CCOE Blog style template [Comprises the H1 title]

Today, the lines between user experience (UX), design, SEO and technical website structures are even more blurred for digital content.

Similar to our existing brand guidelines style site, this blog style template serves as a resource for you to use layouts and optimization best practices by copying/pasting any section or element for your own blog posts.

Tip: Watch this video tutorial and look out for “[copy/paste]” sections in this template to use in your own WordPress editor.

The SEO team hopes this template 1) alleviates the burden of the publishing posts, and 2) helps you create consistently quality blog posts across segments as a powerful way to:

• Standardize the blog look, feel and experience
• Build brand recognition
• Refine and optimize content via testing

Each section below explains different components that can contribute to improved engagement with content from visitors.  Google can detect these signals to help our content climb in organic rankings.

This template educates while at the same time reflects more or less a blog post that our audience might experience.

Jump to:

Formatting style [Title of 1st H2 header]

Table of contents instructions [Title of 2nd H2 header]

Metadata and accessibility [Title of 4th H2 header]

Links [Title of 5th H2 header]

Infographics [Title of 6th H2 header]

Optimization and testing [Title of 7th H2 header]

Formatting style: Sentence case [Heading 2]

This first section provides basic formatting guidelines. Refer to the writing guidelines from the TR brand site for comprehensive guidance on tone, punctuation, etc.

As shown in this heading, use sentence case for all copy, including subheadings.

​¶

¶

TR orange is not preset to HEX #FA6400 but the custom color function allows us to select it in the editor toolbar.

¶

¶

TR orange headings (H2, or heading 2) provide visitors with easier scanning and reading so  they don’t get lost in numerous headings and subheadings.

Even shorter blog posts benefit the visitor experience on mobile – because everything on mobile requires much more scrolling.

¶

Use short paragraphs and break up long text blocks

Inevitably, some visitors might prefer reading longer blocks of text on blogs, but most content is consumed in chunks, hence shorter text blocks.

¶

If you compile interview questions and answers, block quotes can be a simple way to visually break up content.

¶

“If you compile interview questions and answers, block quotes can be a simple way break up the text.”

– SEO team

¶

Images will be the primary means to accomplish this (wherever possible) while keeping the flow of reading interesting. Use images whenever it could add some kind of benefit more than just as decorative value.

Below is an average screen size example of this section viewed on a desktop or laptop.

¶

¶

Blogs are increasingly being read more on mobile devices. In this case, paragraphs look more narrow and seems much longer to read. With a little more diverse visual page elements mixed together, the experience on mobile could be enhanced and more pleasing for the user.

So this section might look something like this on a mobile screen:

¶

¶

Listing an author

Wherever possible, identify an actual author. Both search engines and people trust content more when there’s an actual name, for instance, a subject-matter expert or freelance writer.

When you have an opportunity to identify the author, you can set up 1) a separate author bio page and 2) a short blurb at the end of the blog post by:

1. Authors > Add new
2. Scroll down and select the author using the Post author(s) plugin
3. Hit preview, and the author’s name will appear in beneath Heading 1, and users can click the name to view a separate page that opens in a new tab
4. Go to the end of this style guide, copy and paste the author(s) to manually include one more more author’s information at the end of a blog post with a divider

¶

Insert a single line break between headings

Finally, if you’ve noticed odd symbols like this so far —> ¶, then kudos!

These are used only in this formatting style section for illustrative purposes, and they represent an empty paragraph or line break. There should be ample spacing between the end of each paragraph and the next section, whether it’s a major H2 heading, image, CTA, etc.

Inconsistent, too much, or little-to-no-space between sections only distracts visitors. Simply hit enter once before the next section.

¶

Table of contents instructions

If possible, we recommend creating the “jump to” links (aka, table of contents) that is already standard for quality article/blog experiences on both desktop and mobile.

How to create jump links

Follow the example below using this style template’s table of contents for your own content. Each line should be a major section for your (H2) subheadings. We recommend no more than 10 per blog, otherwise we advise this become a white paper or another long-form content type.

