BBC moves into optimisation

15:10 24th November 2009

The BBC has announced it is to use search engine optimisation (SEO) to improve the rankings of its news stories in search engines.

The initiative could have a major impact on the demand for IT careers, as the corporation overhauls the way its website operates to make it more attractive to users.

Headlines will in future be written for SEO purposes, meaning they will be optimised so that search engines are more likely to rank them near the top of searches.

Sam Tilston, online marketing director of vitabits.co.uk, said: "Using SEO techniques will be from a desire to remain an online leader rather than playing catch-up."

However, he warned the BBC must tread a careful line, explaining that "overstuffing a headline title with too many keywords would not only damage a website brand and reputation, but could also result in a penalty from Google which will drop their rankings".

As the BBC is one of the largest news providers on the internet, its use of SEO is likely to be followed by many smaller organisations and that could result in a surge in demand for experts with a successful IT career who are able to provide guidance on improving SEO.

Written by Paul Jarvis

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