Published on: February 17, 2025 / update from: March 10, 2025 - Author: Konrad Wolfenstein
A desperate publisher that goes down in a sea of code and a monstrous algorithmic tentacle that moves websites into the traffic arm - picture: xpert.digital
50 % and loss of visibility: How the largest publishers can recover
Market analysis from 2024 for 2025+: The future of SEO for news portals
The digital landscape for publisher has changed profoundly in the current year 2024. While search engines like Google continue to remain the primary traffic source for news portals and media houses, the competition for visibility is becoming increasingly challenging. Some of the largest publishers, including Web.de, Focus and Stern, recorded massive burglaries in their organic visibility in 2024 - partly by over 50 %. At the same time, the demand for professional SEO advice is increasing, since the complexity of search engine optimization overwhelms traditional editorial structures. This report analyzes the driving factors behind these developments and outlines sustainable solutions for publishers who want to assert themselves in the digital news market in the long term.
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The structural challenges for publishers in the SEO competition
Technical hurdles and algorithmic shifts
The technical infrastructure of a website forms the basis for a successful SEO strategy. However, many publishers underestimate essential factors such as crawling efficiency, indexability, XML sitemaps and mobile-first optimization. A serious example is the dwindling importance of accelerated mobile pages (AMP). Formerly celebrated as indispensable for mobile users, AMP is now less preferred by Google. At Stern.de, the too strong dependence on AMP led to a drastic traffic decline of 30 %.
At the same time, the display of search results changes drastically. Google-owned features such as knowledge panels, news boxes and featured snippets are taking more and more space on the search results. When searching for current news, celebrities or sports events, these elements often fill up to 80 % of the visible area of the search results page. As a result, the click rates for classic news articles decrease considerably.
Algorithmic updates such as the Helpul Content Update from 2023 and the fight against “Site Reputation Abuse” in 2024 make the situation further difficult. These updates aim to devalue generic content and instead to reward websites with high thematic authority. Publisher who cover a wide range of topics are increasingly under pressure.
Content relevance and the generalists' crisis
The traditional model of the generalists among the news portals loses importance. Google is increasingly prioritizing specialized domains with high professional competence. For example, specialized football platforms such as the transfer market and kicker displaced general news sites for Bundesliga-relevant search terms from the top 10 rankings. A similar trend is evident in the financial sector: While Focus and Stern in 2023 were still leading in “stock tips”, specialized stock market portals such as finanzen.net today dominate the rankings.
This change is based on Google's increased consideration of the EEAT criteria (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, trusting). A regional newspaper like the Rheinpfalz can provide credible reports about the regional economy, but compared to leading media such as Spiegel or Handelsblatt, it lacks the necessary authority for national political analyzes. The visibility data impressively demonstrated this development: 45 of the 100 largest SEO losers 2024 were broad publisher.
Monetarization dilemma and Paywall strategies
The balance between range and monetization is one of the greatest challenges for publisher. While Google Discover can provide high number of visitors at short notice, these users are difficult to convert to paying subscribers. At the same time, too aggressive use of Paywalls leads to the fact that content from search engines can no longer be indexed, which lowers organic visibility.
Some publishers experiment with hybrid models. The Süddeutsche Zeitung, for example, relies on a “metered paywall”, in which a limited number of items per month remains free of charge. In addition, certain content is specifically released for SEO purposes. Nevertheless, the balancing act remains difficult: a Paywall model that is too restrictive reduces the chances of being presented in Google News or Discover, since Google prefers freelance accessibility.
The growing importance of professional SEO advice for publishers
The special role of SEO for publishers
Organic visibility is essential for publishers, since its business model is often based on the monetization of website traffic. Search engine optimization (SEO) of your own online presence has always been one of the central disciplines of online marketing to build up reach. For publisher, SEO is therefore an important part of the corporate strategy in order to generate targeted traffic and use it economically.
In contrast to many other website types, publishers play a crucial role in publishers. Many authors overlook the fact that they do not appear as advertisers for a product, but act as a publisher. After just a few lines read, it is often clear that it is not SEO-optimized content, but rather pure advertising. This distinction is essential, since advertising texts are quickly recognized by readers as such, which can lead to higher bounce rates.
Specialized SEO agencies for news portals
In German -speaking countries, several agencies have established themselves as specialists for publishers and news portals. These service providers understand the specific challenges of the media industry and offer tailor-made solutions that go far beyond standard SEO approaches.
The focus is on optimizing publishing websites for Google News and Google Discover. Your approach includes both technical optimizations and editorial processes that are specially tailored to the needs of news portals.
These specialized agencies differ from general SEO service providers by their deep understanding of the publishing industry and their special requirements. They often work closely with editorial offices and understand the balance between journalistic demands and SEO optimization.
Specific SEO strategies for publishers
For publishers, certain SEO strategies are particularly relevant that differ from those of other industries. These specialized approaches focus primarily on optimization for special news channels and the development of content strategies that meet both journalistic standards and SEO requirements.
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- The SEO tip tret mill and "oversemplification"-between "Top 10 Lists" and the call for authenticity
- What is better? Structured AI-optimized content vs. handwritten article with advertising?
Strategic adjustments for sustainable publishers
Content strategies for news portals
Here are important content strategies for news portals to optimize visibility in search engines, Google News and Google Discover:
Topicality and relevance
- Focus on current, timely reporting on relevant topics.