1. Copy and paste the table of contents directly into your blog editor (or use the code)
2. Click on the blue anchor text to have the hyperlink box appear
3. Click the pencil ‘edit‘ icon then the gear ‘link options‘ icon
4. In the ‘URL‘ field, keep the # [hashtag] and enter a simple, descriptive string concatenated with dashes, like:

   example-string-of-words

5. In the ‘Link text‘ field, either use the H2 to be used verbatim or similar descriptive heading
6. Click update
7. Scroll down and create the corresponding heading for this anchor link
8. Highlight the heading
9. Click on the text editor view
10. Copy and paste the #example-string-of-words used in the anchor link from step 4 into the closed-quotes of the <h2> element:

    <h2 id="example-string-of-words"><span style="color: #fa6400;">Format styles [Title of 1st H2 header]</span></h2>

11. Click on the visual editor view
12. Scroll up and click on the preview option on the right-hand side publish box
13. Click on the anchor link to test the function
14. This step is optional: The icon can be replaced or simply deleted to use only text.
    1. To replace the icon, click once to show edit options
    2. Click the pencil ‘edit‘ icon then the replace button
    3. Go to the digital icon library and download the PNG small (32px) version
    4. Locate the icon and replace
    5. Click the new icon again and go into ‘display settings’
    6. Adjust to custom size of width=25px and length=25px
15. Repeat for all major subheadings

[copy/paste] the Jump to example at the beginning 1) from this template WordPress visual editor into another WordPress visual editor, or

[copy/paste] the HTML code below into your WordPress text editor:

Back up to video tutorial

–code starts below–

<span style="color: #fa6400;"><strong>Jump to:</strong></span>
<table style="width: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img class="alignnone wp-image-4266" src="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2023/05/abc_1-color.png" alt="icon-orange abcs" width="25" height="25" /></td>
<td style="text-align: left;"><a style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; background-color: #ffffff;" href="#formatting-style">  Formatting style [Title of 1st H2 header]</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

<hr />

<table style="width: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img class="alignnone wp-image-4785" src="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2023/07/bullet-list-70_2-color.png" alt="" width="25" height="25" /></td>
<td><a href="#table-of-contents">  Table of contents instructions [Title of 2nd H2 header]</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

<hr />

<table style="width: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<pre><img class="alignnone wp-image-4276" src="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2023/05/language_2-color.png" alt="icon-speaking bubble" width="25" height="25" /></pre>
</td>
<td><a href="#cta-guide">  Call-to-action guidance [Title of 3rd H2 header]</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

<hr />

<table style="width: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img class="alignnone wp-image-4414" src="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2023/07/tag_2-color.png" alt="" width="25" height="25" /></td>
<td><a href="#meta-data-accessibility">  Metadata and accessibility [Title of 4th H2 header]</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

<hr />

<table style="width: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img class="alignnone wp-image-4782" src="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2023/07/design-system_2-color.png" alt="" width="25" height="25" /></td>
<td><a href="#linking-strategy">  Links [Title of 5th H2 header]</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

<hr />

<table style="width: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img class="alignnone wp-image-4783" src="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2023/07/web-design_2-color.png" alt="" width="25" height="25" /></td>
<td><a href="#infographic-guidance">  Infographics [Title of 6th H2 header]</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

<hr />

<table style="width: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img class="alignnone wp-image-4784" src="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2023/07/time_2-color.png" alt="" width="25" height="25" /></td>
<td><a href="#opt-and-testing">  Optimization and testing [Title of 7th H2 header]</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

–code ends above–

What if I have 8 or more sections for the jump links?

If the list of jump links becomes too long, we recommend using a modified html table of contents below that will:

1. Render as a two column list on a desktop screen size to conserve space
2. But for a mobile screen, will stack into a single column in the correct order

Example:

[copy/paste] the (two-column) Jump to example below 1) from this template WordPress visual editor into another WordPress visual editor, or

[copy/paste] the HTML code below into your WordPress text editor:

Back up to video tutorial

–code starts below–

 

<span style="color: #ff6600;"><strong>Jump to:</strong></span>
<table style="flex-wrap: wrap;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="flex: 1 0 50%;"><img class="alignnone wp-image-4266" src="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2023/05/abc_1-color.png" alt="icon-orange abcs" width="25" height="25" /></td>
<td style="flex: 1 0 50%; padding: 10px;"><a style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; background-color: #ffffff;" href="#formatting-style">Formatting style [Title of 1st H2 header]</a>

