Behind the Web Site: Effectively Managing Content

	Technology Trends How To Advice, Anecdotes and Case Studies

by Geoff Choo

January 22, 2001

Why Should I Care About Content?
If you are a PM in charge of planning and implementing an e-commerce initiative for your clients, it will become abundantly clear to you that it takes quality content--and lots of it--to encourage customers and visitors to stay on your client’s web site and to keep them coming back for more. The critical importance of good, relevant content to the success of a web business should not be underestimated. Intelligent investments in content will be create a "sticky" web site that will, in turn, increase customer loyalty and promote repeat visits. A sticky web site is one that gets visitors to hang around longer and, with luck, spend their money.

Managing content, however, is no easy task. As the wealth of content--and particularly personalized content-- grows, the expense of creating, acquiring and managing all this content and the likelihood of management and production problems grows significantly. You can avoid potential trouble by sufficiently planning and tracking your content, while making use of workflow systems.

What Is Content?
While there may be no single definition of the concept of content, since content can refer to anything from text articles (like the one you’re reading) to streaming video, product reviews and description, all content has one thing in common: It engages the attention of your visitors, encourages them to spend as much time (and money) as possible on your web site and gets them to return as often as possible.

Tips and Strategies for Managing Your Web Content

Define what content you need. Your initial business strategy discovery phase should give you an idea of the site's overall purpose and requirement.