New to The Content Technologist? Start here.

The Content Technologist is a newsletter and website for content professionals working in the age of algorithms.

Our subscribers are content professionals at all levels, from junior copywriters to directors at major brands and media companies. Whether you're an independent creator running your own shop or part of an enterprise content team, you'll find practical tips on The Content Technologist to improve your content publication and craft.

The Content Technologist mostly covers the business of website and email publishing. Check out these playlists to get a sense of what you might read in each weekly newsletter.

• Generative AI: Content by computers
• SEO for the 2020s: Topic & entity optimization
• Rethinking email & website norms
• Data-informed content strategy

*Did you hear? All the writers' and artists' jobs will be taken by robots... or will they? We consider the role of generative artificial intelligence in content strategy and planning.

How to edit text-generated content

How can we improve AI-generated writing? Let’s jump on the trend train and ask the machines.

The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

DALL-E 2 won’t replace artists, but it’s still fun.

DALL-E 2 can generate multiple images in many styles on command. How can we learn to love this technology without replacing human ideas?

The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

Is ChatGPT a good substitute for human writers?

ChatGPT is the coolest new AI toy on the market. But is the writing actually good?

The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

*Topic optimization is the key to search dominance. Learn how search engines build entities and start optimizing your content for contemporary algorithms.

What is entity optimization in SEO content? | The Content Technologist

In SEO, entities are the “topic clouds” or holistic concepts that surround a keyword. Entity optimization is both extremely simple and maddeningly complex. Learn about entity optimization.

The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

How search algorithms work | The Content Technologist

You’re right to be skeptical of organic search algorithms. But it’s also helpful to have an awareness of their very human characteristics. Here’s how search and content algorithms work, broken down for the non-experts.

The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

A content intelligence conundrum | The Content Technologist

These search results taste stale. TL;DR you can’t optimize content without human originality.

The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

Language processing formulas | The Content Technologist

Language processing formulas break complex text down into component parts and assign meaning, identifying the statistical likelihood that one word or another will occur in relation to another.

The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

How to own the butt rock conversation | The Content Technologist

Or, how to break down a SERP and make authentic, impactful, visible long-tail content that ranks.

The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

*Best practices are always changing. Here's how we can build for shifting digital-first audiences.

Email content best practices in 2020 | The Content Technologist

Here’s what I tell clients and people who want to learn more about writing an email newsletter.

The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

Does your website actually need a blog? | The Content Technologist

Why are we still building websites with blogs tacked on at the end? Are blogs really good for SEO?

The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

Reevaluating in-line linking | The Content Technologist

Links are the building blocks of the web. Revisit your linking best practices in the context of 2020s digital behavior.

The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

5-step brand SEO guide | The Content Technologist

Show up when someone searches for your brand name with this five-step guide to building a better brand SERP.

The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

Types of website nav menus | The Content Technologist

What does it look like when we take a farm-to-table approach to menu and information architecture design?

The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

Tyranny of the landing page | The Content Technologist

“Drive traffic to the landing page” is the most time-worn of hastily considered digital marketing tactics. Here’s why you should think a little bigger.

The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

*For content publishers with deep archives and more sophisticated operations, these posts can help you get more out of your data to create better content.

Content analytics KPIs vs. dashboards | The Content Technologist

KPIs are also fantastic when programming a computer or optimizing an advertising algorithm. For content analytics, however, single KPIs are a bad choice.

The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

Content pillars: The next evolution of impactful branded content strategy

If you’re looking to build audience, brand and a better case for digital content, you may want to adopt a strategy based on content pillars.

The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

First-party audience data collection | The Content Technologist

What are the benefits of collecting first-party data from your audience? What are the best sources of audience intelligence? Dive deep into the first-party data party.

The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

Session duration and engaged time | The Content Technologist

Session duration and engaged time are crucial performance metrics for content-rich websites. Learn why they’re often misread.

The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

4 content engagement analytics patterns | The Content Technologist

Want to learn more about how your audience engages with your content? Here are 3 Google Analytics setups and one email metric to watch.

The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver