A service of First & Union

Sample report

When you request a Content Review, you'll receive a report like the one below
(for a fictitious Acme Widgets Company), along with the completed checklist,
generally within seven days.









Content Review for AcmeWidgets.com

Table of Contents

  • Content Review summary
  • Consolidated Action Plan
  • Completed Checklist
  • Next steps

Content Review Summary

Much of the content on AcmeWidgets.com provides good information about the types of web widgets Acme offers, demonstrating the company's potential value to the consumer. However, that information isn't easy for site visitors to find. More importantly, the site does not clearly and immediately identify what Acme Widgets is and does1.

Below are three components that are key to making AcmeWidgets.com an effective website, with identified problems and suggested solutions, followed by an Action Plan that also includes other possible improvements to the site.

Does AcmeWidgets.com clearly communicate who you are?

The company name, tagline, photos and first screen of the home-page text do not clearly say "web widget" – leaving open the possibilities that Acme Widgets manufactures actual physical widgets.

  • Solution: Working with the company name, tagline2, photos and text on the first screen on the home-page text, make it clear that Acme Widgets is a web widget company that embeds code for web-based applications.

Does AcmeWidgets.com make it easy for visitors to find out about their web widgets and purchase them?

AcmeWidgets.com doesn't reflect what you think clients want to do when coming to the site — or what you want them to do. The first call to action ("Let us be your team") is ambiguous, and the second ("Call today...") is at the bottom of a long page of text and might not be seen.

  • Solution: Create in a prominent place on each page some compelling action for site visitors. ("Learn more?" "Contact us" "Download our handy guide to enjoyable web widget embedding.")

Does AcmeWidgets.com create trust and confidence?

Information about Acme Widgets as a company is sparse, missing the opportunity to create trust and confidence in the company.

  • Solution: Develop more content about Acme Widgets, its history and its people to engender trust and confidence.

Action Plan

Below are the key-issue improvements suggested above, along with additional suggestions under each heading:

Clearly communicate who Acme Widgets is

  • Working with the company name, tagline2, photos and text on the first screen on the home page text, make it clear that Acme Widgets is a web widget company that can make life easier for the site visitors who need such help.
  • Include as reference the meta tag description/content line: "Acme Widgets On-Screen Tools" helps coders add content from a variety of third-party sites that the website owner won't need to control.
  • Add photos and text (and meta tag) to make clear that the services are not only for My Space but for Facebook or other social networks, along with personal homepages and blogs.

Make it easy for your Acme Widgets clients to accomplish their tasks

  • Create on each page some compelling action for site visitors. ("Learn more?" "Contact us" "Download our handy guide to enjoyable widget embedding.")
  • Conduct user testing3 to check that the site is in sync with actual visitors' needs and actions.
  • Clarify the focus on the client: Why you need Acme Widgets, what we'll do for you.
  • Reorganize and redistribute the information on the home page, expanding navigation and linking clearly between pages.
  • Use keywords5 in page titles, headings, subheadings and first words in text blocks to improve search-engine optimization.
  • Aim for one core task per page.
  • Add cost per widget app (with ranges and variables as needed).
  • Clearly state the specific process for buying a widget, with options, ranges and variables as needed.

Create trust and confidence

  • Develop more content about Acme Widgets, its history and its people to engender trust and confidence.
  • Explain how does Acme Widgets differs from its competitors.
  • A fuller "About Us" could show how the history of Acme supports the long-standing desire to embed third-party widgets that work.
  • Photos and mini-profiles of each Widget Guru would reinforce the human aspect of the company-client relationship and let clients learn more about "their" Widget Gurus.
  • Conduct a Competitor Review of other widget sites to identify and evaluate services and website effectiveness.
  • Consider quarterly or half-yearly content reviews to maintain professionalism and reinforce that Acme Widgets is a company that takes care of every detail.
  • Add client testimonials to demonstrate the company's experience, indicate the range of potential clients, and reflect client satisfaction and happiness with Acme Widgets.

Completed Checklist

(Attached as PDF.)


Next steps

What can you do with all this information? You have several choices, ranging from implementing desired changes yourself to asking us to help. Generally, we recommend something along these lines:

  • Take your time to review and process this document, one step at a time. If you'd like, we can schedule a meeting to review the checklist with you. (Additional $100.)
  • Review the Action Plan with your staff. Take note of any suggestions for additional improvements.
  • Keep in mind that some improvements may require additional work.
  • Decide which improvements you would like to implement, prioritize them, and make a plan for how to implement them.
  • If you're making changes yourself (we've tried to make improvements doable by you, as much as possible), implement them as desired. If you'd like implementation support, please email or call Molly Martin (mollymartin@firstandunion.com; 206.890.8148) for cost and time estimates.
  • As changes are made to AcmeWidgets.com, regularly take a step back to review the specific changes and how the site works with the changes.
  • Every three to six months, schedule a new Content Review to maintain the quality and consistency of AcmeWidgets.com.

Footnotes

1 Studies show that most customers visit a company's website regardless of how they plan to conduct business with the company. If they are not hooked, they abandon the site in fewer in than two minutes.

2 Optimal taglines accurately describe what the company goes.

3 User testing has been found to double sales or conversion rates.

4 Usability studies, specifically Jakob Nielsen's, show that with "less to consider, people understand more of what's there." They spend an average of 30 seconds on the homepage and then move to where they think they'll find more of what they need.

5 User keywords help with search-engine optimization.