Top Ten Ideas for Creating & Managing Web Content
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08.20.09 Top Ten Ideas for Creating & Managing Site Content Friday, August 21, 2009
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A Digital Scientists presentation on improving your site's content. Instead of telling you how to write a blog post (which is open to interpretation, really), we're offering up tips and tools for getting to know your reader and cranking out top-notch content. There's a little something for everyone - bloggers, web content writers, designers, SEO professionals, and marketers.
Transcript of Top Ten Ideas for Creating & Managing Web Content
08.20.09
Top Ten Ideas for Creating & Managing Site Content
Friday, August 21, 2009
DIGITAL SCIENTISTS 08.20.2009
About Digital ScientistsA FULL SET OF IN-HOUSE DIGITAL MARKETING SERVICES
Weʼre strategists and brand marketers with a scientistʼs passion for measurement and optimization. If you need to activate your brand with a digital marketing plan, we can help.
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Strategy & Planning Design & Development Analytics & OptimizationWeʼre web-savvy designers who believe elegant, usable designs are the most beautiful. Weʼre also open source developers who use Rails, Flex and mobile platforms.
Weʼre obsessed with tracking and analyzing online behaviors and ultimately the ROI of everything we do. Weʼre not obsessed with awards, unless they come from our clients.
• Marketing Strategy• Marketing Planning• Brand Identity• Brand Architecture• Market Research & Analysis
• Web Design• Application Design• User Experience Design• Video & Motion Creative• Advertising Creative• Social Networks• E-commerce• Desktop & Advertising Widgets• Mobile & iPhone Applications
• Web/Digital Analytics• Marketing Investment Tracking & Analysis• Marketing Investment Optimization• Media Buying & PPC Management• Search Optimization
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DIGITAL SCIENTISTS 08.20.2009
1. Keep It Fresh
INTEGRATE LOW MAINTENANCE CONTENT OPTIONS
• Delicious Bookmarks• RSS feeds • Digg Bookmarks• Twitter Tweets• Tumblr Blogs
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For the Nerds: Delicious, Digg, and Tumblr have a JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) API. This makes it possible to pull, style, and embed feed content into a website. If you want to embed an RSS or Atom feed, you can use Google Feed API to convert RSS to JSON.
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DIGITAL SCIENTISTS 08.20.2009
1. Keep It Fresh
EXAMPLE: FEEDGROWTH.COM
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Tom’s Delicious Bookmarks
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DIGITAL SCIENTISTS 08.20.2009
2. A Little Less Conversation
LEARN HOW TO BALANCE CONTENT AND DESIGN FOR MAXIMUM EFFECT
How you display content and juxtapose design elements depends entirely on your site’s purpose. Are you selling something? Promoting your company? Ranting to the world?There are several different types of sites - too many to cover in this presentation - so, we will focus the most common two:
• The Product Site• Blog
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For the Nerds: An analytics and user behavior tool called CrazyEgg can show you where your readers are going on your pages. The twist - CrazyEgg provides graphical interpretations of the data - heat maps, confetti view, etc.
Friday, August 21, 2009
DIGITAL SCIENTISTS 08.20.2009
2. A Little Less Conversation
EXAMPLE: PIPEJUMP.COM /PRODUCT SITE
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2. A Little Less Conversation
EXAMPLE 1: PIPEJUMP.COM /PRODUCT SITE
Layout: • Single Page, Horizontal
Layout • Tells eye where to go on page• Graphically Appealing, Easy to
Navigate
Information Hierarchy: • Most important content and
calls to action are “above the fold”
• Large Buttons, Large Video
Features/Selling Points: • Small, easily digestible
content boxes• 1-3 lines
Testimonials: • Small, easily digestible
content boxes• 1-3 lines
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2. A Little Less Conversation
EXAMPLE 1: UPPERCASEGALLERY.CA /BLOG
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2. A Little Less Conversation
EXAMPLE 1: UPPERCASEGALLERY.CA /BLOG
Layout: • Scrolling Page, Vertical
Layout • Use Whitespace, Leads
Eye Down • Graphically Appealing,
Easy to Navigate
Information Hierarchy: • No big graphic header or call
to action• Articles are, in fact, the call to
action• RSS feeds, Categories and
Advertising are smaller, less prominent
Features: • Easily-digestible text, Images
are main focus
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DIGITAL SCIENTISTS 08.20.2009
3. Bring In Some Fresh Blood
INVITE GUEST BLOGGERS OR UTLIZE COPYWRITING MARKETPLACES
Guest BloggersGuest Bloggers are a great way to drum up readership. Bloggers typically bring their audience with them. Vice versa, should you appear on their blog (barter services), you’re introducing your content to a new set of readers. Having more than one writer makes your blog look more robust and gives your readers some variety. Look for bloggers of similar interest or topic (they could even be your competition) - Technorati and AllTop are a good place to start.
