6 Quick Hacks to Optimize Your Knowledge Base

A knowledge base speaks volumes about your business dynamics, about what you actually offer to your customers. It is the face of your firm on the basis of which your customers create a perception about your brand in their minds because through knowledge base your customers learn about your product or service.

If it’s something that creates the million-dollar worth ‘First Impression’, can you really afford to neglect it?

You can’t.

Does your knowledge base lack that X factor, charm, or chutzpah?

Does it lack LIFE?

Don’t you think if it personifies your firm, it should be actually breathing, living (A bit of an exaggeration) and talking to your customers?

FYI – Customers’ perceptions about a particular website are based on its visual appearance. Wondering to what extent? It’s a whopping 78%.

Do you feel your company knowledge base can be better and yield results par excellence? It’s a thumbs down if you are striving to make it perfect. Perfection is like a mirage. The closer you get, the far it seems. You can always improve your knowledge base and let it evolve but you cannot be flawless or perfect with it.

There is a mad rush in the online space and every time you open the internet, you will be presented with something new. So you see, it’s ever-evolving. There is no end to the strife.

In reality, your knowledge base is doing excellent. You didn’t put in much of an effort to put valuable information, structure it beautifully or keep it organized and fully-functional, but still, it managed to reduce customer tickets and increase traction to your website.

Then what is missing and how can you be better at it?

Optimization is the missing factor in your knowledge base and you can fill the gap by playing it smart.

Here are a few hacks that can make your knowledge base stand out.

Optimize Knowledge Base Content for SEO

The first and foremost step is to optimize the content for SEO. Visibility is paramount hence, you have to take steps to let your content rank high on search engines, especially Google.

Tips –

• Include relevant keywords and place them organically in a way it looks natural
• Use keywords in meta descriptions, titles as well as URLs
• Use canonical links to keep duplication of content at bay

Optimize Speed

Instant gratification provided by digital firms has raised the bar and set a standard because of which customers expect super-quick answers. Page loading time is the deciding factor whether a user will continue browsing or will abandon your site.

Do you know that 40% of people leave a site if it takes over 3 seconds to load? Shocking isn’t it. How about this one – A 1-second delay in page response can reduce conversions by 7%.

Accept the fact that 47% of users expect a page to load quickly – in a matter of 2 seconds or even less. Now keep this as a reminder and work accordingly.

Tips –

• Use Google PageSpeed Insights to track the speed of your knowledge base
• Remove irrelevant data and images in HTML and CSS documents
• Keep your knowledge base clutter-free, clean and organized
• Check out Google’s suggestions on how to increase loading speed

Include Appropriate Content

Your online document should have customer support knowledge that is relevant and specific to your target audience. Having customers wander from pillar to post in the document, is not the idea behind creating a knowledge base. Isn’t it?

Ensure that you make the online document rich in information that meets users’ requirements. Entering a knowledge base, readers should not have to look elsewhere to solve their queries.

Valuable content adds value to the knowledge base, capturing customer attention. It’s the heart and soul of your document, hence, make sure that the content is easy to comprehend and browse, with the right facts and figures in place.

With content, I don’t mean, plain text. The gamut of content also includes videos, audio, images, infographics, etc., that support the information and delivers seamless search experience to readers.

Do you know that 46% of marketing experts believe that embedding relevant images form a crucial part of their content marketing strategies?

One image is worth a thousand words..!!!

Tips –

• Keep it relevant
• Keep it customer-specific
• Include images, graphics, colors, and interesting visuals

Set the Structure Right

Keep it simple and well-organized. There should be various categories and their subcategories to segregate content. This will ensure that the knowledge base is not simply stuffed with information. The more structured it is, the easier it will be for readers to navigate through the document.

The very first thing a visitor will do is to search for what they wish to read. With a structured knowledge base, you will be able to help them find what they are looking for, with the click of a button. Remember that customers don’t go deep while reading, they just scan through the pages to look out for what they actually want to read.   

Chartbeat research confirms that readers go through only 50% to 60% of the content. This proves my point that laying a strong foundation for the knowledge base is vital as it does half of the job.

Tips-

• The structure should be minimal yet sophisticated
• Don’t clutter it with unnecessary tabs
• Include categories and sub-categories

Get a Kick-Ass Search Engine for Your Knowledge Base

When I see the word search engine, the only thing comes to my mind is Google. This is how powerful Google has become. Can you guess the number of searches happening on this platform every month? It’s a staggering over 100 billion.

Taking a cue from Google, try to make your search mechanism effective, instant and accurate so that it serves customers on-the-spot. Use a large search bar to make it easier for your users to find information.

Also, using Google Analytics you can track search patterns of your users and monitor the most-searched subject. This will help you immensely in improving the search dynamics of your knowledge base.

Tips –

• Track user behavior
• Embed a large search bar
• Have an impeccable search engine

Include Feedback Section

You might have given your best but given the changing digital space, your best might have turned obsolete for users. Hence, make sure that you gather feedback from your customers. It will help you improve the performance of your knowledge base by bringing significant changes.

Work on the content pieces that have got a negative response. Try to assess the feedback and devise strategies that will help you tackle serious issues judiciously.

• Create a section for customer feedback
• Improve the quality of content
• Take feedback positively

To put this long story in few words, optimizing the knowledge base is a continuous process.

Rome wasn’t built in a day – as cliche as it might sound, but it stands true here, as you cannot engineer a fully-optimized knowledge base in a day.

You will have to invest a lot of effort and time if you desire your knowledge base to blossom into something that your users will love.

And to be honest, it’s not rocket science. Actionable strategies coupled with smart steps and the right attitude can transform your online document.

All you have to do is follow these simple tips and begin creating a knowledge base that’s next to perfect.

Cheers to new beginnings cheers to a new knowledge base…!!!