Among the countless content problems found on websites, one of the most egregious and commonly cited is duplicate content. Content strategists — not to mention search engine optimization (SEO) professionals — love to hate on duplicate content. As soon as we spot it during a content audit, we quickly bring out our metaphorical red pens. Begone, duplicate content! But why? For those of us on the other end of the table, it’s easy to dismiss … [Read more...]
Reconsidering the Social Media Hub
February 21, 2014 by
One of my favorite projects when working at Tufts University was leading the creation of our social media hub, a custom-built page which hosted feeds from all of our social media accounts and served as an at-a-glance destination for campus social chatter. I was (and still am) extremely proud of what we built. But that was back in 2010. Now, four years later, these types of pages (often called hubs, mashups, or aggregators) are still very … [Read more...]
Introducing Your Content: Page Titles and Headings
January 28, 2014 by
Last week, Georgy talked about the importance of headlines for introducing stories and enticing readers. But how do these lessons learned for headlines in news and featured content translate to other forms of content — such as admissions and academic webpages? Page titles and headings also play an important role for all content on our websites. Readers rely on page titles and headings to navigate websites and understand what is relevant and … [Read more...]
We Blog About Headlines. What Comes Next Will Amaze You
January 21, 2014 by
My first job out of college was working for the Boston Globe’s website, which afforded me the opportunity to write a lot of headlines. Perhaps the best (or worst) headline I ever wrote, after a Boston Celtics victory, was “Pierce nets 40 as Celtics pierce Nets.” Clever, eh? “Clever” could be an apt description for many headlines you read. The goal of the headline is to tell you what a story is about, establish its tone, and entice you to read … [Read more...]
Content Gets Wings at HighEdWeb 2013
October 17, 2013 by
Last week, the HighEdWeb annual conference landed in Buffalo, New York — known for its friendly spirit, Niagara Falls and, of course, buffalo wings. But, as much as we loved that spicy sauce, it was the wings given to higher ed content that was most satisfying. The common theme linking our favorite sessions from the conference is the importance of looking at familiar issues from fresh perspectives. From new ways of considering how we build and … [Read more...]