DIGITAL MARKETING AGENCY BRISTOL

Our job was to improve how the global National Geographic website functioned. The project had to be undertaken over a short time period, with few resources. Additionally the project was international and required the use of Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics within a global context. The result was the project’s successful implementation in record time!

The National Geographic Society is an educational organisation focusing on anthropology, history, culture and the sciences. As an organization with considerable, famed print and media presence, its website required considerable support to ensure that its functionality and the quality of its content matched the company’s other media outputs. The Task The National Geographic website required a significant amount of work. The work required moving the website’s functionality from an older, heavily-patched system, to a newer, better functioning system. There were also six individual CMS systems that had to be compiled into one! The process had been put off due to its complexity. When this upgrade project started the work had to be completed within a short, three-month timeframe, and with the website functionality continuing all the while. The Solution The first stage of this project was to determine the Key Performance Indicators. These included building the website’s functionality and operation security, consolidating its Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, and Google AdWords accounts, with the outcome being a website that could function despite the pressure of its role. The first, largest task was to review overlaps and functionality difficulties present in the existing Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics accounts. This included reducing the presence of duplications, resulting from insufficient naming conventions, and reducing the required numbers of triggers and tags by at least a third. This was a task requiring brute force, and was followed up with trainings with staff, with the intention of eliminating future human errors that could cause difficulties on the website. Another major task was unifying how the website operated. This required moving content from six CMS (content management systems) onto one, while the pages continued to function. This process was undertaken by placing limitations to page edits, which eliminated the numbers of page versions existing, while steps ensured that no incorrect pages were uploaded. During the process, standard trial procedures including A/B testing and other methodologies were used to gauge and enhance the website’s CRO. Failsafes were installed to address any potential website malfunctions while the changes were being made, but thankfully these didn’t need to be used. Ultimately, we met our client’s expectation, establishing a streamlined website within a three-month time period. Following this process, the staff were trained to use consolidated system, thus helping to eliminate problems related to human error. Both we and our clients were genuinely impressed by the speed with which we succeeded in upgrading the website into a fuller-operating format.