<hr />

</td>
<td style="flex: 1 0 50%;"><img class="alignnone wp-image-4785" src="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2023/07/bullet-list-70_2-color.png" alt="" width="25" height="25" /></td>
<td style="flex: 1 0 50%; padding: 10px;"><a href="#table-of-contents">Table of contents instructions [Title of 2nd H2 header]</a>

<hr />

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="flex: 1 0 50%;"><img class="alignnone wp-image-4276" src="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2023/05/language_2-color.png" alt="icon-speaking bubble" width="25" height="25" /></td>
<td style="flex: 1 0 50%; padding: 10px;"><a href="#cta-guide">Call-to-action guidance [Title of 3rd H2 header</a>

<hr />

</td>
<td style="flex: 1 0 50%;"><img class="alignnone wp-image-4414" src="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2023/07/tag_2-color.png" alt="" width="25" height="25" /></td>
<td style="flex: 1 0 50%; padding: 10px;"><a href="#meta-data-accessibility">Metadata and accessibility [Title of 4th H2 header]</a>

<hr />

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="flex: 1 0 50%;"><img class="alignnone wp-image-4782" src="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2023/07/design-system_2-color.png" alt="" width="25" height="25" /></td>
<td style="flex: 1 0 50%; padding: 10px;"><a href="#linking-strategy">Links [Title of 5th H2 header]</a>

<hr />

</td>
<td style="flex: 1 0 50%;"><img class="alignnone wp-image-4783" src="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2023/07/web-design_2-color.png" alt="" width="25" height="25" /></td>
<td style="flex: 1 0 50%; padding: 10px;"><a href="#infographic-guidance">Infographics [Title of 6th H2 header]</a>

<hr />

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="flex: 1 0 50%;"><img class="alignnone wp-image-4784" src="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2023/07/time_2-color.png" alt="" width="25" height="25" /></td>
<td style="flex: 1 0 50%; padding: 10px;"><a href="#opt-and-testing">Optimization and testing [Title of 7th H2 header]</a>

<hr />

</td>
<td style="flex: 1 0 50%;"><img class="alignnone wp-image-4272" src="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2023/05/new-construction_1-color.png" alt="icon-business buildings" width="25" height="25" /></td>
<td style="flex: 1 0 50%; padding: 10px;"><a href="#qpq-in-business">8th H2 header</a>

<hr />

</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="flex: 1 0 50%;"><img class="alignnone wp-image-4274" src="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2023/05/show_2-color.png" alt="icon-theater seating" width="25" height="25" /></td>
<td style="flex: 1 0 50%; padding: 10px;"><a href="#qpq-in-culture">9th H2 header</a>

<hr />

</td>
<td style="flex: 1 0 50%;"><img class="alignnone wp-image-4276" src="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2023/05/language_2-color.png" alt="icon-speaking bubble" width="25" height="25" /></td>
<td style="flex: 1 0 50%; padding: 10px;"><a href="#qpq-in-broader-language-and-example-uses">10th H2 header</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

–code ends above–

Jump to:

	Formatting style [Title of 1st H2 header]		Table of contents instructions [Title of 2nd H2 header]
	Call-to-action guidance [Title of 3rd H2 header		Metadata and accessibility [Title of 4th H2 header]
	Links [Title of 5th H2 header]		Infographics [Title of 6th H2 header]
	Optimization and testing [Title of 7th H2 header]		8th H2 header
	9th H2 header		10th H2 header

Mobile view of same list of 10 jump links above:

Visitor jump to click activity provides actionable insights

As visitors click on these links, we get valuable information about their intent and goal on this page. Which section is popular and why?

One of the best practical next steps is to use this information to match any asset (e.g., white paper, webcast, guide, product) with the context of the topic. More about content testing and optimization below.

Call-to-action guidelines

Does your content receive a lot of page views but it seems the visitor doesn’t take any meaningful action like a lead form fill or click through to another blog post? Maybe your calls-to-action are not prominent, relevant or compelling enough.

How to format a CTA island

Similar to images and quotes, CTA islands are visual breaks in the text. Highly contextualized placements with specific topics can deliver a higher rate of click through. It’s possible to increase a conversion action such as some type of form fill.

