Why You Won't Read This Article - 10 Tips on Writing for the Web

As Internet guru Jakob Nielsen touts, Web users by nature don’t read copy, they scan it. He conducted a very enlightening study which found that 79% of users scanned Web pages, whereas only 16% read word for word.

The bad news is: if you're not doing it right—your Web site copy could be shooting you in the wallet. The good news is: you can fix this right now. and write effective Web copy.

Here are 10 Web content tips to get users to focus on your message, and take your desired action.

1. For ease of scanning, put your copy in list, bulleted or numeric form.

2. Write clear headlines to help your visitors know they are in the right place and should continue reading. (Or, scanning).

3. Try to focus on one idea per paragraph.

4. Highlight keywords/key phrases. This can be via hypertext links or through the use of color/typeface styles.

5. Write well and often. Google and other major search engines will take note if you add a few pieces of new content each week, therefore spidering your site more often. Adding relevant keywords and optimizing your copy will help your site achieve higher listings as well.

In our next blog, we will discuss tips 5-10.