Timing is an essential tool when it comes to making news perform as a traffic driver for web pages, a technology and business writer has said.

Writing on the WebProNews site, Jason Lee Miller argues that covering breaking news or very current events is particularly profitable when attracting traffic to your website.

For instance, Mr Miller highlights recent events such as the Masters Golf tournament and films that are new in the cinema as terms that cropped up in the most searched terms lists produced on a regular basis by the likes of Google (Zeitgeist) and Yahoo! (Buzz Index).

"While breaking news is harder to catch ... others can be seen coming well in advance," Mr Miller wrote.

"If you sell golf supplies, then obviously, you want to optimise in advance of the Masters Tournament - a month or two in advance for good measure."

Trend monitoring in this way can be profitable also at certain times of the year, with Easter one such term a lot of people search for information on, according to the writer.

Earlier this week, John Ellis wrote on Marketing Pilgrim that press releases should also make use of keywords and other search engine optimisation techniques.