Having specific evergreens that are core to the brand – even though they might not deliver a lot of traffic immediately – will help us diversify the core keywords we rely on should we see Google’s AI shake things up.
Overarching Key Findings
The Helpful Content and Core Algorithm Updates impact a site holistically so it is looking through the entire history of engagement to pages and keywords. If a site has some low-quality content it brings down the overall ranking and quality score of the site.
News Coverage - has to evolve as Google is no longer ranking perishable news stories in the same way they have in the past.
More important for growth is depth, not breadth. A site needs to create a core definition (profile) of who its readers are. A site can only grow out strategically once we have anchored the authority for its core topics and shows. Decide the core topics in your niche and strategically build the foundation to rank for those topics long term.
Review Google’s Helpful Content Algorithm Update here: Google Search's Helpful Content System