[copy/paste] the CTA island below 1) from this template WordPress visual editor into another WordPress visual editor, or

[copy/paste] the HTML code below into your WordPress text editor:

Back up to video tutorial

–code starts below–

 

<hr />

 
<table style="width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>

<img class="wp-image-4582" src="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2023/07/library_1-color-huge.png" alt="icon-example alt text" width="300" height="300" /> PNG/JPG 300px-500px width recommended, center-align</td>
<td style="width: auto; padding: 20px;"><span style="color: #ff6600;">Product/asset name</span>

Here, a 1-line description contextualized within blog section. <em><strong>Use the digital icon library and other TR brand resources below. 1 jpg/png to the left so it stacks first on mobile followed by text. Anchor link below should open in new tab if landing on form-fill page.</strong></em>

<a href="https://brand.thomsonreuters.com/document/267#/digital-icon-library">Visit digital library [3-4 word anchor text]</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

<hr />

 

–code ends above–

Product/asset name Here, a 1-line description contextualized within blog section. Use the digital icon library and other TR brand resources below. 1 jpg/png to the left so it stacks first on mobile followed by text. Anchor link below should open in new tab if landing on form-fill page. Visit digital library [3-4 word anchor text]

Can you use a regular anchor text for a CTA?

While using anchor text to drive traffic to other important content is a must, click-through-rates can be improved by creating an accompanying island CTA as shown above. We recommend creating both an anchor text and island CTA in close proximity to each other for maximum impact.

For example, look at the example below in which a litigation playbook was identified from data as a high-performing, and high-converting asset to feature as a CTA. Both the anchor text “Download a free litigation playbook” and CTA island anchor text “Download free playbook” are used.

Example using a CTA as both anchor text and island format:

Imagine being admitted to a federal court pro hac vice to represent a long-standing firm client in a contract dispute; your client insists you represent them. You face an important decision: to take on the case or refer it out. Download a free litigation playbook and gain insights on how to defend against a breach of contract dispute.

Playbook by Practical Law Litigating a breach of contract action. The answers you need and how to proceed when litigating a matter. Download free playbook

Example using a related blog post as a CTA island:

[copy/paste] the CTA island below 1) from this template WordPress visual editor into another WordPress visual editor, or

[copy/paste] the HTML code below into your WordPress text editor:

Back up to video tutorial

–code starts below–

 

<hr />

 
<table style="width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img class="alignnone wp-image-4555" src="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2023/07/218333_282726134-690x460.jpeg" alt="Banner image_crime investigation and research pin board" width="400" height="267" /></td>
<td style="width: auto; padding: 20px;">
<h5 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff6600;">Criminal law software for case management and research</span></h5>
An overview of the core case management, research, and collaboration tools every criminal defense attorney needs

<a href="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/criminal-law-overview-related-terms-and-research-resources/">Read blog post</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

<hr />

 

–code ends above–

Criminal law has evolved and developed with the changing societal needs as have other laws. Get your free trial of Practical Law to get access to up-to-date information on criminal laws written and maintained by experienced attorneys.

Criminal law software for case management and research An overview of the core case management, research, and collaboration tools every criminal defense attorney needs Read blog post

Example using a product overview page as a CTA island:

[copy/paste] the CTA island below 1) from this template WordPress visual editor into another WordPress visual editor, or

[copy/paste] the HTML code below into your WordPress text editor:

Back up to video tutorial

–code starts below–

 

<hr />

 

<table style="width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<h5><img class="alignnone wp-image-3884" src="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2023/05/Practical-Law-product-on-laptop.png" alt="Practical Law product on laptop" width="400" height="256" /></h5>
</td>
<td style="width: auto; padding: 20px;">
<h5><span style="color: #ff6600;">Practical Law</span></h5>
Get up to speed and practice efficiently

<a href="https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/products/practical-law/trial-overview">Try for free</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

<hr />

 

–code ends above–

Meta data and accessibility

Also known as “meta tags,” meta data are HTML tags that provide additional information about a page to search engines. It’s also crucial information used by search engines and screen readers for accessibility.

Title tags, or SEO titles

This <title> tag is the title that appears in search results and is one of the most important tags for keyword and topics.

Keep these 55-60 characters long and always test to see what might get cut off using the preview function. You can preview this by scrolling down to the Yoast SEO plugin.

Headings

While we use Heading 2 <h2> tags as the major subheadings, it’s sometimes appropriate to use <h3> tags, and less frequently – the <h4>.

Heading 1 <h1> tag is entered at the very top of this page. For our purposes, the <h1> tag has been named “CCOE Blog style template [Comprises the H1 title].”

