Agile Content Development

Agile content development is a technology-supported method to develop and continuously optimize competitive content.

The methodology revolutionizes the classic linear writing of SEO-optimized content by consistently integrating the users and continually measures the content performance.

With agile content development text is created with the help of deep learning in conversation with the user, so to speak: Content is flexibly adjusted to the current search behavior on the Internet. This allows writers to work more flexibly and effectively. They produce high-quality content that more specifically serves the requirements of the customer. This means the content is far more likely to generate better rankings than competitor content created outside of the agile method.

The iterative cycle

Agile content development runs in a cycle made up of four phases:

1. Discovery
2. Briefing
3. Optimization
4. Measurement

The agile methodology is based on data science and the deep learning technology of Searchmetrics: The software gives information and insights that are necessary in order to determine and serve user intent.

The customer is at the center of the analysis here: Users have different queries and intentions at different times. Content must be individually adjusted to this and be user friendly. For this the software continuously searches and analyses huge libraries of text, image and video content in the discovery and optimization phase. By gathering real time data – on user expectation, current search behavior and competitive environment – it provides the copywriter with a guide of real-time recommendations for topic discovery and content creation. In effect, data science replaces the previous guesswork regarding what the user wants with actual knowledge.

“Agile” stands for the highly flexible reaction to changes. The central aspect in this is the scalability and measurement: In the assessment phase there is a continuous monitoring of real-time interactions by the software. With the help of tracking data it determines and assesses how the content is performing online.

Agile methods and procedure models

Agile content development follows the fundamental philosophy of agile development, the so-called “agile movement”, that is becoming a topic in more and more companies, teams and projects. The principle developed from the search for alternatives to traditional sequential procedure models. The goal was to be able to react more flexibly to unforeseen developments and problems. As a result, various agile methods and processes were developed, such as in project management, in which the agility increasingly blazed a trail. However, it is in software development that agile methodologies have successfully established themselves: Companies are increasingly replacing classic processes of software development, such as the “waterfall method”, with agile methods and are working with iterative working rhythms and empirical feedback.

The fundamental values, principles and methods of agile software development can be found in the so-called “Agile Manifesto”, which 17 international developers published in 2001. In summary, they are:

1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
2. Working software over comprehensive documentation
3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
4. Responding to change over following a plan

With agile content development and the deep learning technology of Searchmetrics, agile methods are now also applied in the creation of online content and search engine optimization.