Content Marketing As An Integral Part Of Your Website
The process has remained the same for the longest time. Companies launch websites before thinking about content marketing. Additionally, they believe that video content and blogs are part of the strategy. Obviously, these things are important, but they aren't the only ones.
In addition to a digital marketing strategy, the website that one uses is also critical. In order to ensure the success of content marketing efforts, an information architecture is essential.
You could lose conversions and traffic if the navigation aspects and your content creation strategy on the website are not optimized for search. An information architecture approach can be used to optimize a website for higher inbound traffic and engagement.
Information architecture: what is it?
The purpose of information architecture is to structure and organize all of the content found on a website. This includes social media, mobile apps, web design, and web applications as well. It is important to arrange these components in a manner that is easy to understand.
Content organization and content creation on a website, especially in its blog posts and landing pages, help users to adjust the functionality of products and get what they require without much effort. Content structure depends on several factors, including the type of product being sold, the offers that companies are offering, and the needs of the target audience.
In comparison to a retail site, the structure of a blog post and site has marked differences because both sites are designed for achieving different goals.
Content marketing and information architecture
Creating a website doesn’t just focus on web design. Snowing what type of content your target audience likes and how best to organize it is important before you develop and publish content on your site. It is imperative that the information architecture be perfect for this part to be successful. Visitors to your site will complete various activities on the site and be able to access the content they want to see.
In the process of setting up a new website, a company will optimize it primarily for conversions and search purposes. This is where information architecture comes into play.
Information architecture is vital to the success of your site and the effectiveness of your digital marketing strategy. Basically, it determines how the navigation bar is organized on the site. Even how the content gets labeled in breadcrumbs, on other links, and how it is navigated, from other pages, can be determined by information architecture.
Are IA and UX the same thing?
User experience and information architecture are similar in that both aim to create an enjoyable experience for visitors to your website. UX designers can begin designing pages only after an IA has been established.
Content marketing strategists create sitemaps based on a website's information architecture. Using that plan, a UX designer can create a website. Marketers and web designers together can create a user-friendly and enjoyable architecture. You want your site to be as easy to navigate as possible.
The information architecture of every company's site, not just in its landing pages, can benefit from strategic planning. You can expect a high percentage of users to leave your site and go to one of your competitors if they can't find the information they need. This can adversely affect your bounce rate, leave a negative impression of your brand, and, most importantly, result in a lost opportunity to gain a new customer.
How to Present an Organized Site
It may seem complex, but information architecture is easier than you think. If you want to organize the pages on your site and create a content creation strategy, think about what makes the most sense.
To begin building your site's information architecture, consider these tips:
- Keep things simple. It should be simple and straightforward to navigate your site. Don't distract your users from clicking the button, showing the pillar content, filling out the form, or most importantly, finding the answer to their query with unnecessary distractions.
- The landing page’s navigation bar is also simple. Don't overcrowd your navigation bar. Your main navigation should contain no more than seven items. You should group your pages logically, like service offerings or information about the company.
- Linking internally should be strategic. By providing links to your product and service pages or your contact page, you can encourage site visitors to learn more as well as take a step toward a conversion. People can go from "just browsing" to consideration fairly quickly with these hooks.
- Do your research on your industry. Consider what the industry standards are for presenting and organizing your content by looking at your competitors. Create a content creation strategy based on your research.