ElanceElance is a one-stop shop for all your outsourcing needs. Their community of writers-for-hire is 25,000 strong. Of which, more than 6000 are bloggers and 5000 are web content writers. You can choose your writer by location, rate, feedback, and even their yearly earnings.
HeliumHelium is a content marketplace, social network, and writers’ resource all rolled into one. You can create a writing assignment or freelance gig on Helium’s job board (e.g. “Feature blogger on FeedGrowth.com”). Helium verifies their writers (look for the Helium-approved badge), and the service promises a 7-day turnaround with all assignments. There’s also a library of stock content available for purchase.
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EXAMPLE: MASHABLE.COM
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3. Bring In Some Fresh Blood
• Crowdsource model; stable of guest writers
• Constant content churn• Writers use social tools to
promote their stories (e.g. Twitter)
• In June ’09, Mashable overtook juggernaut TechCrunch as the most popular Tech blog.
For the Nerds: Mashable utilizes the WordPress Multi User Platform, which is designed for the management of multiple users and blogs on a single WordPress account.
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DIGITAL SCIENTISTS 08.20.2009
Google Analytics: Build a Reader ProfileTop Content: View which pages readers spend the most time on. Pageviews, alone, can be misleading, sort by “Avg Time on Page” to see how engaging your content is.
Top Exit Pages: View which pages your readers are departing from (i.e where are you losing them?)
Bounce Rate: Monitor your bounce rates over time, compare to content, and identify themes/patterns (i.e how are you losing them?).
DS Analytics Tool: The Missing IngredientGoogle Analytics is great, but when we wanted more than it could provide, we rolled up our sleeves and built a complementary analytics tool. The DS Analytics Tool tells you where visitors came from before they landed on your site and where they went after they left. Once you know the comings and goings of your readers, you can craft content that holds their attention longer.
The DS Analytics Tool is free, only takes a line of code to get started, and integrates with your existing Google Analytics.
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4. Know Your Reader
USE ANALYTICS TOOLS TO LEARN ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE AND WHAT CONTENT THEY LIKE
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4. Know Your Reader
EXAMPLE: FEEDGROWTH.COM
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Bingo! Top Ten Lists
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5. Variety is the Spice of Life (and Web Content)
INTEGRATE VIDEO, IMAGES AND LINKS
Don’t forget that “Content” is more than just text:• Images• Video • Music• Podcasts• Links • Charts & Graphs • Artwork• Widgets
Even if you content is compelling and well-written, most people don’t have the patience to read paragraph after paragraph of block text (our user experience designer is probably cringing at the mere thought). Choose media that will enhance your commentary and keep readers on the page longer.
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5. Variety is the Spice of Life (and Web Content)
EXAMPLE: LIZZER.COM (LINKING & EMBEDDING TOOL FOR BLOGGERS AND WEB PUBLISHERS)
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Boring block text
Not-boring Stormtrooper
Video
Lizzer (uses force)
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6. Can I Get a Witness?
CREATIVE (AND PAINLESS) WAYS TO ELICIT CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
Testimonials are like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval; people are more likely to buy if they see them on your website.
Testimonials Facebook AppIf you maintain a corporate presence on Facebook, you should definitely get this app. Testimonials gathers feedback from your fans and friends for social sport. Feedback SitesYou’re customers may already be singing your praises (or cursing your name) on the web. Check Yelp, Kudzu, & Epinions. There are also several niche industry feedback sites (e.g. Angie’s List). UserVoiceIf you’re launching a major product or application, consider using a product like UserVoice. UserVoice lets you centralize all chatter (feedback, ticketing issues, voting on feature enhancement, and more) in a single online space.
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6. Can I Get a Witness?
EXAMPLE: YELP.COM
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7. Not All Content is Created Equal - Part 1
LEVERAGE INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE BEST PRACTICES TO IMPROVE YOUR CONTENT’S SEARCHABILITY
Most people think SEO begins and ends with keywords, and as a writer, you need only sprinkle them throughout your text to be search-friendly. There’s actually a bit more to it. It’s not complicated, but you do have to train yourself to write for your pickiest reader - the Search Engine.Search engines use the Inverted Pyramid structure to weight site text:
• HTML Headers: Search engines look at HTML headers to determine your content hierarchy. H1 headers are the most important, followed by H2, and so on. Think of a newspaper. The headline is the biggest and boldest content on the page, but also the most brief. Headers should be the same - only a few words, but they should be your most important keywords.
