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Rick Allen
@epublishmedia
Beyond SEO:
Writing Findable Content
HighEdWeb 2016
#heweb16
October 17, 2016

Hi, I’m Rick.
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#heweb16 • @epublishmedia

Hi, I’m Rick. And I hate
looking for things on the
web.
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I can’t find it.
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How did I get here?
What is this page about?

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Findability is the
biggest content
problem in
higher ed.
#heweb16 • @epublishmedia

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Low
45%
Medium
42%
High
13%
Higher Ed Findability Scorecard
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.edu websites
75,000+
webpages

Findability impacts
people's ability to easily
understand and find
web content.

People won't use your Web
site if they can't find their
way around.“
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Steve Krug
Author, Don’t Make Me Think
#heweb16 • @epublishmedia

Why SEO is important
and why it’s not enough

Search engine optimization (SEO)
is the practice of increasing the
quantity and quality of traffic to
your website through organic
search engine results.
“
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Moz, Inc.
https://moz.com/learn/seo/what-is-seo
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HOMEPAGE
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Our content is more than a destination…

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…it’s a helping hand

Search Optimization for People
#SOPnotSEO

How people find stuff.

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Navigate or search?

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Look around or
ask for help?

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How may I help you?
“How do I sign up for a meal plan?” SEARCH

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“Maybe financial aid is under Plumbing”?

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Is this the right page?
Where do I go from here?
I give up…

Context Search
Browsing Wayfinding
Elements of Findability

A note about UX and IA…

29 https://www.flickr.com/photos/lakelandlocal/

Impact from the bottom up
Improve findability
here.

Context Search
Browsing Wayfinding

Content is made relevant
by the context in which
it’s perceived.

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Photo Credit: Photo by Ed Yourdon

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Find out more about what?
How do these links relate?

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Content appears irrelevant when…
it seems out-of-place
it lacks clear purpose
or a clear audience
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“An unmatched faculty…”
“…BOOTH ONLINE STORE.”

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Old date =
irrelevant content?

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To help establish context, consider:
• How does this page support or enhance
related web content?
• Where will people interact with this
content?
• How will people use this content?
• What content type will be most relevant
and useful for the user?
#heweb16 • @epublishmedia

Context Search
Browsing Wayfinding
#heweb16 • @epublishmedia
#SOPnotSEO

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Search optimization
needs to be part of the
writing process—not a
post-launch fix.

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Sources: https://flic.kr/p/8X7JTF https://flic.kr/p/29rzrg

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Search optimization guidelines
for content contributors:
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1. Publish relevant content

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2. Make every page on your website unique

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3. Make every meta webpage title, alt text,
and meta description on your site unique.

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Clear
Unclear
4. Use relevant and accurate keywords

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Helpful internal &
external resources
5. Link to relevant websites that provide
value to your users.

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6. Structure content to enhance
keyword relevance

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6. Structure content to enhance
keyword relevance
Clear and distinct
secondary headers

Context Search
Browsing Wayfinding
#heweb16 • @epublishmedia

“It’s on the website.”
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“The info is at the top
of the page.”
“I’ve already been on this
page. I don’t see it.”

Sigh.
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Scanning elements are
your “introduction.” This
is where we need to
communicate purpose
and relevance.

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• “Click here”
• “Website”
• “Homepage”
• “Download”
Non-descriptive link text:
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Click here to download.
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Content elements that
enhance browsing and scanning:
• headers
• links
• highlighted text
• bulleted and numbered lists
• photos and graphics
• captions
• pull-quotes
#heweb16 • @epublishmedia

…but not too much.
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Context Search
Browsing Wayfinding
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Museum Wayfinding and Signage company based in London UK

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Source: https://flic.kr/p/8SZvsG
“I hope someone reads this
webpage and then leaves our site
and forgets about it.”
- said no author ever

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Source: https://flic.kr/p/8SZvsG
“I hope this website only has a
limited amount of information on
the topic I'm interested in.”
- said no web user ever

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Source: https://flic.kr/p/8SZvsG
“Next steps” to help you
on you way.

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Source: https://flic.kr/p/8SZvsG
“Next steps” to help you
on you way.

Findability is customer service

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Photo Credit: Photo by Ed Yourdon

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Source: https://flic.kr/p/6WWWx2

Findability is thinking
beyond the content on
the page to consider how
people experience that
content.

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How can I help?

Rick Allen
Content Strategist
ePublish Media, Inc.
Meet Content LLC
rick@meetcontent.com
Thanks!
#heweb16 • @epublishmedia
(I hope this was helpful)