We often browse through client websites and, over time, discover reams of useful content that has been buried.
It can only be accessed by manually editing URLs, clicking through specific links 7 or 8 times, or searching for a niche topic externally using the site operator to find the piece of content that you know exists – somewhere…
Little did they know, there was a way to fix this issue that wouldn’t just make content more discoverable – it would also boost their site traffic, engagement and conversions. What is this trick? Creating a resource centre…
In short, a resource centre is a hub where all of your informational content sits. It is designed to be easily navigable for users, and easily crawlable for search engines.
It essentially acts as an online library for all of the useful information your site has. It allows users to easily find what they are looking for, whether they want to read blog content to get specific questions answered, download a resource or find out more about your product or service.
So how can you create a well-optimised, useful resource centre that will act as an asset to your brand? We’ve come up with 9 top tips to help you build out this hub.
1. Understand your audience needs
Creating a resource centre takes more than scooping up all of the content which is scattered across your site and dumping it into one place. You want to think about how site visitors will want to access and browse through the content.
Ultimately you want to answer two questions. Who will be visiting this resource centre? What do they need?
You should be able to answer these questions by referring to your buyer personas. If you don’t have a tangible buyer persona, now is the time to speak with your business development and marketing teams to get this information down.
2. Cluster content according to topics
Let’s say you have created a spreadsheet full of URLs that you have gathered from across your site. You know all of this content needs to sit in one place, but it can’t just be dumped there.
The next step in your process is organising these URLs. We recommend noting next to each URL what the page title, topic and keywords are for each piece of content. From here, you will be able to group URLs together and your resource centre verticals will begin to take shape.
3. Ensure each resource links out to other page types – and vice versa
Internal linking strategy is vital for any SEO project, but particularly so when it comes to ensuring your resource centre is connected across its verticals and the wider site.
You should be reading through your content anyway to ensure it’s up to date, consistent and aligns with search intent, as well as prioritising the right keywords. However, you should also highlight anchor text as you go and begin internally linking.
You will most likely know your site content inside out, but if you’ve unearthed older content and you know there is a colleague who has been at the company for longer, consider highlighting the potential anchor text and asking the colleague if they’re aware of content which discusses those topics.
4. Consider buyer persona user journeys
Think about what your site visitors are likely to do once they are on the page. We must consider that one of the goals of creating a resource centre is retaining the visitors’ attention as long as possible. We want to log into Google Analytics (or whichever tool you prefer) and see sessions which could, for example, involve clicking from a blog they were directed to in the SERPs, through to another blog, then the resource centre, and another vertical, then a product page, then filling out a sign up form.
To ensure you’re maximising the opportunity for these types of user journeys, examine your proposed resource centre landing page layout and think about the various journeys your user could go on.
Also consider how you will encourage users who start their journey from a specific blog to click through to more content – perhaps a banner at the bottom or part way through the page directing users to more content on the topic, or a direct invitation to navigate to the resource centre and explore.
5. Prioritise on branching out, not click depth
When people are browsing through your resource centre, you want their interest to be sparked by your content. That’s why having an internal linking strategy in place is beneficial, as your site visitor can click through to more in-depth information on a sub-topic if they desire.
What you want to avoid is unnecessary click depth. This is where your site taxonomy is vital. When structuring your site, you don’t want your users to have to click through multiple times to find the information they’re looking for. There is no hard and fast rule for the limit of click layers a site should have, but we operate with the premise that going beyond 4 or 5 levels is a no-no unless in exceptional circumstances.
6. Consider dynamic pages with filter, search and sort functions
Getting your designers and developers on board for the implementation of your resource centre is key if you want it to be a highly functional asset to your site. If they understand the content process behind your resource centre, they will be more incentivised to assist as they will understand exactly what you are trying to achieve – and want to be part of a project which is geared towards success.
Consider creating a dynamic homepage with filter, search and sort functions. Every user is different, so they may want to sort content by topic, filter out unnecessary information or use a search bar to find the most relevant content that corresponds with their query.
Highlight cornerstone pages for each topic
If you have a well-defined set of topics for your resource centre, consider making a cornerstone page for each of these topics that will help search engines understand in more detail what your site is an authority on.
These cornerstones, or ‘pillar pages’, can serve as a hub for all of the information you have on the topic. Ensure it gives a top-level, comprehensive overview, and links out to your specialist material.
7. Incorporate interactive content
While some people like to get stuck into a blog post and read up on certain topics, others won’t appreciate being served with walls of text. It’s therefore worth considering different content formats you can use to engage a wider audience.
For example, if you are a bank you may want to make your mortgage and loan calculators prominent so that people can begin interacting directly with your brand and learning about what you could offer them. You can also incorporate PDFs to fill out, quizzes to test knowledge and infographics to break up text.
8. Optimise descriptive text for SEO and usability
However your resource centre is laid out, the landing page will be highlighting several individual content pieces. If your user has navigated to this landing page, you want to maximise the chance they will be encouraged to click onward to another content piece.
To do this, include short and snappy summaries for each piece of content that are designed to draw attention. Not only will it help users who may browse through your landing page to choose a piece of content, it also helps index crawlers to assign meaning to each URL you’re linking out to.
Need help with your content?
If you want help with performing a content audit to build out your resource centre, a content gap analysis to identify where your hub could be built out or optimised content creating or updating, we are here to help.
Book in for a Free Acquisitions Workshop to find out more about your current position in the market and gain invaluable advice and actionable insights. Or simply get in touch if you have specific questions you’d like to ask.
