1. 
Declutter Your Website
Keep what works, eliminate the rest
or,
How to stop being a content hoarder
Hilary Marsh, Content Company
@hilarymarsh

2. Today’s takeaways
 The negative effects of content hoarding
 Why it happens
 How to fix the problems and declutter

3. What Hoarding Looks Like

4. • What’s here?
• Is it useful?
• If I was looking for
something specific,
could I find it?
http://professiongal.com/2011/02/22/five-signs-youre-an-office-hoarder/

5. • Is anything here
relevant?
• Does this meet my
current needs?
http://blog.hostelbookers.com/travel/how-to-pack-your-backpack/

6. http://blog.hostelbookers.com/travel/how-to-pack-your-backpack/
2013
2014
2012
2012
2012
2008
2008

7. 2010
2014
range
2012
2012
2011
http://blog.hostelbookers.com/travel/how-to-pack-your-backpack/

8. http://blog.hostelbookers.com/travel/how-to-pack-your-backpack/

9. 2008

10. The content I was
really looking for
http://blog.hostelbookers.com/travel/how-to-pack-your-backpack/

11. 2004
2007
2010
http://blog.hostelbookers.com/travel/how-to-pack-your-backpack/

12. Why Hoarding is Bad
 Satisfaction
 Usage
 Harder to manage
 Customer service costs
 Effort
 Migration/Transforming
 Tagging
 Auditing
 Storing
 Measuring/Reporting

13. Why Websites Get Cluttered
10. “That information is valuable!”

14. http://adventurereporting.wordpress.com/archaeology-in-melbourne/
Your content may
be valuable, but
how will visitors
know to dig for it
if they don’t know
it’s there?

15. Why Websites Get Cluttered
10. “That information is valuable!”
9. “I spent a long time creating that”

16. You may have paid
a lot for this outfit
back in 1982, but
you don’t even ski
anymore!
http://www.tuppersteam.com/relocation-information/colorado-outdoors/42-funniest-ski-outfits/

17. Why Websites Get Cluttered
10. “That information is valuable!”
9. “I spent a long time creating that”
8. Last-minute rush
7. No process for reviewing
6. “The Internet is free”
5. Changing leadership
4. Moving too fast to look back

18. Why Websites Get Cluttered
3. Understaffed
2. No understanding of negative impact
#1 reason:

19. I removed the link, so the
content must have
disappeared from the
system
http://blog.hostelbookers.com/travel/how-to-pack-your-backpack/

20. Excuses for Keeping Content
“I might need
to refer to it
someday.”
“I might need
to create
something
like this
again.”
“No one has
given me
permission to
remove it.”
“I might break
a link.”
“The person
who created it
doesn’t work
here anymore.”

21. How to Declutter Today

22. • Know what’s there:
audit your content
• Automated tools may
help
https://blog.gathercontent.com/how-to-automate-your-content-audits

23. • Look for patterns
• Incorporate analytics
• Identify content ROT
http://russbeeson.com/portfolio/content-inventory-of-degree-programs/

24. Use Best Bets to make
the right info rise to the
top of search results
http://blog.hostelbookers.com/travel/how-to-pack-your-backpack/

25. How to Keep Your Website Clean
1. Create content lifecycle criteria
2. Be vigilant about using them
3. Create smart, sustainable URL practices

28. Conduct content
“spring cleaning”

29. Your CMS may be
able to help you
make time

30. URLs

31. 2010
2014
range
2012
2012
2011

34. Some notes

35. http://www.beloit.edu/about/
Old ≠ bad

36. http://www.tacoma.uw.edu/404
Create smart
404 pages

37. The Beauty of a Cleaner Site

38. • Less is more
• See what you have
• Enjoy and use it all
• Stay organized
• Cull and replace as
necessary

39. Resources
 Content lifecycle criteria
worksheethttp://www.hilarymarsh.com/2014/08/19/content-lifecycle-criteria-
worksheet/
 ROT: The Low-Hanging Fruit of Content
Analysishttp://meetcontent.com/blog/rot-the-low-hanging-fruit-of-content-
analysis/
 Are you a content hoarder? Time to declutter!
http://www.hilarymarsh.com/2012/04/03/are-you-a-content-hoarder/
 The Web Diet: How to Simplify Your Website
http://www.welchmanpierpoint.com/blog/web-diet-how-simplify-your-web-
site
 Removing poor quality content increases customer satisfaction
http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/new-thinking/removing-poor-quality-content-
increases-customer-satisfaction

40. About Me
Doing content strategy since before content
strategy was cool
Content strategy doer, manager, mentor,
teacher, community leader since 1999

41. Select Clients
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42. Thank you!
Hilary Marsh
@hilarymarsh
hilary@hilarymarsh.com