1. USING THE WEB FOR MARKETING

2. Why the web is important Know your audience Tasks and links Creating great content Search engine optimisation How the Computer Centre can help

3. Is the web really important? First impressions Market research Everyone uses the web?

4. Getting the fundamentals right Web users are impatient! You have 8 - 20 second sell Practical, self-service environments Less is definitely more – avoid redundant information One clear message – spell it out

5. Know your audience Who are they? A diverse audience What do they care about?

7. What do they want to do? Can they do it on your website? Can they do it quickly? Calls to action

8. Example of call to action…

9. Is your website easily navigable? Is it well signposted? Keep it simple – web users suffer attention deficit syndrome! And keep the number of clicks down

10. Tasks and links A link is a promise Make your link clear – does it look like a link? Make sure web users can click your link and complete the task it promises…

11. I want to apply online for a PG programme

14. Links set up an expectation that have to be fulfilled Links in body text are disruptive to the reading process People often automatically click on the first link – even when it’s not relevant Put them at the end of your content

15. Creating great content

16. Your message Strong compelling statement that is distinctive

18. New UoL homepage with new compelling statement

19. Make sure it engages your audience – is it a call to action?

21. But make sure it means something and says something about your department or university This will help with search engine optimisation

23. Care with words Words are important – they are often the first thing prospective students will come across about your department Does it do as it says on the tin?

25. Writing links is as important as writing content What do words mean to people who won’t be familiar with your department? Don’t be vague!

30. Content Try not to use second hand content PDFs take ages to open and don’t read easily – they aren’t web content Is your content out of date? Dated content can make your website look neglected Make sure there is a point to content – a call to action or link to more…

31. Titles are important Make them clear and concise Eyetrack lll 2004: “Most people just look at the first couple of words – and only read on if they are engaged by those words.”

32. So try not to begin a title with your name Keep titles less than 60 characters – good for search engine optimisation

33. Can people read content on your website?

34. There is a good reason why newspapers are printed black upon white Reading computers screens is 25% harder than print So why make it harder? Sans serif fonts (Arial, Verdana) are easier to read – they have no curls! Italics on screen don’t look great – they can create de-emphasis

35. Images Images are part of your message so make sure they are compelling and relevant

38. Ideally they are accompanied by words that are a call to action or act as a teaser…

42. COMPELLING CLEAR COMPLETE

43. COFFEE

44. Think about: Workshop Your Department’s Web site Other Agencies that you depend upon