The Project

As part of my TECM 5200 course work, I conducted an audit of a company’s website. Due to the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) that was signed, the company is referred to as Company X in the above work. Several meetings were arranged so that students could ask questions of the client to gain an understanding of their business model. My content strategy would focus on the best way to meet the needs of the client within the time constraints that I had.

The Process

After meeting with representatives from Company X, I determined that their API Product Collection was their highest priority. I started my audit by using an SEO spider to learn how many different URLs were involved in the collection. My initial search returned 450 URLs. I eliminated any URLs that returned only images since these were all specific to the company’s branding. This narrowed my focus to 316 text-based addresses. I created a method to account for these by using an Excel spreadsheet based on this information.

I assigned ID numbers to each of the URLs and divided them into 20 separate categories so that I could easily locate them and so that my client would be able to find them as well. The Excel file was included as a deliverable for the client.

After categorizing the addresses, I conducted a qualitative audit of the URLs. Rather than viewing a sample of the site addresses, I chose to investigate each of the 316 URLs. Each address was evaluated on a rating system, and this was recorded in the spreadsheet. Functionality, audience, and channel were also considered as part of this audit. Finally, I checked for accessibility and compared the site to a competitor to gain a better understanding of the client’s offerings.

The results of my audit were compiled into a content strategy report. I provided a functional table of contents so that my client would have an easier time accessing the results of the study. I also provided a table of figures so that the client would have a list of visuals that conveyed the most important aspects of this audit.

It should be noted that this was originally assigned as a group project. While the other teams in the class consisted of 2-3 people, I completed this project on my own.

The Results

The point of this project was to become familiar with content strategy, learn how to work with clients, and provide a deliverable that gave them actionable suggestions. I was able to successfully complete this project as an individual and turn in the assignment on time.

The concept of content strategy has been valuable in my current position. An entire project focused solely on content management and content strategy. As my team migrated and updated content for the client, it was our responsibility to assess the existing content and make recommendations based on our evaluations. This was a large undertaking that would benefit the client by keeping their content current and effective. The concepts that I learned through the content strategy assignment directly impacted my ability to contribute on this work. I have been able to make recommendations that benefit other content writers in the studio and provide the client with usable suggestions on content usage.