What is a Resource Hub?
A resource hub is a dedicated section of your website that houses valuable content related to your products, services, and industry. It includes a variety of formats such as:
- Blogs
- Whitepapers
- Guides
- Webinars and videos
- Podcasts
- Events
Beyond simply housing content, a well-optimized resource hub ensures that information is easily discoverable by search engines and by website visitors through intuitive site navigation. In addition, marketing teams frequently utilize resources in campaigns, such as emails, newsletters, LinkedIn posts, and paid ads, further increasing their value.
How Does a Resource Hub Fit into Your Website’s Architecture?
For maximum effectiveness, a resource hub should be well-integrated into your website’s structure. Consider the following elements.
- Navigation: It should have a dedicated spot in your top navigation menu for easy access.
- Landing Page: A curated landing page should highlight featured content and guide users to various resources that branch off from there.
- Cross-Linking: Resource hub content should be linked within product, solution, or service pages using relevant tags.
- Newsletter Integration: Connect your hub to a newsletter for ongoing updates.
- Site Search: Ensure it’s included in the site search functionality to improve discoverability.
When is it Time to Reorganize Your Resource Hub?
You likely already have a resource hub on your website, but after some time, it’s been growing organically to the point where it’s like an overflowing closet that needs baskets, additional shelving, and some order to what has become slightly chaotic.
Signs that it’s time for a reorganization include a lack of structure and navigation leading to a cluttered resource hub that’s difficult for your users to navigate. Along with this, we often see dated tags and categories which often include topics that were once relevant, but priorities at the company have shifted due to updated solutions and/or target audiences.
In addition, the visual layout often appears dated or no longer matches the current brand and it prioritizes the most recent posts rather than curated, high-value content. A refresh in both visual design and content structure will also result in recharging lagging SEO performance and increasing your opportunity to generate more leads using gated content.
Steps for Reorganizing Your Resource Hub
Step 1: Define Your Goals
Before making changes, establish your objectives. Common goals include:
- Increasing traffic and improving SEO.
- Enhancing content discoverability and engagement.
- Strengthening thought leadership to differentiate from competitors.
- Boosting lead generation through gated content.
Step 2: Audit Current Content and Tags
Conduct a thorough content audit to determine what should be retained, updated, consolidated, or removed.
- Use tools like Screaming Frog to inventory all current resource pages.
- Evaluate content based on relevance, rather than just age.
- Categorize content into “Keep,” “Update,” “Delete,” or “Consolidate.”
- Delete or prioritize updates for content that is no longer relevant or with no traffic.
- Reevaluate tags and categories to ensure they align with current topics and are not redundant.
Step 3: Wireframing and UX Approach
Reorganizing content involves rethinking user pathways:
- Consider whether content should be categorized by topic or type.
- Think about child pages and whether separate topic pages would improve navigation or are not helpful in the user journey.
- Draft the menu and navigation (e.g., a mega menu with featured content).
- Plan implementation of search functionality and filtering.
- Consider mobile experience: optimize content highlights and avoid overusing carousels.
- Include strategic CTAs throughout your wireframes, such as newsletter signups, to drive engagement.
- Plan for varied wireframes for gated vs. ungated content.
Example: In a recent resource hub refresh with IMO Health, they chose to build sections by topic, intentionally featuring the most important topics first. In addition, they offer a view all which takes users to a filtered view of just that single topic. For featuring all available topics, we used a pill treatment for so users can see the breadth of available subject matter. Because we also wanted to give users the option search for a resource by type, we added distinction using iconography in that section of the resource hub.
Step 4: Creating the Visual Design
Your resource hub should be visually appealing and though it can have some unique elements, it should consistent with your branding:
- Decide whether to update imagery or maintain existing assets.
- Develop a new design system for the resource hub while adhering to brand guidelines.
- Update thumbnails for consistency, focusing first on high-traffic content.
- Use distinct visual treatments for different resource types (e.g., iconography for blogs, whitepapers, webinars).
Example: Working with Hireology to update their resource hub, we chose a different visual treatment for each resource type. While they all fit together, the variations provide visual interest and help the user distinguish content type sections from one another.
Step 5: Build the New Section on Your Site
Once the strategy and design are finalized, the development phase begins:
- Define content structures within your CMS (e.g., WordPress post types, taxonomies, and parent-child relationships).
- Ensure agreed-upon structure before building to avoid a messy setup.
- Train internal teams on adding and updating resources while maintaining design integrity.
- Launch the new resource hub with a seamless transition for users.
Step 6: Tracking and Measuring Success
After launch, track key performance indicators to measure success and guide iterations:
- Traffic Metrics: Is organic traffic increasing?
- Engagement Metrics: Are users spending more time on resource pages? Are there specific content types that outperform others?
- Lead Generation: Are gated content downloads and newsletter signups increasing?
- User Behavior: Analyze search functionality and navigation paths to refine further.
Conclusion
A well-organized resource hub is essential for B2B marketing success. By taking a structured approach to reorganization—defining goals, auditing content, improving UX, updating design, and tracking performance—you can ensure that your resource hub remains a valuable asset for both your audience and your marketing team.
