17 ways to improve your web writing

By Dean Evans

17 Ways To Improve Your Web Writing | The Good Content Code | www.goodcontentcode.com

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2 17 Ways to Improve Your Web Writing

This is an extract from „The Good Content Code‟

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Copyright © 2011 The Good Content Company (UK) Ltd


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3 Who am I? And what do I know?

I‟m a web copywriter, editor and regular blogger who lives and works mid-way

between the cities of Bristol and Bath in the UK. I have over 18 years of

writing experience across Internet and print projects, big and small.

As far back as I can remember, I‟d always wanted to be a writer. I started my

career on a little-known (and now barely remembered) videogames magazine

called PC Review. Since then, I‟ve worked on publications including Total Film,

Edge, T3, SFX, PC Plus, Official PlayStation Magazine and Digital Home.

In 2006, I launched and edited the giant technology website TechRadar.com,

before leaving to start my own writing business in 2008.

During my career, I've written hundreds of articles:

Features – Profiles, previews, Top 10 lists, case studies and „How To‟s

News – Press release rewrites, breaking news and analysis

Reviews – Hands-on product testing and product reviews

Interviews – Either face-to-face, by phone or by email

Columns – Industry opinion and blog posts

Reports – Industry research and sector analysis

Advertorials – Editorialised marketing content and promotional copy

Books – One-off special projects

I've also covered a wide variety of subjects ranging from computing, graphic

design, videogames and film to home entertainment, consumer technology,

business and SEO web writing.

My writing clients have included such big-hitters as: HTC, John Brown

Publishing, Future Publishing, Republic Publishing, The National Trust,

Orange and Tesco.

The information that follows is based on what I‟ve learned about writing for the

web during my career so far. It works for me. I hope it can work for you.

http://www.techradar.com/



4 17 Ways to Improve Your Web Writing

There are some best practice guidelines for web writing that everybody agrees

on; some underlying rules that can be applied to everything that you write

online. And don‟t just take my word for it. Take a look around the web – you‟ll

see the same core approach across thousands of websites.

Why do these guidelines matter?

Web readers read web pages differently from traditional printed media. They

tend to scan the page, looking for subheadings, distracted by bulleted lists and

interesting images, or occasionally veering off on tangents to follow relevant

web links. Think about it. You probably do this too.

Unless you have a regular readership, most of your users will parachute into

your content from a search query, land on the information they're looking for

and then leave. Most of these visitors never come back.

Worse still, if they don't find what they're looking for, they typically hit the

'Back' button on their web browser, bouncing back to their search engine

results to click on the next site in the list. Your website is quickly forgotten.

Consequently, you have only a few seconds to make an impression, to answer

a question, to deliver value, to project trust and authority…

It‟s a tough ask. So it's up to you to make your content as accessible and as

attractive as possible. Let's start with some general guidelines:

1) Write naturally

Try to use familiar words. This means avoiding jargon, tossing in unexplained

abbreviations and mysterious acronyms. It also means trying to be

conversational. Write like you speak and inject some personality into your

articles. Your personality and your approach to your subject matter is one of

the most valuable weapons that you can bring to bear. It‟s ultimately what

makes you unique.

Your writing style should also be appropriate to your audience. For example:

the BBC‟s news stories are opinion-free and ruthlessly factual, as befits a

national news organisation. On the other hand, technology websites like

Engadget and Gizmodo assume a certain level of technical knowledge and



5 throw in industry-standard jargon and acronyms accordingly.

2) Keep sentences short

Cut out unnecessary words. Do flowery sentences like this one really, truly

add anything to the very core of the content that you‟re producing? No. So

slice them out. Be ruthless.

You might find it difficult to delete any clever sentences you‟ve written. We‟ve

all been there. But think about whether they really add to your message.

While some people may judge you on your writing style and return because

they like the way you package your content. The majority are interested in

WHAT you say, rather than HOW you say it.

Of course, there‟s a balance to be struck. Just because you‟re writing for

search engine robots, doesn‟t mean you have to write like a robot. Google‟s

algorithms categorise your content, they don‟t consume it, like it or get

inspired by it.

In George Orwell's 1946 essay entitled “Politics and the English Language”,

the author criticised “ugly and inaccurate” writing. Amazingly, his six rules

(listed below), still hold some value when you're writing for the web today:

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are

used to seeing in print

2. Never use a long word where a short one will do

3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out

4. Never use the passive where you can use the active

5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you

can think of an everyday English equivalent

6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_and_the_English_Language

3) Keep paragraphs compact

If a paragraph has got any more than three or four sentences in it then it's

probably too long. Cutting back chunks of text helps keep website copy

scannable and skimmable for the reader. It also means that you can focus on

exploring one idea per paragraph.

If an onscreen paragraph strays over five lines, then it‟s also too long and the

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_and_the_English_Language



6 resulting unwieldy block of text could put your visitors off from reading your

content any further.

