Show the problem with evidence

Articulate a clear problem to help you argue the value of a content strategy. Use different kinds of evidence to help you put in place the foundations for success.

Use metrics

Show your pain points in numbers, for example:

• the number of pages on your website with little or no traffic
• the cost to your call centre for time spent on queries that could have been solved with good online content
• how often users are searching for something on your site that should be there but isn't. You can find this information in the 'nil search results' data.
• web analytics data showing how your users navigate the site and their preferred pathways

It's helpful to offer memorable, bite-sized statistics that show pain points, such as:

• 10% of your pages account for 74% of your traffic
• 65% of your pages have not been updated for 4 years
• the dollar cost of maintaining your website

Once you go deeper and start to analyse and evaluate your content, some of these facts will become clearer. For now, you want high-level facts about your digital estate.

Share what you know about users

Show senior executives the results of any usability tests on your existing service. This may help to persuade them of the need for change. For example, you could show them video footage of users struggling to use your service.

Other things like case studies and quotes can also add a human element.

Tell the story from the users’ perspective. This is a powerful way to show the impact of ineffective content.

Use existing research

Find out if your agency has already done research on your content. You can use this existing research to show the user needs and pain points your strategy will address. You can also do a sample audit to discover any problems.

Case studies

To show stakeholders the value of improving content, you can use success stories from other websites as evidence.