• Keyword Placement: Use your most important keywords within the first sentence and/or paragraph. Don’t go overboard. It dilutes the effect.
• Bolding: Bold keywords that are relevant to your content. Just as a reader’s eye is drawn to bolded text, so is the search engine’s.
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7. Not All Content is Created Equal
EXAMPLE: DIGITALSCIENTISTS.COM
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<h1 class="category_headline">Email Marketing
</h1>
<h2 class="blog_category no-margins ds_row_small">
Email marketing ...</h2>
<b>Email Campaigns</b>
<h2 class="blog_category no-margins ds_row_small">
Take Advantage of Testing and Tracking Features
</h2>
<b>Autoresponders</b>
<b>RSS to email</b>
What Google Sees vs. What You See:
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8. Not All Content Is Created Equal - Part 2
PROPERLY NAME AND TAG YOUR IMAGES TO IMPROVE YOUR CONTENT’S SEARCHABILITY
While we’re on the topic, don’t forget to make your images SEO-friendly. You’d be surprised by the amount of traffic an image can drive to your site. Not to mention, the competition is less fierce than web search.
Title:
Your Title should always be relevant to the subject matter and your keywords (e.g. MichaelJacksonGlove.jpg, not 000000037.jpg)
ALT Attributes:
ALT text describes your image to the search engines. Be more detailed here and use common keywords associated with your image (Michael Jackson White Glove Billie Jean Motown).
Surrounding Text:
Search engines also look at the text surrounding the image for clues.
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For the Nerds: Wordpress users should install the SEO Friendly Images plugin, which will automatically update all images with proper ALT and Title Attributes.
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8. Not All Content Is Created Equal - Part 2
CASE EXAMPLE: GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH
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9. Why Buy the Cow When the Content is Free?
USE CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSING TO YOUR BENEFIT
Creative Commons is an excellent resource for free images, video, music, and more. This site catalogs content that is available for public use - content that can be published, shared, repurposed and remixed legally. Creative Commons Services include:
• Google Web• Google Images• Yahoo Web• Flickr Images• Blip.tv Video• SpinXpress Media• Jamendo Music
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9. Why Buy the Cow When the Content is Free?
EXAMPLE: CREATIVECOMMONS.ORG
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10. This or That?
USE A/B TESTING TO SEE WHAT YOUR AUDIENCE RESPONDS TO
Google Website Optimizer • Create two or more versions of the same webpage. Google will randomly
display different versions to your users and test response rates.• Test Headlines, Images, Promotional Text, Calls to Action, etc. • Confine A/B Testing to large elements and/or an element at a time. Too
many changes make it hard to identify what audiences are actually responding to.
• Always remember your end goal with A/B Testing (e.g. more account sign-ups)
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10. This or That?
CASE EXAMPLE: GYMINEE LANDING PAGE
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Full Case Study found here, The Four Hour Work Week Blog
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Digital Marketing Planning 26
Questions?
404.395.8471
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How We’re DifferentTHE DIGITAL SCIENTISTS APPROACH
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•Fair and clear rates. Our hourly rates are based on the three categories of work we do: Marketing, Design & Development, and Analytics & Optimization. We provide our clients a great value.
•We’re a pay-by-the-drink company and can handle projects of all sizes.Unlike most agencies, we work on projects of all sizes. We can handle all of your marketing efforts or just a few pieces. Sometimes the smartest approaches come from our experience with small clients or startups.
•Focused on... resultsWe are completely focused on generating a return on your investment in digital marketing. Even if your goal is building brand preference compared to driving specific sales, we always align our efforts to what you want to accomplish.
•We’re a service company.We donʼt earn a commission on anything we do. We donʼt charge based on a percentage of media placed. If a vendor provides a refund or discount, it is passed straight on to you.
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How We’re DifferentTHE DIGITAL SCIENTISTS APPROACH
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•We work on a weekly schedule.We have a no-nonsense, disciplined approach to project management. Our weekly updates keep everyone informed of accomplishments, upcoming tasks, upcoming milestones, budget and schedule.
•We’re a “butts-in-seats” company - not a collection of contractors.We have marketers, designers, and developers working elbow to elbow. From iPhone apps to analytics to marketing strategy – we have the talent in-house and ready to go. If we donʼt, weʼll tell you and work toward a specific solution.
•We’re interested in the numbers, not awards.Whether itʼs Clios or Webbys, we just donʼt care about awards, unless theyʼre in service to achieving a business objective. Weʼre marketers first, interested in business results.
•We create a sustainable, engaging environment for clients and employeesWe believe that happy, non-commuting employees make for better results for our clients (and for the environment). Also, we invest in our community to make it a better place for everyone.
Friday, August 21, 2009