The SEO title and <h1> tag can be the same. Sometimes Google will automatically modify the SEO title and we have no control over that. This also means it’s sometimes beneficial to use a slightly different SEO title from the <h1> to think of the audience for each strategically.

For instance, if demand gen team needs branding or messaging phrases in the <h1>, is there a way to still optimize for keyword in the SEO title at the same time?

Meta descriptions

The <meta name=”description”> tag is the snippet you’re familiar with in search results. It “generally informs and interests users with a short, relevant summary of what a particular page is about.” (source: Google Search Central).

Generally best to keep it 155 characters or less.

Alt image text

You have the option to add an alternative image text when you upload an image. Image assets like infographics (more below) require a short, descriptive alt image text because it’s not simply for decorative purposes.

However, it’s still best practice to describe an image, including the hero/featured image for screen readers. In fact, it’s encouraged to provide users who need accessibility features with a pleasant experience to explain that, this is a featured image for…, etc.

Links

Links are essential to SEO website experience. That’s why we created a short deck that provides best practices for linking.

Anchor text

Anchor text is the words used to link to another page.​​ The technical definition: “visible, clickable text in an HTML hyperlink.”​

For example: This link leads to a page about anchor text.

Anchor text helps search engine crawlers identify connections between the links on your site. ​If you provide anchor text that accurately describes the page you are linking to, you are providing relevancy for Google.​ Also, anchor text provides context for people who use screen readers.

How to create anchor text:

1. Highlight the desired word(s)​
2. Click ‘insert link’ ​
3. Paste the article or product page you want to link to​
4. Make sure the ‘text to display’ section is showing the words you want hyperlinked

Anchor text best practices:

1. Use text that describes the page you are linking to…relevancy is key.
2. If possible, use the primary keyword the linked page was optimized for using additional context
3. Avoid using “click here” for CTAs
4. A phrase of about 3-5 words works best—1 is usually too short and a whole sentence is too long.

Internal linking

Internal links pass authority to help pages perform​. Authority is an indicator of a page’s ability to rank in a Google Search.​

Two Options:​

1. Have an SEO Specialist check for you​
2. https://ahrefs.com/website-authority-checker​

Link to relevant pages​

1. No limit on number of links, but always focus on a reader’s experience first​
2. Can improve site structure​
3. Can reduce bounce rate​
4. Don’t open links in a new tab​ (Unless you’re linking to a form fill (white paper, webinar, report, etc.), because you don’t want the user to get frustrated if they lose their place.​)

International linking

External linking

Link to high-quality sources​ preferably with a DA (domain authority) of 60+​. “Domain authority” is an indicator of how trustworthy a website is.​ For reference, tr.com has a DA of 88.​

Three options:​

1. Have an SEO Specialist check for you​
2. https://ahrefs.com/website-authority-checker​
3. https://moz.com/products/pro/seo-toolbar​

Avoid linking to competitors​

Bloomberg, LexisNexis, caselaw, Dow Jones, Avalara, etc. ​Criteria: If they offer a legal, tax, risk, or trade solution/service, they’re probably a competitor.

*Ask Sara Sawyer if unsure.​

Examples of non-competitors:

• universities,
• online encyclopedias,
• federal websites,
• private law, or
• tax firm blogs​

How to open links in a new tab (in WordPress classic editor):

1. Highlight the external link​
2. Click the wheel icon
3. Check the box for “open link in a new tab”​
4. Repeat for all external links​

Infographics

Search engines read infographics as “images”, because they are typically in a png or jpg format. However, search engines can read the landing page copy and infographic transcript. With the transcript, you can link to other pages, which helps SEO.

Infographics can also show up in image search.

It’s good to remember that our customers discover our content in many different ways, so we should optimize their experience.

Elements you can optimize for in infographics*

• Keyword(s)
• H1/title
• Title tag/meta title
• Meta description
• Alt text
• Landing page copy
• Infographic transcript
• Links/anchor text in transcript

*If an infographic is getting published just as a social media post and not on a landing page, then there’s not much SEO value in the image itself.

Alt text in infographics

Since the search engine reads the infographic file as an image, it’s still a best practice to provide alt text, like you would for a featured blog image for accessibility and screen readers.

Here’s an example of a good infographic alt text:

“Infographic showing statistics about accounting firms finding technology, preventing fraud, and seeking out advisory services.”