4) Show numbers as numerals, not words

A simple one this: for large numbers, don't write “three thousand”, write

“3,000”. Stylistically, some publications will often write the numerals 1-9 as

words (i.e. one, two, three, etc.) and display anything above that as numerals.

Writing numbers as numerals makes them easier to digest for skim-readers.

5) Use an active voice rather than passive one

I.e. “David Beckham scored a fantastic free-kick” rather than: “A fantastic free-

kick was scored by David Beckham.”

6) Talk directly to your reader

Use 'you' to make a direct connection with your reader. Don‟t be afraid of

using „I‟ and „we‟ when talking about yourself, your business or your brand.

7) Add extra links (both internal and external) to add value

Always think of the reader first. What other information would they benefit

from? What couldn't you fit in to your content that you can link out to? Is there

any other content on your own blog or website that could be helpful? If so, link

to that.

What‟s the best way to link? The most effective method is to put links into the

body copy. Linking out to other resources is good practice and can be

important in showing the search engines (and your readers) that you‟re a

serious site.

Linking to other articles on your own website is also important. This helps

readers to find related content and can boost your own site‟s profile in the

search engines.

For internal linking, be sure to use a keyword/keyphrase that defines the page

you‟re linking to. I.e. if you‟re linking to an article about gas barbecues, the link

text (aka „anchor text‟) should ideally be the primary keyword/keyphrase that

defines your page. With this in mind:

Read our article on gas barbecues.



7 Is a better link than this:

Read our article on gas barbecues here.

8) Use relevant keywords in your heading and sub-headings

Use meaningful, direct headlines and subheadings. Steer clear of clever,

magazine-style headlines or newspaper-style puns. I.e. “Surf's up” might be a

good title for a surfing story in a magazine, but it doesn't draw you in when

viewed in a Google listing.

9) Use relevant keywords/keyphrases in your body copy

We're treading into Search Engine Optimisation territory (SEO) here, which

can quickly get complicated. For now, just ensure that you are using the

keyword that describes and defines your content (i.e. „gas barbecues‟) in the

following places:

Headlines

A subheading

Meta description*

Image caption

Image metadata*

Tags

*Found in your website content management system (WCMS). Your WCMS

could be Wordpress, Joomla, Movable Type or some other bespoke software.

Think about how your content ‘looks’

Presentation matters and there are a number of specific things that you can

do to make your articles more accessible and easy to read.

This section is all about 'entry points'. These are other devices you can use to

lure the reader into your article. Not only that, „entry points‟ provide ways for

the reader to dip into your content if they don‟t start reading from the top (or

lose interest).

For example:



8 10) Use sub-headings (H1, H2, H3) to break up the text

These can not only highlight key sections of your text but provide extra 'entry

points' into your copy for skim-readers.

Subheadings can also be useful for summarising the key points of the article

and as a secondary path through long articles. Use them every 2-3

paragraphs in any long article you write. They act as secondary headlines and

should be treated with the same care and attention.

Search engines look for H1, H2 and H3 tags and at the words in them to help

classify the content of the page. They're basically signposts, so use them as

such.

11) Use bullet points for lists

Which one of the lists below is easier to read:

Good content is: relevant, valuable, interactive, accurate, accessible,

trustworthy

Or...

Good content is:

Relevant

Valuable

Interactive

Accurate

Accessible

Trustworthy

12) Emphasise key points

Use bold or CAPITAL LETTERS to highlight key points or important

keywords. It‟s pretty straightforward this one. Just don't overdo it and always

avoid using flashing text if you can help it. Why? It's ugly and your readers will

hate you for it.

13) Use blockquotes for quoted copy

Make your quotes stand out from the rest of your text by using the blockquote

function in your Web Content Management System (WCMS). Don‟t have one?

Use bold, italics or an indent to separate a quote from the main copy.



9 14) Use images to add meaning

According to the old saying: “a picture is worth a thousand words”. By adding

an image (the top-left position is considered the most effective placement),

you can enhance the presentation of your articles and grab the reader's

attention.

Of course, this depends on what the image actually is. Unique, intriguing and

funny images work wonders. It's what http://failblog.org/ is based on.

15) Add a caption to describe your images

There's a good argument for labelling all of your pictures. Firstly, so readers

can understand what you're showing them. Secondly, so the search engines

know what your pictures actually refer to. The humble caption is also another

area where you can fit in your primary keyword/keyphrase to help your SEO

efforts.

16) Pie charts and graphs

If the article warrants it, try to catch your reader's eye with different visual

devices – a pullquote highlighting an interesting sentence, a table, a graph, a

video or an image gallery. Something that breaks up your chunks of text. Just

like this:

17) Promote your other articles.

Include links to any other articles that you've written that are relevant. For the

reader, this provides extra information beyond the page they are currently

reading. For you, it enables you to tempt visitors into exploring your site

further. Using „related links‟ or „popular posts‟ devices can often work wonders.

