diff --git a/content/news/2015/02/2015-02-12-a-february-focus-on-content-on-digitalgov.md b/content/news/2015/02/2015-02-12-a-february-focus-on-content-on-digitalgov.md index b2b38b6485..40a45cccd1 100644 --- a/content/news/2015/02/2015-02-12-a-february-focus-on-content-on-digitalgov.md +++ b/content/news/2015/02/2015-02-12-a-february-focus-on-content-on-digitalgov.md @@ -1,15 +1,15 @@ --- slug: a-february-focus-on-content-on-digitalgov date: 2015-02-12 10:28:00 -0400 -title: A February Focus on Content on DigitalGov -summary: 'Good content drives your digital presence. No matter what you produce content for—social media, websites, blogs—getting people to see your work is critical. But getting noticed is not as easy as it used to be. A recent Vox article on the future of blogging talked about this problem: “The incentives of the social Web make' +title: "A February Focus on Content on DigitalGov" +summary: "Good content drives your digital presence. No matter what you produce content for - social media, websites, blogs - getting people to see your work is critical. But getting noticed is not as easy as it used to be." authors: - andreanocesigritz topics: - content-strategy --- -Good content drives your digital presence. No matter what you produce content for—social media, websites, blogs—getting people to see your work is critical. But getting noticed is not as easy as it used to be. A recent Vox article on the [future of blogging](http://www.vox.com/2015/1/30/7948091/andrew-sullivan-leaving-blogging) talked about this problem: +Good content drives your digital presence. No matter what you produce content for — social media, websites, blogs — getting people to see your work is critical. But getting noticed is not as easy as it used to be. A recent Vox article on the [future of blogging](http://www.vox.com/2015/1/30/7948091/andrew-sullivan-leaving-blogging) talked about this problem: > “The incentives of the social Web make it a threat to the conversational Web. The need to create content that ‘travels’ is at war with the fact that great work often needs to be rooted in a particular place and context—a place and context that the reader and the author already share.” @@ -20,7 +20,8 @@ This month we’re also welcoming our new contributor, Ty Manuel, from the Admin Check back later this week and the rest of the month to read these pieces: * [The Content Corner: Content Pillars: The Foundation of Any Effective Content Strategy]({{< ref "2015-02-09-the-content-corner-content-pillars-the-foundation-of-any-effective-content-strategy.md" >}} "The Content Corner: Content Pillars: The Foundation of Any Effective Content Strategy") - * [Don’t Forget the Long Tail: It Can Deliver Value]({{< ref "2015-02-13-dont-forget-the-long-tail-it-can-deliver-value.md" >}} "Don’t Forget the Long Tail: It Can Deliver Value") + * [Don’t Forget the Long Tail: It Can Deliver Value](https://digital.gov/2015/02/13/dont-forget-the-long-tail-it-can-deliver-value/) * [Building Brick By Brick: Ed.Gov’s Website Redesign and Mobile Implementation]({{< ref "2015-02-12-building-brick-by-brick-ed-govs-website-redesign-and-mobile-implementation.md" >}} "Building Brick by Brick: Ed.gov’s Website Redesign and Mobile Implementation") * [ForeignAssistance.gov’s Redesign: Using Agile Methodology to Keep Users in Mind]({{< ref "2015-02-27-foreignassistance-govs-redesign-using-agile-methodology-to-keep-users-in-mind.md" >}}) - * [Avoid Weak ‘Links’ in Your Digital Chain]({{< ref "2015-02-25-avoid-weak-links-in-your-digital-chain.md" >}}) \ No newline at end of file + * [Avoid Weak ‘Links’ in Your Digital Chain]({{< ref "2015-02-25-avoid-weak-links-in-your-digital-chain.md" >}}) + \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/content/news/2015/02/2015-02-13-dont-forget-the-long-tail-it-can-deliver-value.md b/content/news/2015/02/2015-02-13-dont-forget-the-long-tail-it-can-deliver-value.md index 983c789970..baa845384c 100644 --- a/content/news/2015/02/2015-02-13-dont-forget-the-long-tail-it-can-deliver-value.md +++ b/content/news/2015/02/2015-02-13-dont-forget-the-long-tail-it-can-deliver-value.md @@ -1,8 +1,8 @@ --- slug: dont-forget-the-long-tail-it-can-deliver-value date: 2015-02-13 11:10:37 -0400 -title: 'Don’t Forget the Long Tail: It Can Deliver Value' -summary: 'Top tasks matter. Visitors come to your website with specific goals in mind. Using a top-task methodology can be particularly useful when redesigning your homepage. But, top tasks aren’t the whole story. Our government websites also have a large range of tiny tasks that, when managed carefully, have the potential to deliver value. In The' +title: "Don't Forget the Long Tail: It Can Deliver Value" +summary: "Top tasks matter. Visitors come to your website with