(Most of what you’re about to read is a brief summary of ‘A List Apart’ feature article from Content Strategist advocate Kristina Halvorson. She is the president and founder of Brain Traffic, a web content agency in Minneapolis.)

Content strategy is something we as designers and developers forgot to bring along with us when designing websites. We were so busy making websites look pretty and fun to use, we forgot the core messages and information that actually drives sales, engages your customers and promotes your brand.

Simply put, the definition of content strategy is the planning of creation, publication, and governance of useful and usable content.

The thing to keep in mind however, is not just to create tons of content, but to be sure to ask why you are publishing the content in the first place.

At its best, a content strategy defines:

• key themes and messages,
• recommended topics,
• content purpose (i.e., how content will bridge the space between audience needs and business requirements),
• content gap analysis,
• metadata frameworks and related content attributes,
• search engine optimization (SEO), and
• implications of strategic recommendations on content creation, publication, and governance.

Kristina outlines a few content-related disciplines that deserve their own definition:

• Editorial strategy defines the guidelines by which all online content is governed: values, voice, tone, legal and regulatory concerns, user-generated content, and so on. This practice also defines an organization’s online editorial calendar, including content life cycles.
• Web writing is the practice of writing useful, usable content specifically intended for online publication. This is a whole lot more than smart copywriting. An effective web writer must understand the basics of user experience design, be able to translate information architecture documentation, write effective metadata, and manage an ever-changing content inventory.
• Metadata strategy identifies the type and structure of metadata, also known as “data about data” (or content). Smart, well-structured metadata helps publishers to identify, organize, use, and reuse content in ways that are meaningful to key audiences.
• Search engine optimization is the process of editing and organizing the content on a page or across a website (including metadata) to increase its potential relevance to specific search engine keywords.
• Content management strategy defines the technologies needed to capture, store, deliver, and preserve an organization’s content. Publishing infrastructures, content life cycles and workflows are key considerations of this strategy.
• Content channel distribution strategy defines how and where content will be made available to users. (Side note: please consider e-mail marketing in the context of this practice; it’s a way to distribute content and drive people to find information on your website, not a standalone marketing tactic.)

The single most important thing a website can offer it’s customers is content that’s valuable and it can do that by identifying and reducing the effort it takes to complete that task.
- Benny Jones Jr., Web Content Strategists

Web content strategy can help create better user experiences by assisting in the brand development, information architecture, search engine optimization and marketing, web copy, web design and much more.

Content strategy is a key element to a successful web presence, but it's also an element that cannot be ignored in your offline marketing either.