It's Content Writin' Time!
The beginning of my agency career heavily involved content development for our custom-designed websites. This included monthly blogging and content expansion. However, as I became more proficient in Search Engine Optimization I was able to use my skills for focusing on website optimization like usability and mobile responsiveness.
As an intro to search engine optimization (SEO), here’s a quick interview I participated in at Next Level Marketing on ranking within the search engines!
Website Optimization
Sitemap Audit
During a sitemap audit, I take the time to go through a client's live pages and determine what should be removed and which pages should have a different structure. A sitemap is how the Search Engines read a website and when there are pages out of order or duplicated, it's my job to rearrange and organize the entire website for total optimization and SERP visibility.
Meta Descriptions
Title Tags and Meta Descriptions assist users and Search Engines alike. Optimized meta description is important for letting the Search Engines know what keywords your page should be ranking for and if the page is of interest to the user searching.
Content Opportunity Analysis
When analyzing a new client's website, content expansion is a key item I like to research. Are there key pages missing? Is there not enough content explaining a top keyword? These are just a couple of items I consider when creating a game plan for getting a website in tip-top shape.
Content Development
Copywriter
After determining a game plan for content expansion, I will either draft that content myself or manage a team of copywriters by giving them direction. Having my Associate Degree in English, copywriting has always come naturally to me, which may be why I enjoy researching and tasking out content to make a website that much better.
Editor
With managing a team of copywriters comes editing that work as well. Editing the copywriter's submissions included grammar checking and optimizing the content to be SEO-friendly. While giving concise direction, editing is still something that will be required when managing a full content team.
Usability and Functionality
Mobile Responsiveness
Responsiveness is becoming more crucial with Google's mobile-first indexing. Ensuring a site works just as well on mobile as it does on desktop now plays into a client's organic search results and ultimate user-friendliness. Some of the things I look for is how many scrolls it takes to get the point across, if all aspects on desktop are available on mobile, and if call to actions are still prevalent and attainable by the user.
User Flow Analysis
User-flow is one of my favorite things to do for a brand new website. It's all about clicking around through the different funnels and testing all functionalities of the website. Pointing out simple flaws that may have been overlooked is something that could make or break a website. When a site works perfectly, the user has even more confidence and in the company and that is priceless.