Online reading: different to offline

This is not a newsflash. Anyone who has dealt with internet content, whether it is for search engine marketing purposes or just generally on their site, will know that people read in a different way on the internet. It’s really not new knowledge.

So why on earth are people still publishing poor online content?

Bad internet content is everywhere, even on business sites. A lot of these sites should know better, but the mistake usually is made that writing is writing. Businesses that are used to presenting information in one way tend to be reluctant to change their habits. When it comes to online content, this tends to translate into text on pages that really doesn’t suit the net.

It is essential to understand the difference between online and offline writing if you want your site’s search engine optimisation to work. Many companies source their online content from a professional, often as part of their SEO consultation. You can discuss content provision with us at www.seoconsult.co.uk. This takes care of only part of the problem. Site owners need to be able to select good online content so that their ranking is healthy in the long term. This means learning the ins and outs of online writing – which is one of those invaluable SEO tools which can revolutionise your ranking results.

Online reading is about information

Strangely enough, the majority of internet users use search engines because they are looking for something. This may sound obvious, but very few site owners actually think about what this means. Although a lot of internet traffic centres around entertainment, when someone comes from a search engine to your site, they are looking for specific information. If they don’t see it within a few seconds of landing on your site, they will turn around and go back to the search engine results pages.

Information is best when provided in a simple form. Most successful sites tend to feature content containing bullet points, lists and subheadings. These three classic tools break up text and also present information in an easy-to-absorb manner. It’s something the business world has been doing for years, and the theory behind it is just as applicable to the internet as it is to a conference room. People absorb facts better when they’re presented in bite-size pieces.

Good content is scannable

If you’ve been reading up on the sort of content that works online, you’ve probably come across the concept of scanning. It has been found that internet users tend to scan text, particularly when they have come from the search engines. This area of theory is so important to internet marketing that companies have invested in extensive studies of how internet users move their eyes across a page. You can benefit from this knowledge.

What scanning theory means is that you need to be careful of not only how your content looks overall, but where you put specific information. Important information is best put at places where an internet user’s eye is going to rest, such as the start and end of paragraphs, in headings and other tricks.