Online Content Strategy. From the Maximising Online Resource Effectiveness workshop (session 5/8)

1. Conclusion
Intro
Explanation
Detail
Detail
Conclusion
Content strategy

2. Content strategy
Session 5/8

3. Address most important issues first
SEO with a skeleton crew
Josh McCoy, Search Engine Watch, 29 Mar 2010
1. Linking: check your strongest inbound links and make sure these have the
most optimal link text—find a handful of the most credible and relevant links to
your site—worth more than the 100 you would have easily accrued before.
2. Internal linking: make sure the internal link anchor text in your linking page
text matches the keyword theme of the destination page. Watch for
opportunities to add internal links to help you create better site-wide internal
linking, and help visitors navigate more easily.
3. Copy: does the text speak to who you are and what you do, while focusing on
page relevant keyword themes? Your job is to educate users, as well as the
search engines, about what your site is all about.
4. Images: don't forget to add alternative (alt) tags to images on your site—these
tags should contain keywords that are relevant to the image and match the
keyword theme of any adjacent body text.
5. Title tags: crucial, target the most relevant keyword theme for your site pages
and also provide an accurate, keyword-rich, and compelling description.
http://searchenginewatch.com/3639906

4. Amount of content
Can your content be delivered adequately?
Is the server and network up to the job?
‣ underpowered server
‣ network connectivity
Is the content unnecessarily “heavy”?
‣ Use of too many separate image/CSS/JS resources
‣ Every resource has bandwidth overhead
‣ Consolidate where possible

5. Audience research
Establishing desirable target audience
The Audience Analysis Toolkit for public sector bodies has been
developed for the Strategic Content Alliance to distribute to members
‣ A concise guide to researching audiences
‣ A visualisation guide to researching audiences
‣ Audience research for cultural sector practitioners
‣ Audience research for people experimenting with digital media
‣ Audience research for education and research practitioners
‣ Audience research for health library and knowledge practitioners
‣ Audience research for programme, service and research practitioners
‣ Audience research for senior managers
http://sca.jiscinvolve.org/publications/

6. Use of Javascript
Enhancing the user experience
Avoid unnecessary user inconvenience or time wasting
‣ form validation
‣ AJAX—to prevent frequent page loads from server
‣ increase response times for web site visitors
http://www.w3.org/standards/webdesign/script

7. Javascript—AJAX example
‣ update user interactively
‣ provide visual feedback
‣ check details at server
‣ reduce necessary pages
http://www.mcshaneglen.com/cgi-bin/bookings

8. Providing access for everyone
Official accessibility guidelines
How people with disabilities use the web
‣ Addressing various scenarios
Web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG) overview
‣ Four principles and corresponding checklist points
‣ Perceivable | Operable | Understandable | Robust
http://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/Drafts/PWD-Use-Web/ http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/

9. Content layout
F-Shaped Pattern For Reading Web Content
Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, April 17 2006
Eyetracking visualisations show that users often read Web pages in an F-shaped
pattern: two horizontal stripes followed by a vertical stripe.
F for fast. That's how users read your precious content. In a few seconds, their eyes
move at amazing speeds across your website’s words in a pattern that's very
different from what you learned in school.
We recorded how 232 users looked at thousands of Web pages. We found that
users' main reading behavior was fairly consistent across many different sites and
tasks. This dominant reading pattern looks somewhat like an F and has the
following three components.
Users first read in a horizontal movement, usually across the upper part of the
content area. This initial element forms the F's top bar.
Next, users move down the page a bit and then read across in a second horizontal
movement that typically covers a shorter area than the previous movement. This
additional element forms the F's lower bar.
Finally, users scan the content's left side in a vertical movement. Sometimes this is
a fairly slow and systematic scan that appears as a solid stripe on an eyetracking
heatmap. Other times users move faster, creating a spottier heatmap. This last
element forms the F's stem.
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html

11. Writing style
Anticipate visitor behaviour
‣ most don’t plan their visit
‣ driven by goals—theirs, not yours
‣ instantly judge your site
‣ skim for clues
‣ review headings and first paragraph
‣ read about 20%
Make reading engaging and easy for visitor
‣ be concise—focus on what visitor interested in
‣ capture interest, then add detail
‣ scannable headlines, headings, emphasised keywords
‣ use lists instead of long paragraphs
‣ ensure links are perceived for what they are (not “click here”)
‣ make images meaningful (and include description using “alt” in HTML tag)
‣ be consistent

12. Inverted information pyramid
Intro
Detail
Conclusion
Conventional pyramid information structure
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_pyramid

13. Inverted information pyramid
Inverted pyramid information structure
Conclusion
Intro
Explanation
Detail
Detail
Conclusion
Conventional pyramid information structure
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_pyramid

14. Inverted information pyramid
Probable web page
viewing opportunity
Inverted pyramid information structure
Conclusion
Intro
Explanation
Detail
Detail
Conclusion
Conventional pyramid information structure
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_pyramid

15. Thinking strategically about content
http://www.richardingram.co.uk/2009/10/instilling-confidence-with-content-strategies/

16. Thinking strategically about content
http://www.richardingram.co.uk/2009/07/theyll-thank-you-later/

17. Practical exercise—content strategy headings
Individually, for 10 minutes or so, write
down the most important (first order)
themes to be addressed in a content
strategy appropriate for your web site
‣ for each first order heading write down sub headings (second order) that
would fall under that theme
‣ for each second order write down any key sub headings (third order)
Share your headings with the group, adding
anything else that is mentioned and
relevant to you
‣ consider everything discussed in the workshop that is relevant and identify
other additional items for discussion if they arise in your deliberations

18. Practical exercise—content strategy headings
1st order 2nd order 3rd order