Writing For The Web - 10 minute tutorial/refresher

Introduction & Agenda

• Intro

•R l 15
Rules 1-5

• Tea break (10 minutes)

• Rules 6-10

• Next Steps

© Job Crunch Pty Ltd 2009 Commercial in Confidence

Writing for the web - Traditional

Writing for the Web is not the same as writing for print
print.
People read differently on the Web. They scan read—
jumping quickly from one piece of content to the next.
People are much more action-orientated on the Web.
p
They get online to get something done. Words should
always be driving actions.

Writing for the Web requires careful planning. Your
content needs to fit well within the context of your
website. When a reader finds your content, they need to
y y
be able to scan it quickly. In order for your website to be
found, you need to write for how people search.


Writing for the web – Why Optimise?

• Eye mapping research
shows online viewer
behavior on the left.
• Cornell University
research suggests that
users spend less than 6
seconds browsing for
content.
• Users click on the 1st
thing that looks like the
right answer.
Courtesy of http://www.mikemoran.com

Image courtesy of Enquiro
I t fE i


Writing for the web - Optimised

Writing for the Web is not the same as writing for
print.
• People read differently on the Web, scanning content.
• People are much more action-orientated.
action orientated
• They are online to get something done.
• Words should be driving actions.
• Writing for the Web requires careful planning.
• Content needs to fit well within the context of your site.
• Readers need to be able to scan it quickly.
q y
• You need to write for how people search so your site
can be found.


The 10 Rules

10 rules for writing effective web content:
1. Know your reader
2. Take a publishing approach
3. Keep content short and simple
3 K t t h t d i l
4. Write active content
5. Put content in context
6. Write for how people search
7. Write cut-through headings
8. Write great summaries
9. Write relevant metadata
10. Edit. Edit. Edit.


Rule 1

1. Know your reader
All effective writing begins with knowing your reader.
Write for your reader, not your ego. Your reader is not
everybody. The most effective writing is keenly focused
y y g y
on the specific needs of a clearly defined reader type. Is
your reader a middle class, female Australian, with two
kids, who lives in the suburbs?

Think like your reader. Get to meet you reader. Talk to
your reader. Read what they reads. Is there a common
style and t
t l d tone b i used t reach th ?
being d to h them?
Use it. Put a picture of your readers up on your wall.
You shouldn't have more than 3-5 core reader types.


Rule 2

2. Take a publishing approach
Publishing is about getting the right content to the right
person at the right time. It's about getting and keeping
attention with content. It's about driving actions.
g
Publishing is about selling with content.

Back around 1997, if you went to many airline websites,
you found a big picture of an aeroplane on the
homepage. Now, you will find a booking process and
special offers. Killer content. The first thing publishers
must get right is th i kill content. Wh t content do you
t t i ht i their killer t t What t td
have that will really drive actions? Put that on your
homepage.


Rule 3

3. Keep content short and simple
Less is nearly always more. Remember, the one word
that describes the scan reader is impatient. Here are
some guidelines for the length of y
g g your content:
• Headings: 8 words or less
• Sentences: 15-20 words
• Paragraphs: 40 70 words
40-70
• Documents: 500 words or less
Get rid of all your fancy words. Get rid of your ego.
Writing ff ti l is t b t h i
W iti effectively i not about showing off. It' about
ff It's b t
communicating. It's about driving actions. Write simply.
Get to the point. Then stop.


Rule 4

4. Write active content
The reader has come to your website to do something.
Your content should be written in an action-orientated
style. Every sentence should be moving them towards a
y y g
purchase, a subscription, a solution, a download.


Rule 5

5. Put content in context
The Web is about links and connections. Web content is
classified and linked content. Never leave your reader
at a dead-end on your website.
y

A dead-end would entail no action or direction. It would
not provide the reader a link to another piece of
information or a conversion point.

The nature of the internet is non linear and dead ends
non-linear dead-ends
lead to disengagement.


Tea Break (10 minutes)


Rule 6

6. Write for how people search
Write to be found when people are searching. That
means using the words your target audience are using.
Make sure that every element of y
y your p g includes
page
your keyword at least once, and in the copy of the web
page itself, the keyword should have between a 3% to
5% keyword density. This will aid you in your Google
ranking via effective Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

SEO: What is it?
Getting a better Google rank via SEO involves
strategically optimising the elements of your website
and your web campaign in such a way that y
y p g y your site
becomes popular in the major search engines.

SEO: What is it?

