How to write a case study for the web

Feature articles are also referred to as “case studies”.  They differ to news articles or product press releases as they usually concentrate on a specific topic and use that as promotion for a company.
Case studies are used to inform, educate and demonstrate technical expertise on a certain subject.
Case studies can include topics on:
•    Successful projects
•    Product implementation
•    Providing solutions
•    Business methodologies
•    Addressing client requirements

A case study will usually address a problem and provide readers with a solution. The case should have enough information in it that readers can understand what the problem is, and through steps form a solution.

When writing your case study you want to write your article for an internet audience. Most importantly case studies must be constructed to be ‘search engine friendly’. Think about the most important aspects of your case study and make these into ‘keywords’ which you will use a number of times throughout your article.

Keywords are the words you type into the search field of a search engine .Before we begin to write our case study we must pick the keywords we wish to target and plan to use them through our case study to maximise its potential for interest and internet exposure.

Your case study will have its own web page within a website. You want to optimise your case study so it will achieve maximum exposure through the search engines. Case studies frequently show up in search engine result pages. The process of optimising your case study for search engines is known as ‘search engine optimisiation’.

Case study Format

Headline

The Headline is the most important aspect of your web case study. Your headline will attract the reader, and it will drive traffic to your article if it is constructed with your targeted keywords.
The headline is the most important aspect for search engine optimisation.
•    Include your brand name and the application for the case study
•    Your targeted keywords must be in your headline
•    Capitalise important words
•    Always mention brand names
•    Briefly summarise the case study and draw attention to your article
•    Place more important keywords first
•    Use the case study name in your headline to promote your company

Example
“ACME Provides National Fibre Network for Railway Signalling”
By mentioning your brand you are increasing brand exposure through the web. Anyone searching for your brand will have a good chance of finding your Case study. You have also mentioned a unique selling point that has drawn interest to your article mentioning your “National Fibre Network” and “Railway Signalling” keywords.

First Paragraph

Your headline and first paragraph should tell the story.  Start strong and carefully construct a compelling head line and first paragraph that interests a reader. Be sure to include your keywords.
You only have a couple of seconds to grab a persons interest so make your opening enticing.

Summarise the case study in question. Provide three or four lines to interest the reader.

Case Study Content

You need to organise sections of your case study.
Provide an introduction to the problem or case study in one short paragraph.
Provide a background on the case. Include the who, what, when, why and how. This should form a brief overall description.

Your body paragraphs should support your headline and first paragraph. Expand on your case study to include more information. This is where you can describe how the problem was solved with your companies solution. Include information about the benefits that your solution provides. Include facts, figures and other information that will back up your claims. Include quotes where possible. Demonstrate your company’s expertise.
Keep sentences and paragraphs short. This fits in the style of writing content for the web, which is short, concise and keyword targeted. Readers will be able to quickly scan your article to find ‘keywords’ they are looking for. This is also beneficial for search engine optimisation. Be sure to mention your targeted keywords at least two twice in your body.

Final Paragraph

Restate and summarize the main points of your case study. Clearly state what was the problem was, how it was overcome and the benefits of such a solution for the client. Include your targeted keywords. By summarising you will help to refresh the reader with your main message. You will also be utilising search engine optimisation as you are repeating keywords for a search engine.
Include a short corporate backgrounder about the company. Include contact details, web addresses, phone numbers and anything else such as dates if applicable.

For more information on Industrial Marketing and product press releases please contact Utopian Web Strategy.