Frequently Asked questions

A meta description is a concise sentence that appears beneath your course title for individuals using search engines, like Google, to discover a course on platforms such as Alison. It serves as an opportunity to capture the interest of potential learners, providing a brief overview of the course in one or two sentences. When crafting your meta description, consider incorporating SEO strategies, including relevant keywords and phrases.

An example illustrates how your meta description (highlighted in red) will be presented on a search engine.

Type 3-5 keywords that directly relate to your course content and use a comma followed by a space after each keyword, as shown in the example. Your keywords will impact Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

Content that's been optimised for search engines improves your chances of:

• Being found by search engines

• Being recognised by search engines as relevant for our target audience

• Potential readers and customers finding and clicking on content within search results

• Keeping websites useful and relevant to target audiences

• Building a reputation as a source of trustworthy expertise online

Common SEO myths:

• Keyword stuffing in content will improve rankings

• Bolding keywords in copy will improve rankings

What’s important for SEO?

• Writing for users

• Providing value

• Technical accuracy

• Links

• Keyword targeting

• Original content

Additional tips for writing core content with SEO in mind:

• Include synonyms of keywords

• Use a level of vocabulary that's easy to read (Hemingway app is a good general guide)

• Use good spelling and grammar

Each learning outcome should commence with an active verb selected from the approved list. Please be aware that the active verbs will be presented in either US or UK spelling, depending on the language preference you've chosen. Each point should succinctly describe an action the learner will accomplish upon successful completion of the course. Utilise a variety of these verbs to prevent repetition. Learning outcomes hold significant importance in pedagogical practices, especially in the realm of online learning. It is imperative that if a learning outcome is promised, the course content fulfils that promise. For instance, if a learning outcome states that the learner will define climate change, the course must incorporate the definition, and an assessment question should assess the learner's ability to provide this definition.

Do not use the short summary as the first paragraph in the long summary, it is good practice to rewrite and elaborate on the description. The first two paragraphs should describe the content of the course in more detail, telling the user what they can expect to learn, including key concepts and topics. The last paragraph sells the course, showing the benefits of completing it, describing the new skills the learner will have developed and how they can be applied personally and/or professionally.

A well written summary will help your course appear at the top of a Google search. It’s often useful to add a question or two within your long description to grab the learner’s attention and encourage them to take the course to find out more. Be sure the course description answers or covers at least some of the terms/questions raised by a Google search. This will help the relevance score. For example, if your course is about Marketing, you could incorporate the following into your description: “Did you know that there are four types of marketing?” Or, “ Ever wondered what the seven keys of marketing are and how they impact revenue?”

You could also challenge a common misconception. For example, if your course is about nutrition, you could say: “Did you know that caffeine does not actually dehydrate you? The diuretic effect of caffeine is countered by the amount of water in a caffeinated drink.”

The Content Rights field specifies the copyright and intellectual property rights associated with the audiovisual, audio, text, and/or data materials encompassed within the course. It is imperative for the Course Creator to bear responsibility for any potential copyright infringement. To safeguard against such issues, it is crucial to ensure proper authorisation for the use of materials in the course and to accurately attribute them to their respective owners. This step not only protects the integrity of the content but also upholds legal and ethical standards in the creation and dissemination of educational materials.

Creating an engaging Short Summary is crucial for presenting a brief yet captivating overview of your course. This concise introduction plays a vital role in conveying the inherent value of the course to potential learners, emphasising its significance for personal or professional growth. The Short Summary goes beyond a mere listing of topics; it endeavours to construct descriptive sentences that provide a sneak peek into the fascinating and practical elements of the course content. Essentially, it serves as a teaser, drawing learners in with glimpses of the course's subject matter and the specific content, topics, and concepts they will delve into.

Select a course title that succinctly encapsulates the course's subject, with a maximum of 90 characters, including spaces. Publishers are advised to review existing Alison course titles for insights into crafting effective titles. It is crucial to choose the title thoughtfully, as it cannot be modified once the course is published.

Refer to the following five tips for creating compelling names and titles for e-learning courses:

Every course requires detailed course descriptions, helping learners grasp the content and objectives of the course. The procedure entails 4 essential steps to provide all the necessary information.

Step1 - Basic Information

This initial step mandates the provision of three essential fields: Course Title, Course Headline, and Language of Instruction.

Course Title

• Choose a title which accurately and concisely describes your course.

• Keep in mind which words will increase SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).

• Your course title can not be changed once it has been submitted for publishing so choose carefully.

• Think of a name that someone would want to present to a potential employer on a parchment paper, if possible.

Explore the article on "How do I Create a Good Course Title?" for more details

Headline

The headline is a concise sentence that rapidly outlines the fundamental subject matter of the course. Make sure the headline concludes with a full stop (period). Your headline serves as a tagline for your course; if it's captivating, learners are more likely to enrol.

Select Course Language

This field indicates the language of your course.

Step 2 - Short description and Content Rights

In this stage, a concise summary and information on content rights are required.

Short Summary

• The short description quickly describes the course and sells its value to the user.

• The short description shows how the general subject matter of the course is interesting/useful for personal or professional development.

• It also provides a preview of specific content/topics covered within the course.

• Do not list the topics of your course in the descriptions. Create descriptive sentences instead.

Explore the article on "How do I create an engaging Short Summary?" for more details

Select Content Rights

This field indicates who owns the course content.

Explore the article on "What Content Rights do I need?" for more details

Step 3 - Long Course Description

In this step you will be required to key in a long description of your course. It generally describes the course coverage and context. The first paragraph is meant to entice potential learners and encourage them to take the course, the second and third paragraphs should touch on the course contents to be covered and the target audience for the course.

• Do not use the short summary as the first paragraph in the long summary.

• The first two paragraphs describe the content of the course in detail, telling the user what they will learn.

• The third paragraph sells the course, showing what is interesting and valuable about it.

• The final sentence of the third paragraph should encourage the user to start the course.

• Do not list the topics of your course in the descriptions. Create descriptive sentences instead.

• A well written summary will help your course appear at the top of a Google search.

Explore the article on "How do I create an accurate Long Description?" for more details

Step 4 - Learning Outcomes

Outline the expected learning outcomes for participants.

• Each point must begin with an active verb from the approved list on the dropdown. Please ensure that you pick a verb from the list.

• The verbs will be spelt in either American English, British English or Spanish spelling depending on the language picked in Step 1.

• Each point should clearly and simply describe something the learner will be able to do as a direct result of successfully completing your course.

• In this section only, do not use full stops (periods) after each point.

• Use a combination of these verbs to avoid repetition.

Explore the article on "How do I create informative Learning Outcomes?" for more details

You can always learn more about the requirements for each field by clicking on the question mark icon next to the field name. The character limit will countdown as you write in the bottom right corner.

You can always go back to the course description and Learning outcomes by clicking on the “Edit course” icon shown below.