There are 3 strategies you should follow to improve
your Google rank:
• Include the most popular keywords in your
website copy even though you may not rank well
copy,
for them. Your visitors will expect to see these
keywords, and search engines will take note of
them.
them By including them you lay a foundation for
them,
the long term - slowly but surely as you add more
content, your rankings will rise.


SEO: What is it? Cont.

• Use the most popular keywords along with
'qualifiers', either geographic or sector specific. So
while it might be difficult to rank well for 'chocolate
g ,
gifts', it is not such a challenge to rank well for
g
'chocolate gifts Manly' targeting a geographic area or
'corporate chocolate gifts' targeting the business
sector.
• Look for niche keywords or markets that others
haven't yet found. Such keywords have the magic
combination of being relatively popular searches, but
having little competition.


Rule 7

7. Write cut-through headings
cut through
Headings are the most important piece of content you
will write because:
• People scan read and the first piece of content they
often read is the heading. If it's not interesting, they're
gone.
• The heading is often used as title metadata This is
metadata.
what the search engines use on the search results
page.
• The heading may be placed on a homepage as a link
to the content.


Rule 7 cont

When writing headings:
• Keep them to 8 words or less
• Make sure you include the most important keywords
• C t out as many adjectives and prepositions as
Cut t dj ti d iti
possible (and, the, a, of)
• Be clear and precise. Avoid Shakespearean
references. A id b i clever.
f Avoid being l


Rule 8

8. Write great summaries, sentences, paragraphs
The summary is the: who, what, where, when, how. It's
about getting the facts across in 50 words or less. An
objective of a summary is to make p p want to read
j y people
on. Keep them punchy and factual.

Sentences should be between 15-20 words.
Paragraphs should be between 40-70 words.
Remember, people scan read. If the first sentence in the
paragraph is not interesting, they'll move on. So, always
lead ff
l d off a paragraph with a f t l sentence.
h ith factual t


Rule 9

9. Write relevant metadata
Metadata: What is it?
Just as a library has a card index to catalogue the
millions of books, metadata was created to assist in
books
creating the same thing for web pages, it helps people
find your catalogued content and web pages.

Metadata gives web content context and also aids in the
Google search activities that your users will undertake
to find the site.


Rule 9 cont

Classification (categorisation) is metadata Focus on
metadata.
what classification terms are used on your website.
Focus on how your content is classified. It is your
responsibility to ensure that y
p y your content is p p y
properly
classified and segmented. Misclassified web content
becomes hard to find.

Headings and summaries are metadata. Date of
publication and author information are metadata. If
there's one piece of metadata that every webpage must
have, it’s title metadata. Every webpage should have a
unique title that precisely describes the content on that
page.


Rule 10

10. Edit. Edit. Edit.
If at all possible, get someone else to edit your content.
If you are editing someone else's content:
• Take your time Good editing can take anything from
time.
30-50% of the time it took to write the original content.
• Aim to do about 3 edits.
• Edit first for style and tone Ask these questions: Is it
tone.
clear? Is it necessary? Is there a shorter way to say
this? Is there a simpler way to say this?
• Leave the checking of grammar and spelling until last
last.
For a thorough edit, print out the content. Get a ruler.
Place the ruler at the end of the content and read
backwards.


Bonus Tip: Make Content Authentic

Slick marketing tag lines don’t cut it online.
don t online
Make content personable and targeted.
• Make it relevant
• U i d th ti t t t d t
Unique and authentic content stand outs
• Make it personable and engaging
• Create value


Good Web Copy Example 01 Content

“We have a strict ethical policy, which means your money
stays squeaky clean. We do work to help the environment
such as sourcing 98% of our electricity from renewable
sources. And
sources And, we work in our local communities We don’t
communities. don t
do this at the expense of our rates though, so you can
enjoy a warm feeling inside as we take care of your heart
and your wallet.”

It’s chatty (’squeaky clean’) but not chummy. Informative
(’98% of our electricity…’) but not overloaded. The
paragraph is short and to the point
point.


Good Web Copy Example 02 Formatting

Users spent a
longer amount of
time (about one
minute) viewing the
original version of
the content (left)
but remembered
34 percent less
than those who
received the
reformatted story
(right).

(Nielsen/Norman
Group images,
used with
permission)


Next Steps

• Compile your story structure in bullet points
• Come up with key article section headings
• Find 1-2 accompanying images
• Fl h out your d
Flesh t document b d
t body
• Edit. Edit. Edit
• Proof read and finalise
• Submit to Job Crunch


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