Creating a Blueprint for Digital Performance™

PLANNING: THE WHAT AND THE WHY

What is your market saying?

Who exactly is your market?

What do you want users to do on your website?

What functionality do you need to achieve

your goals?

PLANNING A

WEB BUILD

PLANNING: THE WHAT AND THE WHY

Keyword Research User Personas

Information Architecture &

WireframesScope of Work

PLANNING AWEB BUILD

INVESTMENT VS REWARD

• Planning = 20% – 25% of web project budget

• Sounds like a difficult sell?• Reasoning

- What does success look like?- Agree on goals with client- Build structures for users & search engines- Build structures that convert- Avoid scope creep- Give the client confidence

Planning

Client feedback

“I really liked the importance placed on the keyword and user research to lay the foundations – makes me confident that the subsequent design and build is going to be well considered and thought through.”

TOOLS YOU WILL NEED

• SEMRush• KeywordTool.io• Google Keyword Planner• Pen & Paper• PowerPoint• Sketch• Marvel App• Your client’s knowledge

- Market Research- Conversations- Access to clients

KEYWORD RESEARCH: I LOVE EXCEL, BUT…

• Most clients don’t.• Data should tell a story• Data is not the solution• Don’t over-engineer keyword research

- at least, don’t over-engineer to your client- this is a strategic phase, not a tactical one

• YOU interpret the data• YOU tell the story• Keyword Research has to mean something to

your client• Excel is bad.

KEYWORD RESEARCH: FIRST STEPS

KEYWORD RESEARCH - METHODOLOGY

KEYWORD RESEARCH - METHODOLOGY

KEYWORD RESEARCH - COMPETITION

KEYWORD RESEARCH: KEYWORDTOOL

ANSWER THE PUBLIC

ANSWER THE PUBLIC

KEYWORD RESEARCH: MINING FOR DATA

LOG CABIN(s)

BuyRent

ScandinavianNorwegianWoodenSwedishFinnishLuxuryBespoke

BuildingsChaletsHomes

For saleFor rent

SmallGardenCornerLarge

HomesKitsPlansGardenUK

Prices

KEYWORD RESEARCH: REMEMBER

• Don’t over-engineer it• The data is for YOU to interpret, not the client• Listen. Take the brief, mine the data accordingly.• Find more data sources

- SEMRush- Keywoordtool.io- Wikipedia page -> SEMRush- Competitors -> SEMRush- AnswerThePublic- Google Keyword Planner

• Tell the story• Take it forward…

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE – INTENT

Log Cabins

Type Usage Process

• Large• Small• Corner• Norwegian• Finnish• 4-bedroom

• Garden• Granny Annex• Home gym• Office• Commercial• Transportable

• Building• Buying• Selling• Planning• Caravan Act• Materials

Supporting user queries

Insulation, How is it built, High maintenance… ?

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE - NEEDS

WHAT YOU WANT

WHAT VISITORS WANT

Visit our showroom

Call the office

Plans

Case studies

Galleries

A log cabin

Planning informatio

n

Lifestyle change

Not my idea: http://alistapart.com/article/the-core-model-designing-inside-out-for-better-results

ANIMAS UK

TraditionalNavigation

Core Pages

USER PERSONAS

Job Role Typically…

Frustrations Motivations

A. Person

?

USER PERSONAS

Job Role

• Marketing Directoror

• Head of Marketing• Senior Marketing

Manager

Typically…

• Male, 40• Using a photo from 5

years ago where he’s less grey

• Fussy about grammar

Frustrations

• Data inaccuracies• Too many software

solutions for one problem

Motivations

• Wants to grow the business

• Pleasing clients• A quiet life. Thanks.

Gareth

When marketing to Gareth, we should focus on accuracy of data and the full solution set, with a focus on business growth. We should never make grammatical errors or we will lose his confidence. And you should know when to leave him alone, so don’t spam his inbox.

WIREFRAMES

Wireframes can be tackled in many different ways but the objectives are the same; to establish the layout of key templates and plan the user journey.

TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL WIREFRAMING:

• Wireframe for mobile and desktop • Keep the first iteration lo fi• Build the second iteration in Sketch, using text styles and symbols• Export it to Marvel App to build in the interactions

WIREFRAMES – LO-FI

WIREFRAMES - MOBILE

WIREFRAMES/PROTOTYPING - DESKTOP

SCOPE OF WORK (SOW)

• Explain the purpose of the document• List the team members involved• List the project stages• List the services• Outline the standard deliverables• Outline the bespoke deliverables• Specify the timescales and

dependencies• Costs and payment schedule• Signature

SOW STANDARD DELIVERABLES

• Integrated with version control for deployment workflows• Device responsive for different screen sizes• Online forms with required fields• CMS training• Post launch support and bug fixing• Browser support*

*We will not intentionally support any devices, browsers or operating systems that make up less than 2% of your total visits. Functional in the last two versions of Internet Explorer, Google Chrome (desktop and mobile), Mozilla Firefox, Opera and Apple Safari (desktop and mobile).

SOW timescales and dependencies

SOW BESPOKE DELIVERABLES

Explain every step and don’t leave anything open to interpretation.

A newsletter sign up form:

• Is it linked with an API or are the details just emailed to the client?

A vacancies area:

• What happens if there are no jobs to advertise? • Can users upload a CV? • Is there a form to apply for the job?• If so, does it need to pull through the job reference number?

SOW Comms strategy

It’s important to outline how you’ll be communicating and who will be involved in the communications from both sides.

We like to use Basecamp and ensure we have at least a weekly call or Skype.

SOW cost and hours estimate

Include fixed costs and annual costs separately.

AN INVESTMENT WITH A RETURN

Website is aligned with market & keyword research, speaking customer language

Website journeys and goals are defined for specific user

personas, helping them to find the right content and you to

convert them

Architecture is future-proof, built around customer journeys and keyword research, resulting

in better rankings & engagement

Functionality is defined, costs are fixed (not ballpark), and

everyone has confidence in design & development stage

PLANNING AWEB BUILD

INVEST UP-FRONT, HAPPIER CLIENTS

Improved traffic…because you targeted

the right keywords

Improved UX...because you took time to

understand users

Improved engagement

…because you built the architecture around people

Happier client …because they have confidence

you will deliver

PLANNING AWEB BUILD

A BLUEPRINT FOR DIGITAL PERFORMANCE

Got any questions?