SEO for Hacker News: Complete Guide (2026)

SEO Basics for Hacker News

Hacker News has its own approach to SEO. Understanding how Hacker News handles URL structure, meta descriptions, XML sitemaps, and page rendering is the foundation of ranking Hacker News sites in search.

Technical SEO for Hacker News

URL Structure

Check how Hacker News generates URLs. Clean, descriptive URLs perform better in search. Configure your Hacker News settings to use keyword-rich slugs.

Meta Tags

Ensure you can customize title tags and meta descriptions for every page. Some platforms limit this. If Hacker News restricts meta tag editing, look for plugins or workarounds.

Sitemap

Verify that Hacker News generates an XML sitemap automatically, or create one. Submit it to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.

Page Speed

Hacker News sites vary in page speed depending on themes, plugins, and hosting. Test with Google PageSpeed Insights and optimize images, scripts, and CSS.

Keyword Research for Hacker News Sites

Use Delulu9 to find keywords relevant to your Hacker News site. The MCP server integrates with Claude Code and Cursor, so you can research keywords without leaving your editor.

Focus on keywords that match the content types Hacker News supports well. If Hacker News is strong for blog content, target informational keywords. If it’s an ecommerce platform, focus on product and category page keywords.

Content Strategy for Hacker News

Build content that plays to Hacker News’s strengths. Create pillar pages for your main topics, with supporting blog posts targeting related long tail keywords.

Optimize each page for one primary keyword. Include it in the title, H1 tag, meta description, and naturally throughout the content.

Common Hacker News SEO Mistakes

• Not customizing default meta tags
• Ignoring page speed optimization
• Missing schema markup
• Not submitting sitemap to search engines
• Duplicate content from tag and category pages

Related Guides

• SEO for Discourse
• SEO for Remix
• Keyword Research for Steel Buildings
• Keyword Research for Amazon FBA

Optimize Your Hacker News Site

Delulu9 gives you keyword research for your Hacker News site. Google, Bing, and Reddit data for $12/mo.