Friday, March 4, 2016

JOAN'S BLOG features Susan Branch-Smith  from Williamsburg, VA.  Susan is owner of Basecamp Productions, a digital media company with clients nationwide and based in Williamsburg.  Her web work since 1996 includes writing, user-focused design, and search engine optimization.  This is a summary of what she presented at the CYBER workshop presented by the Alliance in February, 2016.  You can contact her at susan@basecamppro.com.


Content has always been king

 Lately you hear the phrase "content is king." Like it’s something new. Content has always been king.
Content, of course, is anything that contributes real value to your web site: words, illustrations, photographs, videos, and, increasingly, design. A web site needs to look good and BE good.
 
Content was king when the cave dwellers told the first fireside story. And good content sells film, books, magazines, and other media.
 
In fact, the term "content is king" actually goes back to 1974. The phrase was used in a book called Magazine Editing and Production by J.W. Click and Russell N. Baird. (I actually own this book.) The phrase has also been attributed to the title of a 1996 Bill Gates essay (http://www.craigbailey.net/content-is-king-by-bill-gates/).

“Content is king” these days talks specifically about web sites. It’s just taken a while to become household buzz.  To those of you in the arts community, good content is clearly about your topic: what you blog, what you write on your individual pages, and the images you select.

Some often overlooked areas that are quite valuable to Google’s perception of your content include:
·        External links. When you refer to the even in passing, link to Alvin Ailey’s web page (http://www.alvinailey.org). Part of your job in the arts is to help educate, and Google will look kindly on your efforts.
·        Internal links. As you write more content, be sure to link to it when writing new content. For instance, if you’re writing about this year’s art show and how it’s different from last year’s, be sure to link to last year’s write-up. Again, Google perceives that you’re educating your audience. 

Most of all, be sure to keep writing. You don’t have to call your blog a blog per se. Call it “arts notes” or “dance diary” or anything that you think will resonate with your audience.



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