- Publish new content regularly to signal the “Freshness”.
- Watch trends with tools such as Google Trends to recognize relevant topics at an early stage.
Quality and expertise
- Create high-quality, well-researched content that radiate expertise and trustworthiness (EAT principle).
- Add original insights, expert opinions and your own research.
- Avoid clickbait and misleading headings.
Optimization for mobile devices
- Make a responsive design that adapts to all screen sizes.
- Optimize the loading speed for mobile devices.
- Consider the implementation of AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages).
Visual storytelling
- Use high -quality, relevant images (at least 1200px wide).
- Integrate videos to increase the attractiveness for Google Discover.
- Use web stories for visually appealing, short -format content.
Structured data and metadata
- Implement relevant structured data such as Newsarticle-Scheme.
- Optimize titles, meta descriptions and URLs for better visibility.
Internal link and theme hubs
- Create themed hubs for important events or subject areas.
- Use internal links to direct the authority on certain pages.
Evergreen content
- Balancize the latest news with timeless, evergreen content.
- Update existing content regularly to get your relevance.
Promote user commitment
- Encourage readers to follow your news portal on Google News.
- Create opportunities for user interactions such as comments or surveys.
By implementing these strategies, news portals can improve their visibility in search engines, Google News and Google Discover and at the same time provide high -quality, user -oriented content.
Google News and Google Discover Optimization
One of the most important specialized strategies for publishers is optimizing Google News. Ultimately, Google News is like a search engine for messages. An algorithm determines which messages are played on which keywords in which position. The optimization for this channel requires specific know-how in areas such as furnishing in the Google Publisher Center, the technical marking of news articles and the optimization of the news sitemap.
Google Discover represents another important channel for publisher. As the largest range channel for news sites, Discover also offers great opportunities to increase your own reach.
Technical SEO requirements for news portals
The technical requirements for the SEO of news portals are particularly complex and require specialized know-how. For publishers, certain technical aspects are particularly relevant that are less in focus on other websites.
An important area is the optimization of the news sitemap. This special form of the sitemap is essential for news portals to inform Google about new content and to accelerate indexing.
The loading times also play a special role in news portals. The speed is a critical factor, especially for news portals, since users want to use current information quickly.
Another technical aspect is the implementation of structured data and markup elements especially for news articles. These elements help search engines to recognize the content as news articles and to present them accordingly in the search results.
Current trends and challenges in the publisher SEO
The SEO landscape for publisher is in constant change, and current data show worrying trends for the industry. The publisher industry is characterized by fast-moving trends. Your SEO strategy must be flexible and regularly adapted to current developments.
The current loss of visibility for many news portals is particularly striking. 45 of the 100 largest SEO losers were publisher, including Web.de (-57%visibility), FOCUS.de (-46%) and Stern.de (-50%) ”, shows a current analysis for 2024. In contrast, e-commerce companies could benefit from algorithmic changes. The main reasons for this development are “Google snippets, AI-based search assistants and new SERP features”, which “repressed classic news sites from the top results”.
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These changes pose great challenges and underline the need for specialized SEO strategies. The growing influence of AI generated answers and new search engine functions requires adapted approaches to remain visible and generate traffic.
At the same time, there are also new opportunities. Mobile first optimization is becoming increasingly important because “over 60% of Google searches 2024 Mobil” took place. Publishers who optimize their websites for mobile devices and improve the Core Web Vitals can increase their visibility.
Success factors for SEO in the publisher area
The success of SEO measures for publishers depends on various factors that are specific to this industry. Based on the analyzed sources, several key factors crystallize.
Specialization and thematic authority have become particularly important. "Google rewards specialized shops with high thematic relevance," says the article linked above. This knowledge can also be transferred to publisher:
- News portals that specialize in certain subject areas and build high expertise there can achieve better rankings than generalists.
- The quality of the content is another crucial factor. Texts created with claims and useful content are often read. For publishers, this means that they also have to offer depth and added value beyond the pure topicality.
- The implementation of the technical requirements for Google News and Google Discover is also crucial.
Last but not least, continuous analysis and adaptation also play an important role. In the fast -moving world of search engine optimization for publishers, the constant monitoring and adaptation of the strategies is essential.
The future of the SEO for publishers
The SEO landscape for publishers is in a profound change. The current development in which classic news portals lose visibility, while e-commerce pages are gaining, presents the industry with major challenges. At the same time, this development underlines the need for specialized SEO strategies and service providers who understand the special requirements of publishers.
In this context, specialized SEO agencies for news portals are becoming increasingly important. With your profound understanding of the specific challenges and possibilities of the publishing industry, you can develop tailor-made strategies that go beyond general SEO approaches. The optimization for Google News and Google Discover, the development of specialized content strategies and the implementation of technical requirements especially for news portals are central elements.
In the future, it will be crucial for publishers to work with specialized partners who not only bring general SEO know-how, but also understand the special needs and challenges of the media industry. This is the only way to continue to generate visibility and traffic in an increasingly complex digital landscape and successfully lead your business model into the future.
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Konrad Wolfenstein
I would be happy to serve you and my team as a personal advisor.
You can contact me by filling out the contact form or simply call me on +49 89 89 674 804 (Munich) . My email address is: wolfenstein ∂ xpert.digital
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