As Niles mentions, deep linking is extremely important. Hyperlinking is no longer a one-way street; it establishes reciprocal relationship between publisher and online entities (individuals, networked publics, other publications). Search engines give higher ranking to sites that link to sites outside their own domain.

Also, as Egelko describes, the more accurate context an article can provide, the better. Even the format of the hyperlink can alter the way your articles are found. A URL of http://www.www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/070920_robert_niles-hyperlink/ would be more likely to come up in a google search for “Robert Niles hyperlink”.

The SEO discussion is ever-changing, and most large organizations have dedicated staff to ensure search engine spiders, individuals, and other entities can find articles and that they provide a high relevance to readers. In other words, your articles will be more likely to be found online through careful attention to the format, number, and context of links in your story.

I agree, hyperlinking is an excellent way to add more to the story, and you see it with some good online publications. This was a common topic in many of my j-school classes.

With many smaller papers I have also noticed that there is not a huge amount of sophistication in their ranks when it comes to creating their online content. The fact that they get it successfully posted is an achievement in itself. This is something that, I think, will change once the old guard has passed and a younger crop of j-school grads has taken over the reins.