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Nurse Style: The Nurse blog does use a trailing slash at the end of URLs. Example: https://www.nurse.com/blog/2021/05/01/care-for-women-families-nurse-midwife/
Editing and Updating URLs
Once you have entered text and saved the blog as a draft, you are able to edit the URL that is autogenerated. Click in the box and type in (or paste in) the desired URL.
URL Redirects
Go to Yoast SEO and then click on Redirects. The Old URL needs to be a relative URL. This means that you do not need to include the first part of the URL such as https://www.nurse.com/blog in the Old URL field. The New URL needs to be an absolute URL. An absolute URL is the full URL link.
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● New URL: https://www.nurse.com/blog/
QA
URL changes will reflect in some minutes or hours because of the cache. It is important to QA redirect changes to double-check that they are working as intended.
301 Redirects
301 Redirects are used for pages that have permanently moved to a new location. When you use a 301, Google removes the old page from their index and most SEO value (link equity) from that page is transferred to the new page.
302 Redirects
302 Redirects are used for pages that are only temporarily moved to a new location. You should only use a 302 if you’re planning on eventually bringing the old page back. The original page remains indexed in Google as Google knows this move is only temporary.
Metadata Recommendations
http://Nurse.com utilizes the Yoast SEO plugin for controlling meta-data on the website. Follow the plugin suggestions for ensuring your meta description and post title are not cut off by search engines due to length. Finally, titles should be written in the title case.
Meta Title
When creating a meta title for your blog, put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Ask yourself: What title would entice you to click through to the post? Will people be able to get a good idea of what the post is about from your title? The Meta Title is still considered one of the strong off-page content signals to Google about the contents of any given page.
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● Ex: 3 Steps to Improve Patient Experience | http://Nurse.com
Meta Description
Should be written in a way that encourages the user to click on that specific search result (call to action), impacting click-thru rate (CTR). Include target keywords and phrases.
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With the pandemic forcing healthcare providers to implement telehealth services. How can you effectively collaborate with colleagues remotely?
Canonical URL
A canonical URL is a technical solution for duplicate content. Canonicals also enable you to point search engines to the original version of an article. Let’s say, you’ve written a post for another party that is published on their website. If you’d like to post it on your site too, you could agree on posting it with a canonical to the original version.
Though not very common, if a post has been published elsewhere, make sure to set the canonical URL under the Advanced tab in Yoast. For example, this post was originally published on reliasmedia.com and republished on http://relias.com . In this case, you would set the canonical of the http://relias.com post to the http://reliasmedia.com post to avoid duplicate content concerns.
Banner Images
Banner images should be 1200 pixels (w) x 467 pixels (h) and saved as a JPEG that is optimized for the Web. Save at 60% quality.
Adding Banner Image to a Post
On WordPress, we utilize the “featured image” in the right sidebar for the blog banner images.
Stock Photo Guidelines
Images should never look fake or staged. The background provides vital context to a photo.
Images that show the people we serve giving care to others are highly encouraged. Be sure to use images of diverse people throughout a piece. Include a variety of ethnicities, genders, ages, abilities, etc. as appropriate.
Unacceptable Image Subjects
Part of our visual identity strategy is to maintain a professional, expert-level, high-quality tone. Pictures and graphics should not include overly composited images, metaphoric representations or unnaturally posed people. The background of the image should look realistic and lived-in, rather than overly white and generic. Always license an image before using it. Never use anything copyrighted or watermarked on a final client-facing piece.
In-Post Imagery
The body container for blog posts is 770px wide. Since the container is relatively small, images that are added in a post
Full-Width Image
770px
Half-Width Image
385px
Formatting
Formatting is an important part of SEO optimization, and proper formatting can result in a better ranking for rich or featured snippets in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
Headers/Subheads
Use headers/subheads as you would for any written page, to provide structure and context for the reader. In SEO they are particularly important as they inform the search engines about the content of the page, as such they should be optimized with targeted keywords. Each header should give the reader an idea of the information they can expect to find from the paragraph text that follows below.
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● The H2s are akin to book chapters, describing the main topics you’ll cover in sections of the article.
H1 (Main Heading or Title)
The H1 gives people a taste of what they’re about to read.
http://Nurse.com Style: We only use one H1 per blog post and this is reserved for the blog title. Use title case for all H1s.