Sales

1st Qtr

2nd Qtr

3rd Qtr

4th Qtr

http://failblog.org/



10 Why do some sites break the rules?

You‟re right. Not every website adheres to the tips I‟ve covered here. That‟s

why they‟re „guidelines‟ rather than „rules‟.

It's easy to get caught up in the rules of writing at the expense of the one thing

that REALLY matters: good content.

Huffington Post‟s news articles don‟t use subheadings to break up the text –

arguably the stories are small enough that they don‟t need them. The Huff

Post‟s blog content is longer and could benefit from a subheading or two to aid

scan reading. But its big-name bloggers have a draw that often overcomes it.

Engadget, meanwhile, regularly uses large blocks of text in its articles and

often doesn‟t use bullet points to list technical specifications.

Instead, it breaks the short sentences and ignores the „be concise‟ advice, but

has a conversational style that tech readers identify with. Engadget relies on

being first with its technology news, so spending extra time on presentation

(subheadings, picture captions, etc) would only slow the whole publishing

process down.

Don‟t just find what works for you. Find what works for your readers.

Writing for the web: A summary

Following the guidelines for effective web writing is part of the pattern when it

comes to creating „good content‟. Remember:

Write in a natural way that's appropriate to your audience

Keep sentences short

Keep paragraphs short

Show numbers as numerals

Use an active voice

Talk directly to your reader

Add internal/external links to relevant content

Use relevant keywords in copy



11 Use relevant keywords in headings/sub-headings

Use bullet points to break up the text

Emphasise key words/phrases with bold, CAPS or italics

Use blockquotes for quoted copy

Use images to add meaning

Add captions to images, using keywords where possible

Employ visual devices (pie charts, graphs etc.) to break up unsightly

(and difficult to read) chunks of text

Some websites break the rules - find what works for you

Putting it all into practice

It‟s never too late to improve the accessibility and the visibility of your web

content. That‟s the beauty of web publishing compared to print. A magazine

might take three weeks to write, design and edit, plus another two weeks

before its printed and shipped out to the newsstand.

And if you then discover that you‟ve made a spelling mistake, got some

information wrong or written a weak-as-a-kitten headline… Well, it‟s just

tough. You can‟t change it.

In contrast, the web is fluid and interactive. What‟s been published can be

tweaked, completely re-written or deleted as needed. Made a spelling

mistake? Change it. Got some information wrong? Simply update it.

Similarly, you can re-package your existing content to make it more

accessible, using bullet points and subheadings, images and info-graphics.

Much of what I‟ve spoken about here is common sense. But tie it together with

some thorough keyword research and you‟ll be able to align your content to

the words and phrases that people are actively searching for.

After all, there‟s no point having good content if nobody can find it?

All of which brings me on to…



12 The Good Content Code…

Most writing for the web training tends to concentrate on the stuff I‟ve talked

about here – the short sentences, the easy-to-scan text and the importance of

getting your keywords well and truly nailed.

It's vital knowledge. But it tends to work better when it‟s packaged together

with tips on idea generation, how to use the right article format and web

promotion tactics.

This way you get the entire writing 'pattern'. You understand what to write, how

to write it, how to polish it until it shines and how to shout about it.

That‟s what „The Good Content Code‟ is about – developing a writing „pattern‟.

It‟s a step-by-step guide to the whole content generation process and will give

you all the information you need to create content that's loved by readers and

search engines alike.

Here‟s what it covers:

1. Know who you're writing for and how people use the Internet, so you

can provide content that your audience wants and needs.

2. Find out what your audience wants and needs. Where can you find

inspiration for your posts and pages?

3. Discover the key characteristics of quality content and how to create it.

4. Understand the principles of good web writing, style, tone of voice and

why some techniques matter more than others.

5. Learn how to write an article (even if you don't consider yourself a

writer), get your tone of voice right and employ an arsenal of different

article types to grab people's attention.

6. Use keywords to optimise new or existing content so that gets the

thumbs up from readers and search engines alike.

7. Perform simple but effective checks to ensure that your articles are the

best that they can be.

http://goodcontentcode.com/



13

8. Get your content noticed. See why the content generation process

doesn't stop when you click the 'Publish' button.

9. Do more of what works to create an effective on-going web strategy that

will help you get more visitors, acquire new customers, or sell more

products/services.

Whether you are developing a website for your business or taking the first

steps to starting a blog, this book will show you how to deliver the right content

to the right audience in the right way.

It’s about creating web content that WORKS.

Once you understand and apply the principles of accessible web copy, great

ideas, perfect presentation and creative syndication, you can turbo-charge

your landing pages, blogs, articles, email newsletters and press releases.

Find out more at: www.goodcontentcode.com

http://www.goodcontentcode.com/

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