Dina Lewis, CAE, president of Distilled Logic, LLC, consults with associations on Web site usability and content strategy. Read her at dina@distilledlogic.net or follow her on Twitter @dinalew. She will be a contributing blogger for SmartBlog Insights.

Much of my work is providing usability advice and lately I’ve managed several content audits as clients prepare to migrate to a new CMS. Web site content quality is a factor in both site usability and in assessing content value when moving to a new system. Regardless of the reason for content review, try these tips to improve your content.

• Write concisely. I can’t say it better than Steve Krug in Don’t Make Me Think: Omit needless words. Keep instructions brief on form pages, and eliminate the’ blah, blah’ phrasing from all content pages. When writing about a conference, get to the point; of course this year’s conference is going to be better than ever. Highlight value then give readers the speaker details plus a bullet list of three takeaways so they can make an informed buying decision and register.

• Titles matter. If every release on the Newsroom page reads “ABC Exec testifies on behalf of widget industry,” your click-thru rates are likely flat. Each content item should have a strong, descriptive title that draws readers into the story or at least gives scanning users a useful information nugget.

• Choose a style. Follow the Associated Press or Chicago style guides, or develop your own. The key is to uniformly use words and terms across the site. It is jarring for visitors to see variations—think: website, Web site, web site—on different pages of your site or even on the same page if you are dynamically generating content.

If your team commits to a strategy for new content, plus spend 30 minutes – one hour per week reviewing and improving existing content, site users will notice. As a bonus, you will be well prepared and save time if you ever pursue a new CMS implementation.

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