Be Effective on Your Website with Content Strategy

1. Governance: People and Processes

The People

The Web Strategy Owner:

Should be in senior leadership so they understand the high level needs of the agency and the high level top tasks of website visitors. They lend their clout to the Website Manager, to allow for cooperation from across the organization. 

The Website Manager:

Wears many hats: manage users, determine where and how new content is incorporated into the website, ensure content is reviewed for accuracy and editorial, perform regular reviews of content, determine if the website is effective for top tasks. .  

Read about these and other roles in website management 

The Processes

Three-Step Process for New Pages or Major Revisions:

  1. Reviewed for accuracy, 
  2. Reviewed for editorial, mobile, and accessibility concerns.
  3. Page is placed appropriately in the menu by the Website Manager, in context with related content and mapping to the main menu. 

Periodic Audit of the Entire Website

  • Website Manager identifies pages that have not been updated or are low traffic. Coordinates updates with content owners.  
  • Content owners review their content and document that it is up to date. 

Editorial Calendar of Seasonal Campaigns and Messaging 

2. Create a Shared Understanding of Top Tasks

Managing a website of a thousand pages or more is overwhelming, unless you know the top tasks. Then it becomes empowering. 

Understanding your website visitors and what they need to do allows you to focus on what is important. Documentation is crucial, because website ownership changes hands. The Web Strategy Owner and the Website Manager need to be on the same page. Keep the list of top tasks to a manageable number, six or eight. 

Here are some examples of website visitor types and their top tasks. 

 

3. Measure the Effectiveness of Top Tasks

1. Create 5-10 Key Performance Indicators

A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a quantifiable measure to evaluate success. Each KPI should map to a site visitor top task, as identified in your personas.

2. Identify the Source of the Measurement

Each KPI will have a different source for the measurement, which could be Google Analytics, user feedback, volume of calls to a call center, the content of call center calls, successful submissions to an online application.

3. Target Measurement

Set the actual target measurement for each KPI, such as

  • Decrease in user feedback complaints in percent or numbers
  • Decrease in user feedback about certain topics in percent
  • Increase in traffic and in complete applications.
  • Decrease in incomplete applications