state of the web @ kumc

State of the Web@ KUMC

Jameson WatkinsDirector, Internet Development

jwatkins@kumc.edu

Our Topics• Updated stats• New KU design• Search engines: how they

work• How our search works• Steps to improve search

relevancy

Moving to the Content Management System (CMS)

155 users, 90 logged in within the last month

As of today, 6,954 pages are in the CMS

Updates to the CMS/Web Site

• Stability issues resolved• Three Windows 2008 servers load-

balancing our site• Introduction of .Net web applications

managed by the CMS• New 8.0 version promises faster web page

loading and response times• Introducing Josh Collins

New Designs Coming

KU-Lawrence delivers new visual identity designs

November 2012 ?

Search Engine Optimization

Our Topics

How do search engines work?

How can I improve our results?

Quality vs. Quantity: Content

How does the KUMC search engine work?

Search: the basicsSpiders, crawlers, and robots, oh my.

Search Results

Algorithms change, personalized, tested

Improve Search Ranking- Keyword relevancy & frequency- Link names: avoid “click here”- Titles and descriptions

Good titles and descriptions

Poor titles or descriptions

Quality vs. Quantity

Content is King- Updated content- Contextual content- Content matches title

and description

- Appropriate keywords

User Experience Drives Content

- Content needs structure- Provide unique content - Link, don’t duplicate- Don’t compete with self- PDFs can help

Review & Adjust- Remove old documents and files- Ensure outbound links work- Traffic analytics assessmentPage and Visitor Report

KUMC’s Search Engine

Google based filter• Add our own synonyms• Add our top picks• Integrated with our phone directory

KUMC’s Search Engine

KUMC’s Search Engine

Future Talks

Information Architecture

Using Web Analytics

Jameson WatkinsDirector, Internet Developmentjwatkins@kumc.edu913-588-7387