在这个由 Twitter, Facebook 等等社会网络主导 Web
的世界，我们似乎忘记了一个网站的使命，内容与用户体验，越来越多的人醉心与同社会网络周旋，却忘记了内容，用户体验这些最基础，最本质的东西。本文讲述
的是一个网站所应该拥有的金字塔结构。
Web 金字塔结构
内容让我们从金字塔的底层，内容开始，“内容为王”虽说是陈词滥调，却是颠扑不破的真理，你的站点可以有很好的广告投放，有大量 Twitter
追随者，有最酷的设计，然而，假如没有好的内容，一切都不会长久。精彩的内容是带动这一切的根源，是最好的开端，如果你拥有独特的，吸引人的，为用户而编
写的内容，你就拥有了坚实的基础。
关于内容，你不妨从这些方面做一番考虑：
你的内容中是否有用户不懂的术语？
这些内容是专为 Web 而编写还是直接从你的样册中摘抄？
假如你写博客，你的博客文章是否有独特的观点并能引发讨论？
创建精彩的内容是个复杂的话题，SixRevison
有不少与此话题相关的文章
。
用户体验不管你的内容多多精彩，假如你的用户无法找到他们想要的东西，也是徒劳。复杂的导航，过
于拥挤的布局
，分散注意力的图片和动画等等用户体验方面的问题，都会导致你的用户离去。之前，在一个大型站点上进行易用性测试，是十分昂贵的事，
而现在，我们拥有大
量收集用户反馈的低成本方法
，可以帮助你改善站点设计与用户体验。而更简单的测试可以借助周围的人，问问他们，能否在你的站点上完成最基本的任
务，是否理解你的导航？
也可以使用 Adobe Connect 一类的工具，创立一个测试实验室，记录用户在页面上的行为，语音评论，面部表情等等并加以分析。Zoomerang
及 Survey Monkey
一类的在线调查工具，结合屏幕截图，也是一种快速获取反馈的方法。而 Usabilla
一类的易用性测试工具，通过问卷调查以及热点地图，可以帮助你搜集更具体的用户界面方面的反馈意见。
当然，所有这些都无法和用户体验专家的指导相比，然而不管怎样，预算紧张不再是忽略用户体验测试的借口，一些简单的工具加上认真设计的问题，都远远
好过不测试，这些工作可以让你轻松超过竞争对手。
SEO也许有人质疑，为什么 SEO 不放在最底层，毕竟，假如用户找不到你，最好的内容又有何用。事实上，创建好的内容，并满足用户的需要，这已经是
SEO 路途中最重要的一步。很多人希望找到在搜索引擎中获得好的排名的秘密，却不花时间评估自己的内容，而 SEO
的真正秘密在于创建高质量的内容。有这样一些问题值得考虑：
你的内容中是否包含用户要搜索的管家词？包括 Google Insights
，
Wordtracker 一类的工具可以帮助你对此进行研究。
你的 H1， H2， H3 一类的标签中是否包含关键词？
你的网页的标题（Title）中是否包含关键词，并和网页的内容一致？
简单说，你的内容是为了取悦用户，还是搜索引擎。
向社会媒体网络曝光至此，你已经在内容，用户体验，SEO 三个方面打下坚实的基础，现在，可以考虑向社会网络曝光了。我们假设，读到这篇文章的读者，已经知道
Facebook, Twitter, MySpace 一类的社会媒体网络，且熟悉诸如 Radian6, ScoutLabs, HootSuite
一类的社会媒体网络优化工具。假如你已经知晓这些，那余下的一件事就是，建立长期的社会媒体战略
。
很多公司，虽然在 Twitter 或 Facebook 上建立了页面，但并没有一个清晰的目标。下面是一些值得关注的问题：
如果你是一家公司，指派了负责社会媒体网络的人员，这是他们的专职工作，还是闲暇时偶一为之的事情？
你们是否聘请公关或广告公司来做这些事情，在初期，这样做是可以的，然而，两年之后呢？四年之后呢？
有谁负责答复 Twitter， Facebook 以及论坛上的用户问题，这些工作是否有效？
购买点击广告（PPC）在拥有了高质量内容，完美的用户体验，最佳 SEO
表现，并持续向社会网络媒体曝光之后，你最后还可以考虑是购买点击广告（Pay-per-click
）。然而这一步是建立在前面四个层次已经完善的基础上，毕竟，你没有必要花钱购买流量，却让前来的用户看到没意义的东西。
后话这个金字塔结构并非一成不变，要看你的业务类型，如果你是你中小规模的公司，在一个小众市场销售复杂产品，SEO 和 PPC
或许更重要，如果你是博主，则社会媒体对你性命攸关。不管怎样，要牢牢抓住最本质的东西，这对你的用户最重要。
延伸阅读完
美企业网站的101项指标
关于原文作者
Jason Schubring
已经创建了超过100家站点，Web 设计
与开发方面的背景，使他在结合传统与数字市场方面有独特的见解。你可以在 @jasonschubring
跟随他，也可以在 LinkedIn
找到他.
