3 Tips for Writing Content for the Online Reader
Before writing content for your website, you need to first understand how people read online vs offline. Online you have to grab your readers attention immediately. Your readers know that the next website is only a click away. If they don’t find exactly what they are looking for they will move on.
Online people skim and scan. They don’t read for completion. They want to know if the page is relevant to their search.
Stay on Topic
Every page of your website, with the exception of your home page, should have one topic. Sticking to one topic will help make it easier for both readers and search engines to determine the theme for that page. Your site visitors are looking for information that can help them solve a problem. They want relevant information and have little patience for moving off topic. The more specific your content is, the more targeted your traffic will be resulting in higher conversion rates.
Write Attention Grabbing Headings and Sub Headings
Headings and sub headings will help the readers figure out the topic of the page faster and draw them into the content. Try to incorporate keywords that are relevant to the pages topic. This will help with search engine rankings and increase the odds that your copy will be read.
Write Short Paragraphs
Offline you can write long paragraphs that go on and on. Online you are working with short attention spans and people who are easily overwhelmed with blocks of text. You want to keep your paragraphs short. It takes a good amount of copy to build confidence in your prospects and persuade them to buy from you online. Instead of shortening the copy consider using shorter paragraphs.
I’m not telling you to have 3,000 words per page (300-500 is usually the right amount for online copy). I’m telling you to sell with your full message in shorter paragraphs. To help cut down on the size of your paragraphs try to put your information into bulleted lists. This is very effective when you are describing the benefits of your offering.
Writing for the web is not easy. We are not born great writers, and not every business has the budget to hire a professional copywriter. By following these three tips, you will greatly increase the chances that your copy gets read.
