Content CreationWinning Tactics for the Real World

Presented by:

Ted Ulle (tedster)Administrator – WebmasterWorld

Senior Search Analyst – Converseon

Senior Editor – Search Engine Marketing Journal

Don’t build a

Business Process & Workflow Must Support SEO

Training for SEO

• Locate & educate everyone in the workflow

• Dedicated analytics for each person

• Hold regular team meetings

• Great Identification of Players– IT Dept, Marketing, Web Design, Writers, Analytics

• Strong Education Kick-Off– High Enthusiasm and Collaboration

• Half of Team Reassigned 4 Weeks Later!

War Story #1

Management MUST Buy In(Major Enterprise - Silicon Valley)

• Marketing strategy1. Content – concept level

• Back end decisions– Server, CMS, Analytics

• Keyword Research• Information Architecture & Menus

2. Content – develop full copy

• Graphic Design – Templates3. Content – ‘web edit’ in a

browser

Business Goal is #1 – ALWAYS!

Document Each Decision

• Product is aimed at doctors– Search term is used by the layman (B2C not B2B)

• Gained #1 and #2 rankings– 150 pages of content & sales decreased!

• Happy ending– Marketing re-thinks entire strategy, from start-up to market leader

War Story #2

Beware of Chasing Trophy Keywords(niche market – “homeopathy software” )

Resources:

1. Information Architecture for the Small Site webmasterworld.com/forum21/7649.htm

2. O’Reilly

Information Architecture for the World Wide Web – 3rd Ed

Designing Large-Scale Web Sites

Information

Architecture

article

articleK n o w l e d g e

access

BEFORE menu decisions

– the right buckets for your content –

Final Web Edit

• Content Interacts with Layout

• CSS is web typesetting– you can KILL good content with bad layout– or boost weak content with good layout– study print typography – centuries of learning

Resource:

Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst

SIMPLE and SEAMLESS

- for the End User

Make Simplicity your Discipline

- for Maintenance

- for Search Engines

Where Do “Seams”Come From?

Someone is Showing Off!

Typical Culprits

Showing Off ...

• Graphic Design• Fancy Programming “Features”• IT Folks Writing Content !!!

– Search Results – Error messages– Auto-responders– A big part of the user experience

Works Against Your Business Purpose

Code Geeks ShouldNot Write Content - EVER !

• Yahoo Directory:• “Invalid Payment Instrument Data”

• Database driven “Menu” click• “Search produced no results”

War Stories #3 & #4

Despite All Your Planning…Things WILL Go Wrong

• Data Queries are Slow• Content Breaks the Template• SEO Mangles the Message• CMS Mangles Everything

Thou Shalt Not Kludge !!!

• Better Late

Than Lousy !• Expect to Make

Trade Offs• Keep All the

Priorities Straight

WHEN IT’S TIME FOR A FIX…

HOW???

• Marketing strategy1. Content – concept level

• Back end decisions– server, cms, analytics

• Keyword Research• Information Architecture

2. Content – develop full copy

• Graphic Design3. Content – ‘web edit’ in a

browser

Business Goal is #1 – ALWAYS!

Document Each Decision

Don’t build a