Website Publishing Guidelines

How to write website content to optimise traffic

2Purpose of these guidelines

Help web publishers to…

Understand how to easily create / structure quality content

Understand the importance of the writing style guide Optimise content for target audience and maximise results

3Topics

How to write engaging content and SEO fundamentalsFive steps…

1. Plan - Establish your department’s purpose and

objectives

2. Understand - Make it easy to digest and understand

3. Find – Make it easy to find

4. Action – Give a clear Action

5. Share - Invite them to share your content

41. PLAN

Establish your departments purpose and objectives

ObjectivesWhat are we trying to achieve?

MessagesWhat are we trying to communicate?

Actions requiredWhat/ how do we want our audience to respond?

51. PLAN

Profile your usersUnderstand for whom and why you are creating contentWho are they?

What are their needs and wants?

User lifecycleUnderstand their current circumstance

Present only relevant and timely key messages

Multiple audiences and messagesPrioritise the importance of your audiences

Identify any common messages

Prioritise messages based on audience priority

61. PLAN

How to profile your user...

Primary users Example: Future Domestic U/G Students - School leavers

Age 15 - 21

Gender Male and Female

Internal vs. external External

Where they live? Regional, State, National

Language - cultural English – Australia only

Language - style Personal, concise and informative

Needs Graduate with a degree, establish a career

Wants An adventure filled experienceUndertake industry placement

Role Purchaser

72. Easy to UNDERSTAND

"We don’t read pages. We scan them.”-Steve Krug

82. Easy to UNDERSTAND

Make it easy to digestBuilding relevancy for users and search engines

Get to the point upfront

Use headings and sub headings – increase readability and scanability

Keep sentences short – 15 to 20 words per sentence

Language style – remember who you are talking to

Use everyday words and positive language

Consistency is important – tone, page structure, naming conventions

92. Easy to UNDERSTAND

Make it easy to digestBuilding relevancy for users and search engines

Use bullet points

Prune and to get to the point quickly, don’t add unnecessary padding

Logical order

Proofread and proofread again

Spell Check Tip: Squiz will correct spelling and grammar if you have an Australian-English dictionary installed in your browser.

UoN Writing Style Guide helps with all aspects above – pg 05 and 09

102. Easy to UNDERSTAND

Consider the content typeWhat types are most suitable – text, image, video, infographic or a mix

Support with imagesImages support the key messages of your page content

In the right formatDon’t use bold and capitalise unnecessary copy.

Be creativeTry to communicate content in new and exciting ways

Relevant content onlyHost content in appropriate areas

inter-department content = shared drivecross-department content = closed login access

112. Easy to UNDERSTAND

Don’t duplicate it, link itNever copy and paste content

Duplicate content is problematic for both user/s and search engines

Unique content is always more interesting

Search engines may rank individual pages, but these pages support rankings for the entire site

Interlinking benefits...Adding relevant internal links – helps users to the next step / action Increases the amount of time a user spends reading

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Step 3.Easy to FIND

133. Easy to FINDOptimise your results with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) basics...

Add unique page titleUnique, each page should have specific focus

Correctly reflect content within page – use keywords

Keep short and descriptive

Optimal length approximately 2 to 3 words e.g. ‘Give to UoN’ or ‘Research fellowships’

143. Easy to FIND

Add unique page descriptionCreate a unique description for all pages – describes contents of page.

Optimal length approximately 150-160 characters (max 160)

You will add this into the Metadata in Squiz.

Keywords may appear bolded in search results

No spelling mistakes!

153. Easy to FIND

Page description shows up on a Google search – it may be the first information a user sees so it needs to be accurate!

Subject = backwards URL

Description = sentence describing page, using keywords

163. Easy to FIND

173. Easy to FIND

HeadingsWhen you create a new page a H1 will automatically generate. (also known as a page title).

H1 headings should be clear & engaging and relevant to the content on the page.

Include a primary keyword or phrase.

All other headings you then create should begin at H2.

Headings should always follow a logical structure. Do not use headings to style your content.

183. Easy to FIND

HeadingsTip: if you're using Word to write text for your new site, use the Styles tab (Normal, Heading 1, Heading 2) and that way when you copy this over into Squiz, the formatting should carry over with it.

Tip: When copying over info from Word into Squiz, use Ctrl V to paste text, instead of right-click paste (for PCs).

193. Easy to FIND

KeywordsThe keywords for your section of the site should be established with the help of our Web Content Team. They should not be duplicated from another section of the current site.

What you should include:Use your keyword throughout your content i.e. intro, body, conclusion. As a rule, 2-3% of every 500 words of your content should contain your keyword.

What you should avoid:Avoid keyword stuffing. This is frowned upon by Google and sites that overuse their keywords to improve SEO can be penalised.

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Step 4.Easy to ACTION

214. Easy to ACTION

Include clear call to actionsCall to actions tend to be the primary action you wish your readers to undertake and helps users find out more.

Prominent placementDon’t hide them, highlight them instead.

Hyperlinks to relevant contentTip: do not use ‘click here' when creating a hyperlink. It should be as clear as possible to the user where the link will take them. For example: For more information click here = NO

View our three year plan for research innovation in the NeW Directions Strategic Plan - YES

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Step 5.Easy to SHARE

235. Easy to SHARE

Inspire and motivateGive your readers a reason to share the content

May improve objective targets e.g. number of attendees or applications

Offer and invite users the option to share content easily

Give your readers a reason – in support

In some cases, it is acceptable to invite

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25Five steps – summary

1.Plan

2.Understand

3.Find

4.Action

5.Share

26Any questions?