Web writing is more than putting sensible words on paper. It is about crafting content that gets shown by search engines like Google, grabs and keeps the attention of visitors, and drives the desired action from them.
In this post, we will talk about creating content that ticks the above requirements through 10 tips for web writing.
Identify who you are writing for
Is your content relevant to a busy 30 years old IT professional or a lady who makes makeup videos? You need to identify your target audience. This step is the guiding principle to your writing style, font, tone, word choice, and more.
And what you want them to do with the information.
What action do you want your readers to take after reading your content? Is it a sales page designed to drive a sale? A blog page with the intent to get newsletter subscribers? A product page to boost ‘Add to Cart’ numbers?
Answer this question for your readers right at the top – “What is in it for me?” This step will help you structure your content around the question.
Write the outline first.
An outline is the skeletal structure of your page. Once you have one, you can put some meat around it and turn it into a complete article.
The outline will guide you through the writing process. You will have to halt often without it as you will need to gather your thoughts and plan what you need to write about next.
Each interruption disrupts your focus and makes the content look haphazard; each paragraph would have different energy due to intermittent breaks.
An outline is like a map: It tells you the exact path you need to follow from start to finish. For instance, I used one in the image below.
Note I wrote a working title for the post. I will convert it into the title of this blog in the next section.
Write a captivating title.
The title is what encourages people to click on the link to your webpage. You need an enticing title to improve your click rate.
For a good title, head over to the coschedule headline analyzer tool set up your account, and plug in the working title you wrote for your online.
The tool will suggest some power words, emotion words, and uncommon words which make your title stand out. Aim for a score of at least 80.
My title – 10 Tips for Web Writing: How to write amazing content that converts – score an 83.
Keywords
A keyword is a phrase that people type in the Google search box. You need to select the right keywords to ensure that search engines know what your web page is all about. More importantly, it helps your readers know what they can expect from your it.
There are many ways to do keyword research, irrespective of the method, always incorporate the search intent of the potential visitors of your website.
For instance, “jeans” is a common keyword. But if you want to sell jeans, this keyword, “best jeans for summers,” might be better. It is a long-tail keyword that is more relevant to your business and matches the search intent of searchers.
Keyword research is the practice of fine-tuning content for search performance. It is one of the many steps of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) that helps you rank on the first page of a search engine results page. It is a world in itself; you can start learning about SEO here.
Once you have your keywords, use them in the title, page URL, and subheadings.
Split the text into Subheadings
Subheading makes your content organized and easy to scan. It’s far more comfortable to read segregated text than a lump of words crammed into a single section.
Each essential point in the outline can be an H2 subheading. Further, you can split each H2 into H3 and H4 subheadings. You can get as granular as you want.
Also, you can link to subheadings in your index. This step will help readers jump to the section of interest without scrolling.
Be concise
The attention span of people is at an all-time low. Your content needs to grab their attention right from the get-go and keep it long enough for them to take the desired action.
One way to keep attention is to write a crisp and concise copy. Use Grammarly for writing. This tool helps you shorten your sentences and suggests alternate words to make you sound professional.
Also, ensure you use your keywords and align your content with the search intent. Talk about benefits first and then the features. For instance, if your keyword is “jeans for summer,” talk less about how comfortable the jeans are and more about how they can keep your visitor cool during summers.
Another method to keep attention is making reading a pleasant experience – text should be easy to glance through. It should be split into subheadings and have ample white space.
Use Images
You can keep your users hooked by using quality images. Images are pivotal in explaining a concept topic. For instance, in this post, I use them to elucidate conversion rate optimization. The text is so image-reliant that I made an image visible all the while you scroll.
Images can add a fresh flavor to the content. Often, they are easy to read and grab more eyeballs as they stand out from the text.
Add internal links
Internal links help visitors find more content on your website. I sprinkled this post with a few internal links along the way to guide you to relevant resources on topics that may interest you.
This practice will boost the time spent on page and on-page click metrics. This increase signals search engines that your website is of top quality. Plus, the more pages the visitor visits, the more chances that they convert.
Add a Call-to-Action (CTA)
CTA is how you nudge your visitor to take the desired action. For instance, the Call-to-Action for this page is to get more subscribers to my newsletter.
The intent is to give away so much value that you want more of it. That is the tenet of inbound marketing.
As a CTA to this post, you will see a subscription box towards the end. You will note that it stands out from the text and attracts your attention.
Structure your content in a way that leads to the CTA seamlessly. Don’t push your audience into clicking on CTA. Give them what they need and let them decide if they want to return the favor.
Optimize for Search Engines
No matter how good your content is, it’s of no use till it gets seen. Search engines are often the first place where people go to find new content. You need to be on the first page of Google to get maximum eyeballs.
The way to do that is by optimizing your content for search engines.
The keyword research aspect touches upon the subject, but there is more to it. You need to optimize your website for faster page speed. This step will prevent your impatient visitors from clicking away to some other website.
There you have it – 10 tips for web writing.