The purpose of this post if to give you a concise but definitive guide on web writing. If you take my advice you will be rewarded for it, use your imagination how. This is based on my years of experience as a problogger. I also teach languages and English so I have a little experience with linguistic besides just being a geek.
Writing on the Internet is different than other articles. Writing online is like writing for a old fashion newspaper. Start thinking how to organize your content rather than SEO and making money.
Proper organization and authenticy is all you need for ranking high in search engines and getting readers to get value from your posts. This will result in better sales, more readers and generally people will fall in love with you though your writing.
Write for the web so people read your blog
Do you want to know how to write for the web? Well first consider this, thinking is the hardest work there is, that’s why so few people do it. You need not just to write, but to write consciously. This means writing with your reader in mind. Who is your reader? A web user. Web users are impatient, scan and do not read. If they do read they need a lot of hand holding. They are also tired of poorly written content that is short and not in depth.
Therefore, when you write for the web I recommend:
- Write articles with research and authority of at least one thousand words. It is amazing how even a little research will help your post. Alternatively convey a personal experience that people can relate to. Make it real. For example, if you were depressed, tell people and describe how you over came it.
- Use headers like a book or academician would structure a paper, that is use an outline. Make your post hierarchical.
- Use lists which help readers scan. This is a list you are reading now.
- Write clear, crisp concise statements. Try to use less adjectives and sales words and more nouns. Avoid the passive tense, write short sentences and paragraphs. Earnest Hemingway recommended this last point.
- The best book on learning to write is On Writing Well by William Zinsser, it is better than any SEO book.
- The best book for the web specifically is called Writing for the Web is Susannah Ross.
- After you read these books write with one more thing in mind. SEO, that is make sure your post is keyword focused, but but use more synonyms than keywords.
- If you are selling something, do not sell, educate in an objective honest way. Create a resource. Well organized resources are the best link bait there is.
- Link out to trusted sites if it adds value.
- Some sites with a few good, well researched pages rank higher than sites that have legions of writers. These sites are a new form of spam on the web.
Other things to consider are learning about when writing for the web:
- Consider how to write for the web for high product conversion
- Think about how to write for the web to reduce your bounce rate
When a visitors land on your site they are disoriented. They are trying to figure out the navigation and sense of your site. Something that you take for granted because you designed it. But believe me when you have a visitor they are confused and try to identify if this site is what they are looking for. Do not let them bounce off.
The simplest way to test web usability – Find friend who is honest rather than nice. Stand over their shoulder and observe their behavior on your website. Ask them what they think. If you can not do this with a friend, find an enemy, often they are more honest. If you think you have a way cool website, users might not think the same. It might be too much flash. Too many images get tiring.
Conversely try to use one image per post to illustrate a point. Make this image personal not off of some photo stock site. Make the caption real and not spammy.
To reduce bounce rate make sure Google analytics is set up as well as Google optimizer with an A/B test. There are many free tools by this company. They want to help webmasters.
More tips on writing content
When writing for the web your writing must be clear, crisp and concise. When writing for the web don’t make them think. Writing for the web must have the following qualities to be effective:
- Consider the book Don’t make me think by Steve Krug. It is the best book on web usability.
- Qualify your visitor at once. Tell them – “This page if useful to you if you are looking to …” then have a list. or “The purpose of this post is to …”
- Use lots of white space. Web readers scan rather than read. They scan pages looking for information. White space, that is short paragraphs and bullet points make this easy for your readers, uhm I mean scanners.
- Hold your visitor by the hand. Yes look at my language site. Notice at the bottom how I lead them to my purchase page. claritaslux.com. People need this. I tested this with Google optimizer tool and it significantly improved my conversion rate.
- Use header tags for clarity, but not too many, H3 and bold are the best, your title should be H1 and well written. The rest of your blog should be natural.
- If you want to see how to write, look at a blog written by Matt Cutts or watch his videos. Write blog content so readers fall in love with you rather than simply convey facts. He writes an interesting blog full of valuable but personal content. Everyone is looking for the secret sauces, well, his mantra has been write compelling content. I know everyone is really eager to promote that they have, but be patient.
- The post and website you are on now might not be the best example, as I am just starting to work on this website and it will take time.
- Of course read and reread your posts before you hit publish. I have delete countless long posts because I was not pleased with their quality.
Resources for writing for the web
The web is filled with gobily goop. It is the largest receptacle for recycled information in the world. Do not be an ehow, which is some people think is a content mill. Be yourself. Convey a personal experience. Also consider these tools:
- Grammar and style checker
- Resource page on writing for the web
Let me know your personal experience with writing on your website. Further, if you need any help send me an e-mail and I will take a look at your site.
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