Great Website Copy is about More Than Words

Eric Brantner
SEO Content Writer

For most of my copywriting posts, I usually give out tips on how to choose the right words to convert your visitors. While these words certainly serve as the heart and soul of your website, they aren’t always enough.

That’s right—words aren’t everything.

How you present your content is key.

Understanding Your Visitors

The truth is people don’t read content the same online as they do on paper. There are many reasons behind this, but the most obvious is the computer monitor simply isn’t conducive to reading long passages of text. For this reason, online readers tend to scan content rather than reading it word for word. They usually scan through the document in an F-shaped pattern.

What does this mean for your website?

It means you need to present your content in a way that helps readers get all of the necessary information by scanning. By making your page scannable, you’ll be able to better capture their attention. This makes it more likely that you readers will take the action you desire.

Making Your Page Scanner-Friendly

Since presentation is key to conversion, what can be done to make your content more scanner friendly?

• Subheads – By placing bold, descriptive subheads throughout your content, someone scanning the document can get an understanding of what the content is about. This then helps them make the decision of whether or not they want to read the whole piece. If your content is just one long block with no formatting, you can be sure the majority of readers will skip right past it. Use keyword rich, descriptive bold subheads and you’ll begin to find more readers paying attention to your site.
• Bullet Lists – Bullet lists are great for any type of copy. They attract attention, and they can effectively communicate information briefly. Break things up on your page by using bullet lists to deliver important points. Readers can scan through and read the bullet points quickly, thus giving them the information they need to make a proper decision.
• Narrow Column – As I mentioned earlier, online users read through content in an F-shaped pattern. One way to accommodate them is to use a narrower column for your content. I’m not saying to have a column that’s only 2 words wide, but don’t have one that spans the entire length of the website. By keeping the column reasonably narrow, more of your words will fall within the range of their F-shaped scan.