Ian M Rountree

Copywriter, Project Manager, Digital Marketing

  • Copywriting
    • Content Marketing
    • SEO
  • About
  • Contact

Rethinking Information Architecture

October 20, 2010 by Ian Leave a Comment

What’s your website for?

Seriously – when was the last time you gave a lot of thought to how you position the content of your website? And I’m not talking about writing 500-word blog posts versus 300-word ones, or developing your editorial calendar. I’m talking about the flow, pulse, and purpose of every piece of content on your website – and what it helps you achieve.

We’re so quick to blog, we forget to create anything else.

Many of the newest, most powerful content management systems, such as WordPress, put the news feed – the blog, or whatever else you want to call it – right at the front.  So, we build our content based on blogs. This is getting more and more common, and it’s not a mistake.

Updated, fresh content helps search engine rankings – “new” is great for SEO. that’s half of why any blogger writes – to keep themselves relevant in the face of a constant stream of other new posts. But what does this do for our pillars?

It’s very difficult to create pillar content in a blog post. Even with longer form, less commonly updated blogs, 1250 to 1500 word exegesis-style missives don’t usually cut it. How many blog readers actually want to read an essay? Not many.

This is why we need to get better at creating our Pages.

We – yes, you, me, and every other blogger out there – need to get better at making the pillars which hold up the remainder of our content stronger. We need to plan, not just what word to put where, but what aim each link in our websites have.

For example; in the next few weeks, I’m transitioning the primary focus of my website away from being wholly a blog. I’m going to be restructuring my information architecture, and using the blog as a supplement to that architecture, rather than a replacement for it. Why? Because my needs are changing, and the purpose of my work on the web must follow. If it doesn’t, I don’t lose anything – but if I can do things better, I stand to gain. And if I gain sufficiently, I can pass that gain on through other projects, so that you can gain as well.

That’s what the web is about; creating a cycle of consistent, Pareto-increasing gains.

So expect some difference here. Soon.

I’ll be sure to explain as it goes – because I wouldn’t want to be a bad leader and dump change on people without warning.

And, I’ll ask you as well: how intentional is the content structure of your websites? How much consideration (not just planning) goes into developing the information architecture of your new projects as they come out?

How can I help you do better?

image by suchitra prints.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Blogging, changes, information architecture, project orion, this site

The Full-Circle Approach – SEO for Bloggers Part 7

July 25, 2010 by Ian Leave a Comment

Day 20.06_Diversity and Unity - FlickrAs much as we bloggers love to focus on it, SEO is really a small consideration for us – or should be.

The heck, you say! Getting found is the paragon of publishing success!

Yes. It is. But let me explain.

Search Engine Optimization, as a process, is fairly straightforward. It’s about giving a robot, like Google, a very precise, very clear view of what your content is, how it relates to the rest of the web, and why you deserve more points for quality and relevance on certain subjects than other websites do. It’s an almost religious-scale obsession for some web workers, because we know so little about how the robot works, and what really has an effect on the rankings.

Bloggers have it fairly easy. Where some sites struggle for rankings on their own business names, we have an opportunity to work both towards our readers’ benefits, and align our sites with the robots’ required signs of quality. How? Because we know the following;

The robot loves content. New, fresh, refreshed sites draw the robot back for more. If we’d just write our darn blogs, we can already have a head start over other classes of website.

The robot loves consistency. If we make sure our content is on purpose, rather than shooting off on tangents, we’re sending signs that we’re worth authority.

The robot LOVES consistency! Schedule, will you? Keeping on top of our internal calendars gives us yet another advantage.

People love taking action, and the robot loves seeing action taken. Bookmarking, revisiting – any actions the robot can tell are available to the visitors of a site send signals that interactivity is available. It’s good for the people, thus good for the robot.

People like to share – and when sharing happens (in certain ways) the robot takes notice. Having your pieces passed on, or passing on the work of others, sends yet more signals that your site is worth paying attention to – not just to the robot, but to the people who are looking for something to pay attention to!

We all love to talk, especially to each other. Content is relevance. Updated content is increased relevance. Discussion on, around, or about your site is a huge indicator that you may be engaging with people, and the robot loves signs of interactivity. So do people, by the way. don’t we?

Back up and thing about that for a second. Content is relevance.

Bloggers have unique opportunities. Where business, individuals, and all manner of website creators have to think about information architecture, content strategy, and minutiae of all kinds, for the blogger, the content IS the strategy. We can say whatever we like, sure, but building a set of guidelines for ourselves, encouraging people to get on board with what we’re saying, and over all making our blogs useful, puts us far ahead of the game.

How can you put this into action for yourself?

Like this? Get more! Subscribe by RSS and never miss a post.

Or, read the entire SEO for Bloggers series from the start to see where we’re coming from.

Just Write
On Purpose
The Editorial Calendar
Get More of This
Let’s Share!
Join the Conversation

I’d like you to join the conversation. What have we missed so far? What needs revisiting? What kind of opportunities can we take from developing our content intentionally?

Image by Frerieke.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: bloggers, Blogging, blogs, content strategy, conversation, editorial calendar, information architecture, just write, seo, seo for bloggers, sharing, strategy, subscribing, tactics, together, unity

Categories

  • Announcements
    • Event Notices
  • Blog
  • Communication
  • Content Strategy
  • Marketing Strategy
  • Personal
  • Reviews
  • Social Media
  • Technology

Archive

  • January 2016
  • June 2015
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • July 2008
  • February 2004
  • Copywriting
  • Blog
  • Reading Lists
  • Colophon

© Copyright 2023 Ian M Rountree · All Rights Reserved