Why You Won't Read This Article - 10 Tips on Writing for the Web
As Internet guru Jakob Nielsen touts, Web users by nature don’t read copy, they scan it. He conducted a very enlightening study which found that 79% of users scanned Web pages, whereas only 16% read word for word. The bad news is: if you're not doing it right—your website copy could be shooting you in the wallet. The good news is: you can fix this right now. and write effective Web copy. Here are 10 Web content tips to get users to focus on your message, and take your desired action. 1. For ease of scanning, put your copy in list, bulleted or numeric form. 2. Write clear headlines to help your visitors know they are in the right place and should continue reading. (Or, scanning). 3. Try to focus on one idea per paragraph.
4. Highlight keywords/key phrases. This can be via hypertext links or through the use of color/typeface styles. 5. Write well and often. Google and other major search engines will take note if you add a few pieces of new content each week, therefore spidering your site more often. Adding relevant keywords and optimizing your copy will help your site achieve higher listings as well. 6. Create urgency on important site pages. Here’s a sampling of how:
- Offers with expirations/time-limited factors
- Exclusive deals on new products
- Free gifts
7. Put AIDA into place. Stands for: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. In other words, don’t waste time getting to your point and motivating your users to act. 8. Include the facts and nothing but. Clichés will kill your readers’ interest. 9. It’s not so much about short copy—it’s about making your Web content readable. Sometimes you may be required to write more--and that’s understandable. Just include sub-heads and break your copy into small chunks so that your user can digest it. 10. The five most important words to include on your Web site, according to Web writing expert Nick Usborne are: "Free," "Sign Up," "Buy," "Now," and "Thank You." Using these Web content best practices in the right context can actually get you better results. And it’s all about results, isn’t it?