H2 (Subheading)
Using H2s in a blog post is critical to both user experience and search purposes. Body text should be written in manageable sections that are easily scannable, and H2s can help you do this.
http://Nurse.com Style: We use as many H2s as needed to organize an article. Use title case for all H2s.
H3 (Subheadings)
H3s are used as subsections of H2 subheadings.
http://Nurse.com Style: We use H3s instead of numbered or bulleted lists where each bullet has a few sentences of copy accompanying it.The format should be: number followed by a period (1., 2., 3., etc) and use sentence case.
H4 (Subheadings)
H4 subheadings are subsections of H3 subheadings.
http://Nurse.com Style: Use sentence case
Punctuation and Grammar
Italics
Use italics to show emphasis. Ex: I knew you were tired. I didn’t know you were that tired.
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Use italics for words that can be misread and introduce technical or key terms.
Commas
It is the writer’s preference whether to use a serial, or Oxford, comma. Either preference must be used consistently throughout the piece of content and the intended message must be clear to the reader. There are times when a sentence is clear regardless of comma style, and there are times when a sentence requires one style over another for clarity.
Numbers and Symbols
In general, spell out one through nine. Use figures for 10 or above and whenever preceding a unit of measure or referring to ages of people, animals, events or things. Also use figures in tables, and in statistical and sequential forms.
Links
Internal
Internal Links are hyperlinks that point to another page on the same website.
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Do not link off to resources and blog posts that do not closely match the subject of the article. Linking for the sake of linking is not the goal. Aim to include internal links that would aid in the user experience.
External
External Links are hyperlinks that point at (target) any domain other than the domain the link exists on (source) – in this case, that would mean anything that isn’t on http://Nurse.com .
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http://Nurse.com Style: Set all external links to open in a new window.
Digital Advertising Links for Sponsored Content
If a digital advertising client is asking to include links within a http://Nurse.com blog post, you should set search engines to not follow links on the blog post. But search engines can show the post in search results and it can be indexed.
Link Text
We do not include full URLs in copy, instead, the links should be embedded in the body text of the blog using anchor words.
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Avoid using general non-descriptive text like “click here” and “learn more”.
Calls to Action (CTAs)
For each blog post, you have the option to add an “end of post CTA”. When possible use an existing http://Nurse.com resource for your CTA.
Categories
Categories should be used sparingly. When choosing categories for a post, run through the following list in order.
Primary Category
When adding categories to a post, WordPress automatically assigns one category as the “primary” category. Assign the primary category to the most specific topic possible.
*Blog Categories are being updated in May/June/July 2021.
Adding Categories
Blog Categories are being updated in May 2021. After this, there will be an official list of categories that have been added to WordPress. Users should not add categories without consulting Content Marketing and SEO. This list of official categories was created to reduce web page clutter, help with internal organization, and help teams focus on topics that are relevant to the content on http://Nurse.com .
A case can be made for creating a “category” in WordPress if 1) http://Nurse.com is creating multiple pieces of content on a new topic or 2) http://Nurse.com has such a large category that it can be broken into additional smaller categories.
Official List of Categories
Pending update of May 2021.
Tags
The http://Nurse.com blog does not utilize tags within the WordPress backend in order to reduce clutter. Only categories are used.
Authors
Before adding a new author, search to see if a profile exists. Watch the video below for a step-by-step guide to adding an author in addition to the detailed instructions below.
Adding New Authors
If no author profile exists, a new WordPress user will need to be added. Below are the standard guidelines for adding an author to the system.
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● Title: Author’s job title.
● Company
Editorial Process
Once the final copy has been approved, blog posts can be added to WordPress. When you have finished entering your blog make sure that the post has been saved as a draft. This is done in the Publish box on the right of the screen.
Next, click the View Post button below the main blog title. This will display how your blog will look on the site.
Setting Publishing Date
Only set the final publish date once your blog post has been approved.
Adding Post Content
When adding content to the blog, select Add new from under the Posts section of the WordPress menu on the left-hand side of the screen.
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From the menu that is then displayed, ensure that the “Open in new window” box is checked.
Additional Resources
Anatomy of a Perfect Blog Post - Hubspot
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