Content Management for Websites - The Need For Updated Information
1 February, 2004

Overview & History

Less than a decade ago, Content Management Systems were only available to large corporations with deep pockets. Today, there are many Content Management Systems available to corporations of all-sizes. The rapid development of Content Management Systems was driven by a number of factors, in particular, the vast appetite for information of Internet Users and the phenomenal advances made in Internet technologies in the short time.

This article will deal specifically with Content Management for websites.

Content Dictates Traffic

In order that a website be frequented, the website must constantly offer new information and be updated regularly. For businesses that have recognised the Internet as an effective channel for gaining exposure, promoting goods and services, advertising and sales have found efficient content management to be a mandatory pre-requisite.

The chart above demonstrates that the acquistion/aggregation of new contents to a website is invariably linked to the amount of traffic that a website receives.

Most large corporations have already setup their Internet initiatives, and today many Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are in the process of setting up their Internet initiatives. Many SMEs consider the initial website setup cost to be the largest overhead but in reality for well-frequented websites the largest overhead lies in the content acquisition, content management and overall maintenance of the website. This should be a particularly important consideration to note when budgetting for the whole production and maintenance of the website.

Content and Search Engines

Search Engines, or more correctly, Search Engine Spiders are evolving at a tremendous speed and are constantly developing new algorithms and methods to deliver faster, more accurate and more relevant search results to users. Many search engines now rank more highly websites that are regularly updated, based on the rationale that information in regularly-updated websites must be more current and up-to-date and hence more relevant. Efficient Content management is therefore becoming a means for Search Engines to measure the relevance of websites and the contents that reside in them.

In Closing

There are many salient reasons to support the need for efficient Content Management. Companies large and small should always try to formulate a well thought through Content Management plan in their Internet strategies before making any committments.

Footnote

This article deals only with Content Management for websites and does not cover Content Management for other media such as wireless, intranets, etc.