本文国际来源：Six Revision The
Web Strategy Pyramid: A Well-balanced Web Strategy
中文翻译来源：锐商企业CMS
网站内容管理系统
官方网站
The Web Strategy Pyramid: A Well-balanced
Web Strategy
June 27th, 2010 by
Jason Schubring
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Remember when mom always told you to eat your vegetables? Little did
you know she was giving you fantastic advice for managing your Web
strategy. In these days of Twitter, Facebook, forums, blogs and more, it
can be tempting to skip over the basics and dive headfirst into an
oh-so-tempting dish of social media or SEO "tricks."
Businesses of all sizes are pigging out on social media without
putting an equal amount of effort into forging a solid foundation built
on a user-friendly Web experience and great content.
To deliver a site that gives users the experience they are looking
for, we need to set it upon a solid foundation of content, usable
navigation, and strong SEO practices.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at what I call the "The Web
Strategy Pyramid" (a tip of the hat to the FDA’s Food Pyramid for the
inspiration).
The Web Strategy Pyramid
ContentLet’s start at the bottom of the pyramid and work our way up.
"Content is king," is a cliché, but it’s that way for one reason: it’s
true. You can have the best ads, the most Twitter followers, and the
coolest design, but none of it will stick with your users and gain
momentum if you don’t have the content they are looking for.
Fantastic content is the fuel that drives all these other efforts.
After all, why would anyone tweet about your site or click that Facebook
Like button if you don’t have anything worth sharing?
The single best way to get a great start is with your content. If
it’s unique, compelling, interesting and written for your users, you’ve
given yourself a fantastic foundation to build on.
A few points to consider before we move on:
Does your site content use terms that your users understand or are
you using jargon?
Is the content intentionally written for the Web in short,
digestible chunks, or is it recycled from a corporate brochure?
If you’re a blogger, does your content have a unique perspective and
point of view that’s worthy of discussion and retweets?
Creating fantastic Web content is a complex subject that if you’re
interested in learning a bit about, you can read up on via the Content
Strategy
category.
Usability/DesignIf your visitors can’t find what they’re looking for, it won’t matter
that you’ve filled your site with fantastic content. Complex
navigation, poor use of whitespace
,
distracting graphics or animations, and a vast array of other UX
missteps can destroy your hope of converting a visit into a sale, or a
follower into a raving fan.
Not long ago, performing a usability test on a complex site or
application could cost tens of thousands of dollars. Now, there are many alternatives for gathering user feedback
on
your site design and interface.
Simple "discount" testing with co-workers or family members using
paper mockups or wireframes. Can they perform the most common tasks? Do
they understand your navigation?
A basic lab setup using a tool like Adobe Connect to capture the
user’s screen movements, vocal comments, and facial expressions, all of
which can be recorded and archived for review and analysis.
