Content Strategy

Developing good content sounds like an easy task, but in reality, it takes a deep understanding of not only who your target audience is, but what they’re looking for and how they go about finding it as well. Having a plan – a strategy – for the development of content for your site goes through the peaks and valleys of usability studies, information architecture & mapping, gap analyses, and competitive research to deliver good content to support your great product or service.

Web Content & Gap Analysis

During a content analysis, I take a look at all of the digital assets on a website – everything from on-site content like copy, images, videos, and PDF downloads to off-site content like social media accounts, press releases, and external brand mentions. After taking a content inventory, I typically match them against my client’s business goals and objectives to see how they compare. A gap analysis is created as a result of the inventory, and a primary deliverable would include a content roadmap that lays out each and every task, in a prioritized fashion, that both my clients and I need to complete in order to remain competitive in their industry.

Competitive Analysis

A typical component of any content strategy engagement includes a comprehensive competitive analysis. Here, I take a look at what my client’s competitors are doing in terms of on-site, off-site, and social media / external content development. A sample deliverable in this part of a content strategy engagement includes both a gap analysis and list of recommendations, prioritized by level of importance.

Editorial Strategy

It’s one thing for a client to have a website with amazing content, but another for that same client to update and tend to it. An editorial strategy aims to avoid that lack of updating a blog, creating entries in the public calendar, or simply keeping press releases up to date. A sample deliverable of an editorial strategy includes dates, times, and most importantly task owners, so everyone is on the page and content gets created and/or updated on time.

SEO Content Strategy

Having a content strategy isn’t just about publishing good content– it’s also about making it findable, usable, and easily shared for both visitors and search engines. Keeping in mind information architecture, user experience, and search engine optimization best practices when developing and distributing your content is key to acquiring visitors and guiding them to conversion. This form of content strategy engagement often aligns with by SEO Consulting services, and deliverables tend to be similar as well.

Want to learn more about my thoughts on content strategy? Contact me or read my latest posts on the topic.