Download Writing for the Web 101 - University of Colorado Denver

Writing for the Web 101
Benefits of Writing Good Content
• The Web is most often the first place people go to find
information
– Good content improves image and reputation of your unit/the
university
• If readers can find it on the Web, they won’t call you
– Decrease in time spent on the phone and voicemail
– Enables you to expend energy on other vital university business
First Steps- Reviewing The Creative Brief
The Creative Brief is designed to assist
you in writing targeted content. Reviewing
the creative brief before you start to write
will help you focus your writing to your
site’s desired goal.
The creative brief lists:
•Your main audience(s)
•Main messages for your audience
•Actions you want your audience to take
from reading the content
Keep it Simple – Focused Content
•Who are you?
•College of Engineering
•Who is the person(s) you are writing to?
•Current students and prospective students
•What is the purpose of the page you are writing?
•Inform students of the different engineering
programs
•What do you want them to do?
•Understand each program and the differences
between them
•Teach – Don’t Sell
The Importance of Page Overviews
Write a brief overview of the page text at the start of each page to
ensure your readers that they are on the right page for their needs.
Example:
University of Colorado Denver Enrollment Directions
Enrolling into the university is easy. The following directions
should be used when enrolling…..
Easy to Read & Easy to Find Content = Good Content
•Organize your information on the page so it can be
found easily
•Think about how you find information easily on
the Web and duplicate that method
•Want your audience to do something? Tell Them.
•“Read about our different engineering
departments”
•“Call 303.555.5555 for more information”
•“Register for Fall semester”
•“We can help you succeed! See how.”
Using Bullets
Bullet points are an excellent form of Web writing because they are
visually appealing and make it easy to quickly find pertinent
information.
•Keep lists brief
•Begin with action verbs when possible
•Make verb tenses and forms consistent
After the last item in your list, do not just stop. Come back and write at
least one sentence to give your readers a sense of completeness.
Introduction to Search Engines
Search Engine:
A computer program that searches documents, esp. on the World
Wide Web, for a specified word or words and provides a list of
documents in which they are found.
Why Do We Care About Them
•Search engines are the main method of “information finding” for people
under 65 years old.
•Search engines convert over five times the amount of leads than other
marketing methods.
•If you are listed on the first page of an engines Search Results, you are
90% more likely to be opened by the searcher than results on following
pages.
•Increase the likelihood of being on the first page by writing
“optimized content”.
Setting Expectations for Search Results
The typical time frame for sites to rank “organically” on the first
page/pages on Search Engines is four months to one year.
Be patient.
Organic Listing(s):
The search results that
shows on the list
space on a Search
Engine’s Web page
that aren’t paid for or
“sponsored”.
Paid or
“sponsored”
list results
Optimized Content- Keywords and Key Phrases
Keywords are the individual words that a person types into a search engine to
perform a search.
•MBA
Key phrases are a string of words used to perform a Search.
•MBA Online Programs
The keywords and key phrases in your content tells the search engines that you
are a source of information for that topic and they then list you on the search
results.
Optimized Content
Determining Keywords to Write in Your Content
1. Put on your What if I were searching” hat. List the keywords and
phrases you would type into a search engine.
•MBA
•MBA Programs Colorado
•MBA Programs
•MBA Online
•MBA Programs Denver •MBA Online Programs
2. Select the 3 most relevant keywords or key phrases to your audience.
Weave them into your text.
Optimized Content
Linking on Your Site
The Search Engines read links as more valuable text than unlinked text.
Therefore, link text that is meaningful to your audience.
Internal Linking Do:
Link words in a sentence.
Internal Linking Don’t:
“Click here” is not good linking.
Example: Learn more about our
executive MBA program .
Example: Click here to learn
more about our executive MBA
program.
Optimized Content
The .PDF Dilemma….
.PDFs are typically pictures. Search engines can’t read the text in these
pictures, therefore, typical PDFs exclude text that could add “relevancy”
to your Website and increase your rank on the Search Engines.
How to make a .PDF readable by Search Engines:
With Adobe Acrobat use the Catalog feature to create a
“searchable full-text index” version of your .PDF.
http://www.adobe.com/ap/epaper/tips/acr5search/
Steps to Remember
• Writing
•Keep it simple
•Use your creative brief to write targeted content
•Write a page summary at the start of each page
•Don’t make your audience think
•Organize content to be easy to find
•Use bullets
•If you want visitors to do something, tell them
•Teach, don’t sell
•Optimize Your Content - Keywords and key phrases
•Brainstorm on the words you would use if you had to search for
information located on your site – pick three and weave into text
•Optimize Your Content - PDFs
•Convert PDFs to a readable format
•Optimize Your Content - Linking
•Link text that is meaningful to your audience
Questions?