Online journalists have become increasingly aware of the importance of search engine optimization; see tips on newspaper website SEO. But newspaper sites can go further; according to P.J. Fusco of the ClickZ Network, managing the gap is the next step in successful online content optimization.

Gap analysis involves weighing where you are versus where you want to be. In terms of content optimization, this involves understanding two key factors:

- the difference between keywords that make your site's content optimal for search results and keywords that are used in search queries

- the gap between your site's current search positioning and your target positioning for a batch of select keywords

In choosing which keywords to use in the comparison, "volume differences between search referral traffic for particular words and phrases will be revealed," wrote ClickZ. In other words, an analysis of the keywords shows which terms are more popular, and therefore more likely to be picked up by a search engine.
 
Once you've discovered which words and phrases boost your search engine status, you can then mold your site's content to boost search traffic.

Fusco cautions, however, not to throw all your eggs in the search engine basket. If a website starts to uses search-engine friendly keywords and headlines that no longer reflect the core content of the site, you may raise search engine friendly but at the expense of readers.

"Your content must be friendly for users first and search engines second," Fusco writes.

Also read Reed Business Information, which is currently debating whether to reward its journalists for drawing in traffic, a potentially risky proposition.

Source: ClickZ