Identify the image as an infographic in the first part of the alt text, because the goal of the alt text is to accurately describe the image if it fails to load. Keep alt text to a maximum of 150 characters or less to keep it succinct.

What about embedding infographics into a blog post?

The example below from a legal blog post demonstrates how to embed an infographic and use the caption to transcribe the image for accessibility.

The main advantage of embedding an infographic into a blog post is to increase the chances someone might want to link to the blog post URL on which the infographic lives. These are valuable backlinks that truly helps content rank in search.

Separate infographic pages such as the Insights infographic template has its purpose too. If the infographic is the main content to feature, then this is a good option.

Download full infographic

Optimization and testing

The following recommendations are meant to conceptualize what should be done to make regular, iterative changes to the most important content based on segment and business goals. Think evergreen content getting a lot of traffic.

In this section:

1. Analyze traffic, clicks and other KPIs
2. Decide what could improve engagement on the page
3. Optimize for that goal
4. Recording and updating
5. Examples of optimizations

1. Analyze traffic, clicks and other KPIs

What’s working/not working today? Adobe Analytics gives us enough information to optimize each page for whatever goal we have in mind.

Clicks – Use the Adobe Analytics Activity Map

The Activity Map workspace shows us which links were clicked on in a given period. Use these preset Activity Maps by segment looking at past 30 days:

• Legal Blog Activity Map
• Legal Articles Activity Map
• TAP Blog Activity Map
• TAP Articles Activity Map

How to select your page to analyze clicks

1. Use the left navigation menu (Search Components) to find the dimension ‘Activity Map Page’
2. Hover over the orange box, then click on the gray arrow to the right of the dimension to open up a list of all values
3. Search for the page you want (page names generally follow URL structure after ‘.com’, with a colon where the forward slash resides– start searching with the last section of the URL)
4. Then click and drag the yellow block on top of the green metric, replacing the current page filter (yellow block) in the table.

Other KPIs on Adobe Analytics

The Adobe Analytics Page Metrics workspace gives you a total of 12 preset KPIs.

Similar to the steps above the for Activity Map, select the page you want to analyze for other KPIs:

[Coming soon: embedded video instructions]

3 primary KPIs to analyze:

1. Page Views – Ask SEOs what optimal monthly organic traffic should be for the optimized keyword for your page (if any). Keep in mind a typical sample size of at least 1,000 unique visitors is recommended for a statistically significant test.
2. Calc. Bounce Rate – In 2023 YTD so far, 85% is the average bounce rate in the COE.

3. Form completes – Orders should be tracked, but form completes from top/mid-of-funnel content from the COE is our bread and butter. This is the most meaningful conversion metric from our standpoint since nurture marketing and sales are responsible for finalizing sales.

2. Decide what could improve engagement on the page

Ask these questions:

• Is bounce rate higher or lower than expected?
• Which jump links are most popular, and why might that be? – The target section could be a good CTA placement opportunity
• Are there particular internal links that perform well? – These could be made into CTA islands for greater visibility for those who simply scan/speed read content

3. Optimize for that goal

What kind of action do you hope the visitor will take? Build a plan around your objectives by focusing on what they need and want. Although what our visitors do is ultimately outside of our control, we can still guide them to what they would find helpful.

If the page is optimized for a specific topic and keyword – what is the keyword’s intent? Are people looking for:

• the definition,
• a list of tasks,
• a how-to guide,
• an image, etc?

The more you understand intent, the more you can provide a better experience for your readers. This SEO Cheat Sheet shows more ways to optimize content.

4. Recording and updating

Data shows that it takes 3 months for blog traffic to have more consistent numbers. So wait 3 months until you record data and make updates.

You can update your blog earlier – let’s say a month and a half in. However, you want to have statistically significant traffic volume to assess what kind of impact updates make. If possible, wait until 1,000 page views after your initial test, and between further iterations.

Example Timeline:

• Blog is published – Jan 2023
• Record data 3 months after published date – March 2023
• Record the new data after the update – June 2023 (or after at least another 1,000 page views)

Note: Even if you don’t plan to update, see how the blog performs 3 months after you record the date initially. Check to see if your blog obtains consistent numbers or if traffic is falling.

Test one variable at a time

In addition to using a sufficient sample size of 1,000 page views, be sure to test a single variable. Testing more than one specific change leaves you with generalized conclusions.

