While the viewership for the Oscars dropped in 2018, it remains a mainstay of entertainment news coverage. We wanted to find out: Which publishers were most visible in the Google search engine results pages (SERPs) for our keyword set about the Oscars in general, as well as for the single keyword “frances mcdormand”?

Using the News Dashboard SEO tool, we examined the Desktop and Mobile News Boxes, as well as the Mobile Publisher Carousels. In case you’re not familiar with the terminology above, here are some examples (and you can check out the SEO terms journalists need to know for more):

Examples of the News Box on the Desktop SERP (left to right); News Box on the Mobile SERP; and the Publisher Carousel – similar to the News Box, but all of the articles are from a single publisher – which appears only on the Mobile SERPs.

First, we take a deep dive into the data about the “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” actress in the SERPs on Monday, March 5. As there was a variety of news around McDormand, we not only found the most visible publishers for her name on average throughout the day, we also found the most visible article from each publisher, and what news event around her name each headline was mainly about.

50 percent of the stories below were about the “inclusion riders” McDormand mentioned in her Best Actress acceptance speech. The remainder were split between the news that someone had stolen McDormand’s Oscar statue during an after-party (it was later recovered) and general news about her win and speech.

Desktop News Boxes – “frances mcdormand”

Visibility around the keyword “frances mcdormand” spiked on Monday, March 5, after she won Best Actress at the Oscars.

While legacy news organizations often have an impressive desktop showing, relative digital newcomer The Verge, which is owned by Vox, tops the list here. Interestingly, none of the Top 5 is an entertainment-focused site.

The Verge – 17.72 percent

Most visible story for this keyword, in this ranking type: Oscars 2018: Frances McDormand champions ‘inclusion riders’ during her Best Actress speech

NPR – 9.88 percent

What’s An Inclusion Rider? Here’s The Story Behind Frances McDormand’s Closing Words

BBC News – 6.58 percent

Oscars 2018: Man arrested for theft of Frances McDormand’s Oscar

ABC News – 6.17 percent

Frances McDormand ‘just found out’ about inclusion riders, and ‘we’re not going back’

CNN – 5.35 percent

Frances McDormand’s Oscar stolen (and returned)

Mobile News Boxes – “frances mcdormand”

The keyword “frances mcdormand” didn’t become visible in the Mobile News Boxes measured by the News Dashboard until Monday, March 5.

Moving to the mobile SERPs, NPR and ABC News are replaced by Fox News and Variety – so one entertainment-focused publisher joins the Top 5.

BBC News – 11.68 percent

Oscars 2018: Man arrested for theft of Frances McDormand’s Oscar

The Verge – 11.54 percent

Oscars 2018: Frances McDormand champions ‘inclusion riders’ during her Best Actress speech

Fox News – 11.27 percent

Frances McDormand invites all female Oscars nominees to stand during Best Actress speech

Variety – 9.93 percent

Frances McDormand Oscar Speech Sparks Interest in Inclusion Riders

CNN – 7.55 percent

Frances McDormand’s Oscar stolen (and returned)

Publisher Carousels – “frances mcdormand”

A mix of entertainment and general-interest news websites, as well as the official Academy Awards site, make up the Top 5 for Mobile Publisher Carousel visibility.

Publisher Carousels feature the greatest number of entertainment-specific publishers – Variety, Vanity Fair and Deadline Hollywood.

Variety – 39.68 percent

TV Review: The 90th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony on ABC

ABC News – 20.05 percent

Frances McDormand brings ‘inclusion rider’ into spotlight

Vanity Fair – 12.7 percent

*Both articles had equal visibility in the ranking type.

Blast from the Past: Frances McDormand and Gary Oldman Pose in Chattahoochee

Oscars 2018: Inclusion Rider, Frances McDormand, and the Night’s Biggest #MeToo Moment

Oscar.go.com – 11.7 percent

Watch Frances McDormand’s Best Actress 2018 Oscar Speech

Deadline – 9.52 percent

*Both articles had equal visibility in the ranking type.

Oscars: The Good The Bad & The Ugly

Frances McDormand And #InclusionRider Go Viral After Oscar Speech – Reactions

Desktop News Boxes – general Oscars keyword set (Sunday, March 4)

People.com is the single entertainment-focused publisher in the Top 5 for desktop News Boxes on Sunday, March 4, for the general Oscars keyword set.

Switching back into Oscar Sunday (March 4), below are the Top 5 most visible publishers for the general keyword set, listed at the end of this article.

BBC News – 10.66 percent

People – 8.74 percent

The New York Times – 8.01 percent

CNN – 6.64 percent

Fox News – 6.22 percent