Web text is essential. They decide whether or not people will spend time on the web. So alongside clickbait, the idea of money-making texts is also a reality.
What should good web text do?
First and foremost, they should keep people reading. If you keep people reading, you keep them on your site. If you keep them on your site, Google will see the engagement and reward you with better search positions.
So what can you do to maintain readership?
Catchy heading
“The day your texts make you swim in money” may be an odd headline, but it works.
You clicked on the article and read it. The headline decided that. The headline always decides.
I’m not going to wave marketing, very impressive numbers showing how important the headline is.
I will, however, point to a great article by Scott Adams where one gets a feel for the importance of the headline (it’s 4 paragraphs long).
The message, however, is that you shouldn’t be afraid to spend easily a third of the time you spend on the headline overall.
Come up with 20 headlines and pick one. Ask around. Compile headlines from elsewhere that catch your eye.
It looks weird. It’s weird. But I promise it’ll pay off royally.
Strength
Have you ever wondered why Stephen King is such a successful author? One reason is that he writes short, punchy sentences. In his book About Writing, he elaborates on why it works.For now, we’ll settle for the fact that it just is.
Short sentences are more readable. More entertaining. Nicer.
More engaging for a reader who has the capacity to think about the content, instead of following a complex and intricate sentence structure like the one in this sentence.
Write briefly.
White space
White space is like butter on bread, the more the better. Okay, maybe a weird saying, but it’s all the more memorable.
White space is your best friend.
Use it abundantly, often and everywhere. Especially for long and complex articles.
Scanability
People don’t read on the web. That’s a fundamental premise. Your content needs to reflect this fact, not fight it.
If you can’t understand what your article is about in 3 seconds of scrolling, rewrite it.
- Use lots of headings – respect the hierarchy.
- Write short sentences, short paragraphs.
- Use bullet points like I just used
You’ll find that you’ll end up enjoying it more too.
Visual continuity
Use small “teasers” in the text to keep people reading.
There are many tricks and ways to do this.
For example?
For example, by asking a short “Like what?” question. I didn’t mean to upset you, but as you can see, it really works!
Diversity of formatting
This is the sister of scannability. Don’t be afraid of cursives, boldface, and the aforementioned bullet points.
So use the formatting options well and often
Simplicity
So you got the feeling in school that good writing = complicated?
Complexity has an intellectual effect, ergo it adds value to a given text by giving the impression that it was written by an intellectual, who is generally considered to be a smart person, and as a smart person should on average produce content of greater value than a person more inclined to worldly pleasures.
You may find the last sentence “clever”, but you have to work hard to understand it. And when you do, you’ll find that it’s actually not clever at all.
This is exactly what the text on your site wants to avoid.
If your text is not understood by your 4th grade nephew, rewrite it.
It’s that simple.
Length at least 700 words +
Google likes comprehensiveness. Various studies have repeatedly shown that longer texts roll over shorter ones in search results.
There are topics where writing 700 words is a lot to write about, and there are topics where it is woefully inadequate.
700 is a good benchmark, though.
Always try to reach at least that benchmark. Possibly have 300 words more than the nearest competitor.
Broader articles will ensure that you are seen as a thorough and credible source of information on the topic. And the SERPs will reward you.
These were basic tips on how you can improve your text. Let me know in the comments what experience you have with text on the web?
