Level up your SEO rank when you level up your brand’s accessibility! Thinking of a way to do that? Read up! [Thursdays: FYO!]
Gunning Fog Index.
SMOG.
Coleman-Liau Index.
Ever heard of these formulas above?
They are examples of readability tests!
In case you’re wondering…
Yes, readability plays an important part in improving your brand’s SEO rankings.
Here are a few reasons why that is so.
According to marketing solutions company, The Belford Group, readability is a major factor in increasing your website’s SEO levels.
Why?
When your website’s content is understandable and easy to digest, chances are more online users will read your posts, spend more time on your page, and know the products or services your brand offers.
They might even share your posts or articles on their own social media accounts!
Aside from that, readability matters because…
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It makes your website’s content more effective.
An article that is wordy and difficult to read is not ideal for online content… or if you want your brand’s website to rank higher on search results.
Imagine this: If you come across a blog that is hard to understand, will you stay on that page and continue reading?
You probably won’t.
Instead, you will exit that page and search for other blogs that are more engaging and fun to read.
This case also applies to your target audience. If you don’t make your website’s content accessible to them, they will look for other articles they can easily get a grasp on.
That’s why you have to test your copies for readability!
By doing so, you’ll be able to revise what needs to be revised so readers will find the information you publish useful.
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It improves website accessibility.
Most search engine algorithms track the behaviors of website visitors. If you want online users to stay on your site longer, you have to make sure your articles are engaging and worth the read.
One way to do that?
Conduct a readability test!
If the result shows you still need to edit your content so more people will understand your message, go! Chop down lengthy sentences, replace complex words with simpler ones, and use a conversational tone.
As you do that, you’re making your website more accessible to your target audience.
When online visitors enjoy reading your posts…
… it sends positive signals to search engines, indicating your website is a high-quality website with credible and reliable information.
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It helps you understand your readers’ online behaviors.
According to an article from SEO analytics website, SEOBlog, most website visitors just scan a web page and only read about 18% of the content. This is because they are looking for specific information.
So… what does this mean for you and your brand?
If your articles contain sentences that are too long and wordy, your website visitors will either become impatient or lose interest.
We know what happens after that…
They will eventually bounce from your website and move to another one!
To avoid that scenario, keep in mind that prevention is better than a cure. Make sure that your articles are easy to consume so when they get published on your brand’s website, they cater to your target audience’s needs and preferences.
Here are a few benefits of improving your website content’s readability:
- Increased dwell time (the time a user spends viewing content after clicking on a link).
- Reduced exit rate (the number of times online visitors leave a website’s page).
- Reduced bounce rate (the percentage of online visitors who navigate away from a site after viewing only 1 page).
- Increased article shares.
- Increased customer conversion rate.
- Improved user experience (UX).
- A higher rank on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Now that we know some of the benefits of readability, allow us to share with you some tips on how to make your web content more readable for your target audience:
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Remember that less is more. Not everyone has time to read excessively long articles… and even if they have, they still might not want to read such content.
One solution to that?
Just keep your content concise and interesting―nothing more, nothing less! By doing so, readers won’t feel like it’s a burden reading what you publish on your website.
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Keep your paragraphs short. Shorter paragraphs enable readers to get answers or information immediately without being overwhelmed. Keeping your sentences brief also gives online users an impression that there is less to read.
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Use descriptions, headings, and subheads. These things help increase your articles’ readability by categorizing information. Dividing content into sections also lets your readers navigate through copies easily.
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Include images or other visual tools. Good quality images help keep your readers engaged. Aside from that, these website elements also break the monotony of text and optimize your content for on-page SEO.
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Pay attention to formatting, font size, and style. Small and complex font themes make your content difficult to read. According to SEOBlog, the ideal font types for readability are Arial and Verdana. For the font size, 12 points is the most ideal.
You may also check out Valens Research’s The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué page for more tips on good-quality writing and engaging content!
Another pro-tip: It’s okay to seek help! If you want to make sure your website’s content is readable enough for your online visitors, you may use some readability tools available online.
Aside from the 3 examples stated at the start of this article, there are also the Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test, Dale-Chall Formula, Automated Readability Index, Spache Readability Formula, Yoast SEO, Readable.com, and others.
When you improve your content’s readability, you improve user behavior and experience on your brand’s website.
That’s why you have to make sure the information you’re sharing is simple, concise, and accessible for your target audience.
Once you start to see an improvement in your website’s dwell time and a reduction in bounce rate, search engines will notice that and start rating your site as valuable and useful.
Not just that!
Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other search engines will also include your web pages in the SERPs for terms associated with the content you publish.
When that happens, congratulations! You have another competitive advantage to helping your target audience FIND YOU online and another tactic working in your favor to boost your overall SEO strategy.
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Thursdays: FYO! Find You Optimization”
Why should you stop thinking SEO and start thinking FYO?
We’re not saying that you should abandon Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Don’t get us wrong, of course, we know this is something very important, especially in today’s digital marketing age.
The internet landscape is vast, and a world of its own. You really need to distinguish yourself and make your brand/company/website known and easily searchable.
Better yet, get to the top of page one for Top Results on Google or any other search engine.
However, what is the purpose of SEO? It’s that customers Find You!
That’s what matters. So, while SEO is one factor of FYO… it really is only one, and we ought not to abandon all the myriad of ways digitally and offline for improving your FYO.
How can we look at this from a different and better perspective?
Let’s say you have it in the bag! You and your team are experts in SEO. Awesome. But did you ever wonder what else you could do to push it further and give your SEO skills a boost?
FYO! Find You Optimization!
You need your target audience to FIND YOU—your brand, product, service, or offer. This is SEO plus other tools that increase visibility online (and offline).
Every Thursday, we publish content on how you can get your target market to find you, beyond the typical “type and search.” There are other things you can do along with your SEO to give your online advertising process a boost.
Try considering other tactics beyond it—WOMO (Word Of Mouth Optimization), RO (Referral Optimization), and “All-Other-Means-Of-Getting-Your-Target-Market-To-Find-You” Optimization (AOMOGYTMTFY, if you’d like a long acronym).
Part of a great marketing strategy is knowing how to adapt new methods and make use of different types of marketing and promotion that best fit your business goals and which give you the results you want.
Hope you’ve found this week’s insights interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Thursday’s FYO!
Cheers,
Kyle Yu
Head of Marketing
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
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www.valens-research.com
