Originally written by the Sciart team for ean-online and first published there.
Don’t fail to deliver on your content strategy by not optimising your content! Managing an ecommerce website goes beyond the exciting tasks of posting new products, captivating imagery, and engaging content. It's equally vital to pay attention to the often-overlooked aspect of Content Management and Maintenance. Have you ever browsed a website, only to encounter frustrating 404 error pages or images that refuse to load properly on either mobile or desktop view? Chances are, the site's owner may not have been diligent in their maintenance efforts!
Where online competition is fierce, your website’s first impression can make or break your brand. A single encounter with a broken link or a poorly formatted page can send potential customers turning elsewhere. Establishing a clear content management process ensures you, and your team, maintain seamless functionality and consistently deliver an exceptional experience to your audience.
So, let's share some top content management and maintenance tips, and equip your site with the best possible opportunity to shine amongst the competition – all for the right reasons!
Check for Broken Links
An article you wrote in 2022 may still be relevant today, but that doesn’t mean your links are! Broken links can be frustrating for users and negatively impact your website's SEO. For sites that have 100s of pages, it may feel like an impossible task to scroll through and click each link to ensure it stills works. But fear not! There are handy tools which help you identify where to look and fix what’s broken. They also help with defining a process, as they offer real-time insights into your website's health, enabling you to make informed decisions for an optimal user experience.
Mobile Preview is a Must
Just because you're making changes and updates on a desktop doesn't mean you should neglect previewing the appearance on mobile devices. As of August 2023, according to SimilarWeb, mobile usage accounted for a significant 65.67% of worldwide traffic, compared to 32.89% on desktop. This emphasises the importance of ensuring your content looks just as impressive on mobile screens. Take a moment to verify that your images crop correctly and that the stacking of elements appears seamless on mobile. The same principle applies to eCRM content – always preview your emails on both mobile and desktop before hitting that send button. Use responsive design principles to ensure your website looks and functions correctly on various screen sizes. After all, there's nothing more frustrating than a poorly formatted message that fails to engage your audience. You want to create a seamless customer journey so your audience will keep on coming back.
Know Your Audience
We know that mobile traffic outranks desktop but we also need to know which device or browser is used too. Your imagery may look great to iPhone12 Safari users, but how about that Android Samsung 5 user? It’s all very well if you’re selling a necklace but all that shows due to cropping to your android user is a torso.
Structuring Content with Heading Tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.)
Properly structuring your content with heading tags not only enhances readability but also helps search engines understand your content's hierarchy. Use H1 for the main title, H2 for section headings, and H3 for subsections. This organisation improves both user experience and SEO.
Optimise Images with Alt Text
Images are an essential part of web content, but they also need to be accessible. Always include descriptive alt text for images, as it not only helps visually impaired users but also boosts SEO by providing context to search engines. Ensure the alt text accurately represents the image's content or purpose.
Consistent Branding and Design
Seems pretty straightforward, right? But heard the saying, "too many cooks spoil the broth"? Well, it's a lot like that when it comes to the various teams handling outreach and visitor interactions on your site. We've got the eCRM team, the content folks, and our ever-helpful customer service team, all in the mix. That's precisely why having a well-documented brand book and ensuring a consistent visual identity and design across our website are top priorities. It means using the same fonts, sticking to your chosen colour schemes, and placing the logo consistently. Consistency is the secret sauce that builds trust with our users and makes websites instantly recognisable.
Content Calendar and Scheduling
While Cyber Weekend and Christmas are undoubtedly the highlight dates for promotions, it's worth considering other noteworthy occasions and events that can be seamlessly integrated into your site's marketing strategy. Don't let dates like International Female Orgasm Day sneak up on you (mark your calendar for August 8th, 2024!). Instead, adopt a proactive approach by carefully planning and maintaining a content calendar. This approach allows you to strategically schedule relevant content well in advance, providing ample time to collaborate with content, creative, and influencer teams to deliver an epic campaign!
Keyword Research for SEO
Effective content management involves optimising for search engines. Conduct keyword research to identify relevant keywords and phrases for your content. For existing content, keyword research can be used to optimise articles, blog posts, product descriptions, and other content assets. By integrating relevant keywords naturally into your content, you can improve its search engine ranking and visibility. This optimisation ensures that your content continues to attract organic traffic over time.
Regular Content Audits
Much like broken links in articles, how about debunked facts and outdated figures? That article you wrote about encouraging kinksters to eat oysters before a bit of 'how's your father' may have promised enhanced pleasure and good times in the past, could be worth revisiting and perhaps swapping oysters for more contemporary and effective approaches, such as considering alternative enhancements
By performing regular content audits to assess the performance and relevance of your existing content, you can ensure that you’re removing outdated or irrelevant content and update or repurpose valuable pieces to keep your website fresh and informative.
So there you have it, Sciart Marketing’s top tips to help you conquer the wild and wonderful world of website content management. With a little tech savvy, a touch of creativity, and a dash of diligence, you'll not only keep your website shipshape but also leave your visitors saying, 'Wow, that's one well-maintained site!' Happy website wrangling!
