If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, did it make a sound? Yes. And if I write pages of marketing content that no one is willing to read, did I waste my time? Well, unfortunately, that would be a yes too.
Readability is one of the most important factors that determine whether or not a page will satisfy a user’s needs.
Your competitors are often writing similar content to yours to reach the same demographics. So, if your content doesn’t grab your audience’s attention and communicate in a clear, engaging way, they’ll hit the back button and head over to one of your competitor’s websites – and you don’t want that.
Post Metrics and Readability
So, from a logical standpoint, it makes sense to keep an eye on your readability – if people can’t understand your message, why will they trust your brand? And, if we delve a little deeper and switch over to ‘Marketese’, the trusted language of all things marketing, you’ll find even more reasons to make your site as readable as possible.
Dwell Time
Dwell time is simply the amount of time someone spends looking at your webpage from a Search Engine Results Page (SERP) link before clicking the back button. People aren’t going to stay on a page they can’t understand, so it’s in your interest to keep this time as high as possible.
The more readable your content is, the easier it is to engage with. If you notice that dwell times are lower than two minutes, it could be a good idea to review your page’s readability.
Think of it in real life terms – if you went to view a house and the estate agent tried to read you the entire volume of The Mortgage Encyclopedia: The Authoritative Guide to Mortgage Programs, would you hang around? Having an unreadable site is exactly the same concept.
By keeping it short, sweet, and to the point, you increase your chances of making a sale.
(Lowered) Bounce Rate
When you’re browsing through search results for a simple question on Google, do you stick around when you click through to a page that looks dense, badly structured, and hard to read?
Would you spend your valuable time combing through reams of text to hopefully extract an answer? We’d wager that you won’t – especially online, where other options are only a couple of clicks away. Readability keeps people (and their money) from bouncing out.
SEO Ranking
There are search engine gods sitting above the virtual clouds of the internet, and they decide whose content is seen, and whose falls into results statistics. If they deem your site to be high quality, they’ll push you up the rankings. And guess what? Readability is one of the metrics they use to measure that.
Their complex algorithms crawl your site and ascertain how easy it is for someone to understand the information there. It’s no good if it’s too complex. You might have just created the best invention of the 21st century, but it’s all futile if search engines won’t guide people to you.
What Increases Readability?
Want to know how to improve? The good news is that once you understand the elements required, it should come naturally for you in the future. Let’s break it down:
‘Skimmable’ Structure
Writer to writer, I know this is a tough pill to swallow – but the vast majority of people are not actually reading web pages. Your audience is searching for an answer or a service and then scanning the content that addresses their need. If you write in a way that optimises for this, you’re writing directly to your users.
Use:
- Headings: H1 and H2 – These also help the Google crawlers understand your content and rank it higher.
- Bullet points/numbered lists: They keep information succinct and contextualised for your readers. Like this handy list, you’re reading now!
- Text formatting: Bold text, italicised text, and hyperlinks draw the eye into the key ideas you’re putting out.
- Paragraphs: Keeping it short and sweet helps users skimming through your content flip through your ideas one at a time. Each paragraph should be long enough to flesh out what you’re talking about when they focus, but not so long they lose interest.
Takeaway: Your audience wants to skim for the key ideas; help them do this easily with some formatting and structure tricks.
Reading Level
Depending on the topic and format, there’s a common trap in content writing where we start to write more complex, demanding posts unconsciously. You may have had to research some dense academic writing or complicated policy booklet for your post – but you don’t have to repeat that kind of language. Regardless of whether it took you ages to do, your audience will not hang around and try to decipher it.
You’re a translator, making the information available for everyone’s needs. You can do this by:
- breaking up sentences with too many clauses.
- avoiding passive voice.
- explaining or talking around expert or specific vocabulary (adjusting for the expectations of your target audience).
Takeaway: Don’t get carried away showing off your shiny vocabulary – your audience won’t appreciate it, and nor will your bank account.
Natural Voice
Make sure you use context-appropriate language. If you’re selling high-end retreats in a five-star hotel, your audience might appreciate a more formal tone. If you’re selling super-cool streetwear, you can be a bit more casual.
You’ll want to do a bit of research into your audience’s language and what kind of jargon they know. Using pronouns like ‘you,’ ‘I,’ or ‘we’ to refer to your audience and your company can help build a sense of familiarity and trust between them and you early on.
Takeaway: Appropriately conversational language will help your information flow naturally and intuitively and helps you build a relationship with your readers.
Keep these tips in mind, and you’ll be writing more readable content in no time. Remember that great content needs to be understood to appeal to your audience, and when in doubt, edit it down. Good luck, writers!
