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7 Tips For Great Internet Content
riting for the online
audience is far different Long paragraphs fill up the
from writing for an screen. Think of the last time
offline audience. you were at a website and read
through a long scrolling screen
Here’s why- of text. You probably didn’t read
the whole thing, right? These
Studies have shown the way one large text blocks act almost as
reads on a computer screen is roadblocks, requiring that you
slower and more difficult than either stop to read, scroll past,
reading on paper. The structure or get out. (Hot Text)
of words on the screen is
important. Short paragraphs help visitors
skim more easily to see if this
Also, even more importantly, the is the page they want to be at.
audience you’re writing for is no Ideally, a paragraph should be 2
longer just an audience. It is or 3 lines. You’ll certainly have
composed of active participants paragraphs with more, but this is
in the environment you are trying the best for reading purposes.
to market to. These visitors have
a way out of your site that is as 2.Have a good title.
easy as a click away. Good
content is the key to keeping If you look at the very top of
visitors around. your Internet Browser, you’ll
notice a line of text. That is
Here are seven tips on how to the page title. Page titles help
have great content: a visitor decide if they want to
go to your page or not, via a
1.Make each paragraph short. search result pages.
Also, the title should make sense readers skim for your main ideas.
outside of its page. For example, It also allows visually impaired
don’t just call a page visitors to understand your
“Introduction”, call it something content.
like “Blue Widgets- A Technical
Overview”. 4.Don’t Use Marketing
Fluff
Start with words that show why
this page is unique. Don’t start Visitors generally mistrust
every title with the same word anything that looks like an ad.
(like a company name) because it So, to earn trust, turn down
will look like the same page over hype. If you are marketing a
and over on the search results. product, point out features and
Try to include important keywords benefits in simple, direct
in the title as well. language, without going
overboard. Visitors like to be
3.Use Headlines and treated like a person.
Sub-headlines
5.Use Visuals
Headings help readers know they
are on the right track. A heading Charts, graphs, lists and a few
predicts the content that will images help more visual readers
follow, allowing visitors to see what you’re writing about.
decide if they want to continue
or not. A chart or graph helps to compare
and contrast data, while a few
Use two or three levels of images here and there can make
headings- a general page heading, your site more visually
a sub-heading, and perhaps a appealing, and keep the visitor
sub-sub-heading. This helps interested.
Any series should be turned into Do include keywords in a natural
a bulleted list, to allow way. Using certain words over and
visitors to skim more easily. over will get your site banned
from search engines because the
6.Be Active, Not Passive. search engine reads the site and
knows this is suspicious. Write
If you’re trying to generate the content as natural as
leads, use active words, as possible, still while trying to
opposed to passive. For example, include these words.
don’t say “New Widgets”, say
“Check out the new widgets everyone’s buying!” This is a type="text/javascript">
About the Author:
Jennifer Taylor is the director of e-marketing at ViewSource, a Cincinnati internet solutions firm. Visit her at http://www.viewsource.com
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