Online survey tools like Zoomerang
or Survey Monkey combined with screenshots can be a quick way to gather
input from key audiences.
Usability tools like Usabilla
can
help you gather more specific interface feedback through a combination
of survey questions and heat maps.
Those of you who are veterans of usability testing will agree that
none of these compare to having a Ph.D. conduct an interview/test in a
lab setting. However, my point is this: Lack of budget is no
longer an excuse
for skipping usability testing and review.
Some basic tools and well thought-out questions are far better than
not testing at all. Taking this step will put you light years ahead of
many competitors.
SEOSome of you may be surprised that SEO is not one of the items at the
base of the pyramid. If they can’t find you, who cares? Well, let me
explain: If your content is well written and focused on the needs of
your users, you’ll already have made good progress down the road to
effective SEO.
Too many times people try to find the "secret" to ranking well in the
search engines, but never take the time to evaluate the content on
their site. One of the real secrets to SEO is building a solid base of
relevant content. Again, here are a few points to consider:
Do you use the keywords in your content that your users are
searching for? There are a multitude of tools
to help
you research this including Google Insights
,
Wordtracker and others.
Do your headings (i.e. H1, H2, H3) include keywords?
Do your page titles contain keywords and reflect the topic of the
content?
Is your site content written to make users happy, or search engines
happy? I hope that it’s the former.
Social MediaAh, finally. On to the good stuff! Now that you’ve forced your way
through establishing a rock-solid foundation of content, usability, and
SEO, we’re ready to dive head first into social media.
I’ll assume that everyone reading this is already aware of the sites
like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace and probably has some experience
using tools to optimize their social media efforts (Radian6, ScoutLabs, HootSuite
, etc.)
With this assumption in mind, the single most important point I can
make is this: Have a long-term strategy for social media.
Far too many companies and individuals launch a Facebook page or
social media effort without having a target audience, clear purpose, and
well-defined goals.
Do you have a well-defined strategy for social media? Here are a few
items to help you determine if that’s the case:
If you’re a corporation
and someone is assigned to
monitoring social media, is it their sole focus, or is it something they
only do when they have spare time?
Does your company use a PR or advertising agency
for social media? Using these types of firms is typically great for the
initial launch and ongoing campaigns, but what happens in two years?
Four years?
Who responds to your customers concerns
on Twitter,
Facebook, and forums? Will that choice stand the test of time and
customer expectations? More importantly, is it cost effective?
Pay-per-click (PPC)Now that we’ve established a website strategy forged upon great
content, a user-friendly interface, SEO, and Social Media, let’s top
things off with a bit of PPC. Depending on your business needs, PPC
could play a fairly major role. In most typical cases, however, you’ll
be best served by taking care of all the other essentials before using
PPC. Look at it this way: Why would you spend money driving visitors to a
site that is not well-positioned to make the most of every one of those
visits?
A Few Final ThoughtsWill this pyramid potentially shift based on your specific needs?
Certainly. If you’re a small/medium business selling a complex product
to a small niche market, SEO and PPC may be more important for you. If
you’re a blogger, social media may be a vital part of your foundation.
This isn’t chiseled in stone, but the core point remains the same
regardless of your goals: take care of the basics and don’t let that
tempting piece of "dessert" divert your attention until you’ve taken
care of the basics. Your users (and possibly your bank account) will
thank you for it.
Related ContentHow
Social Media Works and the Role of the Intelligent User
10
Great Tips for Using Twitter as a Designer
8
Ways to Promote Your Work Through Internet Collaboration
Related categories
: Content
Strategy
and Project
Management
About the Author
Jason
Schubring
has built more than 100 Websites and delivered
e-mail campaigns for companies of all sizes. His strategic, design, and
Web development background creates a unique perspective on effectively
combining digital and traditional marketing. To connect with him, follow
him on Twitter @jasonschubring
or find him on LinkedIn
.
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