University College Cork, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences (BEES): content audit and competitor review
As a very specialised institution, University College Cork’s School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences (BEES) had a very niche target audience and a very specific focus for its content. However, their resources and content capability were limited, so they needed help to work out where they should focus their time and attention. The School wanted Pickle Jar Communications to help them work out how best to position themselves among other such specialised organisations, and determine whether their content was currently up to the task of making them stand out.
We carried out two main packages of work to help achieve this aim:
An audit of the content on the School website
A review of the websites of similar Schools at other universities
Our audit looked at almost every page across the site, to help us understand existing content types, information needs and how well that content was currently presented. We reviewed pages taking in courses, research, current students and also blogs. The audit itself looked at the page’s readability, calls to action (CTAs), target audiences and content quality. We also considered how high a risk content might be if neglected.
Our competitor review focused on how other schools communicated with their audiences and how they presented key information on their websites. We highlighted comparisons and similarities between competitor sites in terms of structure and navigation, course content and messaging.
Taken together, all of this work allowed us to identify some key themes and initial recommended actions to improve the BEES site, which was then implemented by the School themselves.
Photo credit: https://www.ucc.ie/en/bees/news/2021/
