While many publishers focus on search engines to get their content in the most valuable context possible that’s
not where issues of context begin and end for online content.
A new generation of micro-context services are bringing valuable content sources down to the level
of words and phrases in destination content.
These new and evolving services enable publishers to expose their own content and content from
high-quality content partners to give audiences a high-value experience whenever they decide to shift their focus.
Think of every bit of content in your services as the potential starting point for an enhanced relationship that can keep audiences coming back for more.
Search engine portals, and online ad networks get the lion’s share of attention in providing valuable context, but they are hardly the end of the story for providing contextual content.
To date many of these contextual services have focused on navigation aids that appear on a given page of context such as categories, taxonomies or context-specific categories or “related” links to provide useful additional content based on an entire page’s content.
It’s a great idea for providing your users content options that are in your own best interest at the point at which they’re getting ready to leave for other destinations, combining the best attributes of links and stickiness in the same feature.
With limited page “real estate” that’s actually read by audiences always at the ready to skip along to the next service maximizing services in micro-contexts that work off of the content itself is a very important aspect of content design.
Every word, graphic or multimedia presentation can become a service in and of itself, capitalizing on contextual interest that may be far more narrow or broad than any editorial staff can envision in advance of setting up a page design.
This type of micro-contextual content increases the need to consider at a very detailed level how content is formatted in a page.
• Choose high-quality content sources for micro-contexts that bring predictable benefits.
• Exposing deeper context has value in and of itself but if the click-through brings the user to “pretty good” content it’s less likely to be seen as a valuable alternative to search engines. Integrating high-value or premium content sources and other content from your core services that can benefit from micro-contexts should be your first priority.
Remember, though, that quality is in the eyes of your audience.
Social media content that helps users to leverage their personal relationships or favorite feeds and bookmarks may be at least as valuable as traditional content databases under your own wing. Be ready to think carefully about a wide range of internal and external content partners that can give the “bang” that micro-context content promises to deliver.
