A regularly updated blog is a great way to improve SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and engage website visitors with relevant content. But having a well-written piece is only part of the process. The way you format and present your blog is even more important to getting people to stay on your page after they’ve clicked.
Know Your Audience
Before the first word is even written, take a few minutes to brainstorm about your target audience. Who is going to be reading this? What are their concerns (saving money, being healthy)? What questions do they want to be answered? What will they gain by reading your blog?
Whether you are writing the blog yourself or hiring a copywriter, having these questions answered will save time in the writing process and keep your blog concise and informative. Focusing on relevant content will help shape your customer’s perception of your company as helpful and knowledgeable.
Reading has Changed
The way people read content has fundamentally changed over the last decade. People don’t just start reading a web page left to right like a book; they scan it for about 10 seconds before deciding if they’re going to read it. So even though the content of your blog is important, it needs to be formatted in a way to catch and keep the reader’s attention. This is where “chunks” come in.
Chunk Your Content
Big paragraphs get skipped. If you want the content of your writing to be absorbed, you need to break it into smaller chunks consisting of 1-3 short paragraphs.
Each paragraph in a chunk should have 1-3 sentences, with some space between the paragraphs to visually break up the content. Try to keep those sentences around 12-15 words, and use simple language to increase readability.
Headers and Images
You should add a “header,” a kind of mini-headline, to your chunks whenever possible. Make sure they’re a larger, bolder font to catch the eye. They should be 1-12 words, and either summarize the key point of the chunk, describe the chunk content, or ask a question that is answered in the chunk.
Another way to catch the reader’s eye is to make sure you have at least one visual image per page or blog. Whether it’s a photo or cartoon graphic, it’ll help keep the reader on your page longer, which makes you look better to Google and other search engines.
Connect with Customers
All this talk of short attention spans and 10-second windows may seem intimidating, but the tips we’ve outlined should get you started on crafting a blog that will engage and retain readers, and improve SEO.
Strategy can help you come up with a content plan that includes blog topics to help your business engage the online community. Whether you need help formatting your current blog to make it more eye-catching, or if you need us to create and write the blog from the ground up, we’re here to help.