specific goals in mind. Using a top-task methodology can be particularly useful when redesigning your homepage." authors: - ammie-farraj-feijoo topics: @@ -11,28 +11,28 @@ topics: - search --- -Top tasks matter. Visitors come to your website with specific goals in mind. Using a [top-task methodology]({{< ref "2014-07-02-using-top-tasks-to-be-top-notch-federal-reserve-board-usability-case-study.md" >}} "Using Top Tasks to be Top-Notch: Federal Reserve Board Usability Case Study") can be particularly useful when redesigning your homepage. But, top tasks aren’t the whole story. +Top tasks matter. Visitors come to your website with specific goals in mind. Using a [top-task methodology](https://digital.gov/2014/07/02/using-top-tasks-to-be-top-notch-federal-reserve-board-usability-case-study/) can be particularly useful when redesigning your homepage. But, top tasks aren’t the whole story. Our government websites also have a large range of tiny tasks that, when managed carefully, have the potential to deliver value. -In [_The Stranger’s Long Neck,_](http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/first-chapter/26/books/strangers-long-neck) Gerry McGovern explains how, when visitors come to your website, they have a small set of top tasks they want to complete quickly and easily. He calls these tasks the “long neck.” They’re also sometimes referred to as the “short head.” +In [The Stranger's Long Neck](http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/first-chapter/26/books/strangers-long-neck), Gerry McGovern explains how, when visitors come to your website, they have a small set of top tasks they want to complete quickly and easily. He calls these tasks the “long neck.” They’re also sometimes referred to as the “short head.” -{{< legacy-img src="2015/02/450-x-254-DG-Search-long-neck\_body\_tail-graph-from-Gerry-McGovern-The-Strangers-Long-Neck.jpg" alt="Graph showing long neck, body, and tail; from Gerry McGovern's The Strangers' Long Neck" >}} +{{< legacy-img src="2015/02/450-x-254-DG-Search-long-neck_body_tail-graph-from-Gerry-McGovern-The-Strangers-Long-Neck.jpg" alt="Graph showing long neck, body, and tail; from Gerry McGovern's The Stranger's Long Neck." >}} According to McGovern, the breakdown is: - * 5% of content accounts for 25% of the demand (the long neck); - * 35% of content accounts for 55% of the demand (the body); - * 60% of content accounts for 20% of the demand (the long tail). +* 5% of content accounts for 25% of the demand (the long neck); +* 35% of content accounts for 55% of the demand (the body); +* 60% of content accounts for 20% of the demand (the long tail). -Amazon and other businesses have realized great success by focusing on the long tail. A former Amazon employee once [explained why they focus on the long tail](http://longtail.typepad.com/the_long_tail/2005/01/definitions_fin.html#comment-3415583) instead of bestsellers by saying, “We sold more books today that didn’t sell at all yesterday than we sold today of all the books that did sell yesterday.” +Amazon and other businesses have realized great success by focusing on the long tail. A former Amazon employee once [explained why they focus on the long tail](http://longtail.typepad.com/the_long_tail/2005/01/definitions_fin.html#comment-3415583) instead of bestsellers by saying, "We sold more books today that didn't sell at all yesterday than we sold today of all the books that did sell yesterday." While a tongue twister, it drives home how a search box (with good, relevant content behind it) can meet the demands of the long tail. -At [DigitalGov Search](http://search.digitalgov.gov/), we power the search box on 1,500 government websites and, like Amazon, we’ve found that we got more searches on terms today that didn’t get searched yesterday than we got searches today on all the terms that got searched yesterday—by quite a bit! +At [DigitalGov Search](http://search.digitalgov.gov/), we power the search box on 1,500 government websites and, like Amazon, we’ve found that we got more searches on terms today that didn't get searched yesterday than we got searches today on all the terms that got searched yesterday—by quite a bit! -Number of searches on terms today that didn’t get any searches yesterday: 50,713. +Number of searches on terms today that didn't get any searches yesterday: 50,713. Number of searches today on all the terms that got searched on yesterday: 31,215. -Do your search analytics tell the same story? Look at them, and use them to deliver value and help your site’s visitors complete their long tail tasks. \ No newline at end of file +Do your search analytics tell the same story? Look at them, and use them to deliver value and help your site’s visitors complete their long tail tasks.