By Emily Hall
Writing is fairly simple, but writing noteworthy web content can be difficult. According to Chartbeat, 55% of viewers spend less than 15 seconds on a website. This statistic can be daunting. However, if you follow these six simple guidelines, your website content can stand out and attract more viewers.
1. Understand Your Audience
To write useful content for your visitors, you first have to know who they are and what they want to know. Your copy needs to be significant to them in some way to keep them engaged. The best way to do this is to ask yourself “Who am I writing this for?” and “What would I want to read about if I were them?”
2. Most Important Information Goes First
As I said, most people spend 15 seconds or less on a web page. You need to grab their attention right off the bat to keep them engaged with your page. People don’t want to read the very end to get the information they’re looking for. Use this inverted pyramid method to help you structure your page effectively.
3. Use Creative, Engaging Headings
People often scan web pages instead of reading every word. Using effective headings helps viewers get the information they need without feeling like they’re wasting their time. A good heading encourages people to read on while feeling like they’ve already learned something.
4. Make it Easy to Read
Again, people are scanners and want to find information quickly. Overusing unnecessary words and being overly creative will distract from the point of your content. Get to the point quickly and be easy to understand. Strive for clarity not creativity.
5. Use SEO
Using search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial to getting your page noticed. SEO improves the site’s searchability and leads to increased engagements, traffic and conversations. For your content to stay relevant on the web, SEO is a must. There are many different SEO tools out there, but a few popular ones are:–Google Analytics–Moz Local Listing Score–Keywordtool.io
6. Work with Your Design
Your web content and web design should work together. It has been proven that visual features are more readily retained than words. Your graphics should work with your copy to communicate a clear story.
So, remember: know your audience, lead with what’s important, engage with headings, get to the point, use SEO and reinforce your copy with visuals. Following these six tips will increase your web copy’s readership.