Ideas to test and *record:

• Modifying the SEO title
• Changing the copy for a primary CTA
• Repositioning the primary CTA placement
• Leaving existing anchor text CTA, and adding a CTA island with a slightly different anchor text
• Swapping out a CTA asset with a more relevant resource

*Reach out to Alyssa Young for proper filtering techniques for your data.

5. Examples

We’ll use this legal blog post as an example to show how to optimize for:

1. Middle-of-funnel topic: (though a visitor is not looking for specific product to buy, there’s a direct correlation between topic at hand and TR product offerings).
2. Keyword: “cause of action”
3. Goal(s):
   1. Goal #1: Sign up for a free trial of Westlaw Precision, or
   2. Goal #2: Download a relevant resource.

Goal #1: Clicks to Westlaw Precision POP page

The steps laid out below was for a test used to optimize clicks to the Westlaw Precision POP page and was implemented on 2/15/2023.

1. Analyze traffic, clicks and other KPIs

Until 2/15, the anchor text (Westlaw Precision search tool with cause of action filter) linking to the Westlaw Precision POP page had 26 clicks after 5,601 visits:

2. Decide what could improve engagement on the page

The CTA featured a Westlaw Precision filter product screenshot. Could a GIF or video demonstration of the filter feature improve the click-through-rate for the same anchor text?

3. Optimize for that goal

The hypothesis was to replace the product screenshot above with an MP4 video above anchor text to POP. A GIF file was too large. Here was the resulting CTA:

4. Recording and updating

Be sure to exclude certain data prior to recording before/after results. For example, include extra filter components in Adobe Analytics such as any internal traffic activity from TR employees. Use the blue component “Exclude internal (SAP#, Minneapolis tester)”

Before test was implemented on 2/15/2023, there were 26 clicks after 5,601 visits:

Result: 26 clicks/ 5,601 visits = 0.46% click through rate

After the test was implemented on 2/15/2023, there were 65 clicks after 20,077 visits:

Result: 65 clicks/ 20,077 visits = 0.32% click through rate

Before the test: 0.46% click through rate

After the test: 0.32% click through rate

This did not improve CTR, and the Westlaw Precision product screenshot image is better to keep.

Goal #2: CTA with a higher converting form completion

The goal here was to find and promote another CTA to increase form complete participation.

1. Analyze traffic, clicks and other KPIs

Once this blog post started receiving at least a thousand page views, the jump to links were analyzed using the Adobe’s Activity Map to understand which specific subtopics were most important to visitors. These were the top 3 jump link clicks before 3/16/2023:

1. What is a cause of action?
2. Cause of action examples
3. 1. Contractual

2. Decide what could improve engagement on the page

Since many click on the jump link “1. Contractual” underneath “Cause of action examples,” the next question was what other need could be met with an asset once a visitor jumps down to this section.

Going back into Adobe Analytics, we need to find forms pages that already perform well from visits across any and all channels.

By filtering with the “/form” base URL ash shown above and scrolling down, a commercial litigation playbook was a high-performing gated asset. It also happens to cover breach of contract disputes and can match the high interest of clicks jumping down to the contractual cause of action section.

This is relevant for the commercial litigation audience and demonstrated great potential based on bounce rate and form complete conversion rate.

3. Optimize for that goal

Additional copy and an anchor text was inserted in this contractual section. Here’s the before/after change made on 3/16/2023:

It was immediately evident that this litigation playbook was getting great engagement, so an island CTA with an image and similar, more prominent anchor link was added on 6/20/2023:

4. Recording and updating

After the first test of adding additional copy and anchor text to the litigation playbook on March 16th, visits to the form page went from 13 to 189 during a similar time frame, and form completes went from 23 to 39, a 69% growth.

Moreover, after the second test of adding an island CTA underneath on June 20th, visits to the form page went from 187 to 207 during a shorter time span, and form completes went from 39 to 36 from June 20th through August 25th, which is a higher form complete conversion rate considering this was one month less than the previous period.

For even more granularity, the anchor text:

• within the island CTA only increased additional clicks “Download free playbook“;
• alongside the original anchor text in the copy above it “Download a free litigation playbook“, and
• this includes the image link click “Litigation playbook cover image.”

The combined result of these two goals, though the first was not an improvement:

Out of all articles/blogs on the legal site, this content generates the most form completes to date in 2023.

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