20 tips for writing for the web(Last updated 13 April 2010)
The truth is, most online readers don’t care much about how web writers tackle grammar, spelling, and punctuation as long as they get the information they need. That said, good grammar does build trust in your organization. Proper spelling does, too - so proofread your text and ask a professional copywriter to look it over if at all possible.
Here are some of the many tips I give our online clients during my popular “Writing for the web” workshop.
1. Kill your darlings
This is a quote from the American writer William Faulkner. Basically, it means you should take a critical look at what you’ve written. I often discover that if I cut out my first paragraph, I will improve the text 100%. On the web, visitors want you to get to the point. They’re not on your site to admire your fine writing.
2. Apply George Orwell’s rules
George Orwell, the English author of 1984, Animal Farm and other classics, has six rules of writing. Here they are – they’re all gems:
1) Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech that 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 voice when 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 equivalent.
6) Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous!
3: Build shared references
This is about getting your readers to understand what you already know. For example, if I mention “the soup Nazi”, you may or may not recognize this reference from the TV comedy, Seinfeld. As writers, we cannot take any chances - our job is to make sure that people understand exactly what we mean and what we say on each web page.
Just for fun, read this description and create a vision in your mind:
“Ordinary 60 W lightbulb with standard screw-in base (E27)”
Pause a moment before you read on. Make sure you see the lightbulb in your mind’s eye.
OK, continue reading.
Most people envision a typical frosted lightbulb. Yet, we lack a true share reference – after all, what does “ordinary” mean? For example, is this lightbulb 110V or 220V? Clear? Colored? Frosted? Does the lightbulb work or is it burned out? Do you know what an E27 base is? (probably not: it stands for Edison 27 millimeter, which is something of a defacto standard the world over).
This simple description of the lightbulb left a lot of questions unanswered. As web writers, our task is to leave nothing to chance. And it’s no surprise that marketingexperiments.com discovered long text outsells short text by 41%!
This point could be a whole lecture unto itself. But if you understand the generic principle, you’ll create much better web copy. Here are five tips for creating stronger shared references:
1) Don’t take anything for granted
2) Anticipate the questions people may have
3) Answer questions they didn’t think to ask
4) Examine your content in the context of what your site visitors probably want to do
5) The communication environment will affect the information needed at any given time
4. Write front-loaded paragraphs
Start with your conclusion. Here’s an example:
“A special tax on automobiles will be used to finance road safety improvements.”
You can then continue with the rest of the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How questions that you’ll want to answer in your introduction:
“The Prime Minister announced this yesterday at a press conference in London in response to the drastic rise in road fatalities.”
Your site visitors want information fast. Don’t make them wade through a lot of text to get what they need. And from an accessibility viewpoint, putting the conclusion up front means that automatic screen-reading devices (such as JAWS), can “tell” sight-impaired folks what they need to know immediately – including that this might not be the page they want to be on.
5. Accept that people read differently on the web
Reading from a screen isn’t particularly relaxing. The mention of “website” doesn’t conjure up images of a comfy sofa, a crackling fireplace, and a warm cup of tea. Fact: people read differently on the web (and about 25% slower, too). This is what they do:
1) Scan to find areas of interest
2) Scan subheads to zero in on subjects
3) Skim copy for keywords and phrases
4) Read to get detail
5) Click to interact
So, don’t get too wrapped up in creating atmosphere. Let your readers get on with the task at hand – whatever that may be.
6. Respect levels of detail
Web readers appreciate getting a basic idea of where they are when they dump onto a page from Google. Levels of detail help establish this understanding, even when other cognitive devices (breadcrumbs, for example) are not available.
In a newspaper, there will be three levels of detail:
- Headline
- Lead
- Full story
On a website, you’ll find:
- Label (often the same as the link)
- Short summary (executive summary)
- Detailed presentation (main subject page)
- Supporting evidence (data sheets, photos, and other contextual elements)
When writing web copy, it helps a lot to understand how your text will be used and where it is positioned in relation to other content elements. That means good writers will also understand the structure of the site on which they are working – the information architecture.
7. Don’t make things too granular
“Granularity” means the extent to which information is spread across multiple web pages. Well, sometimes a cracker is better than a handful of crumbs. So make sure that information that is needed simultaneously appears on the same page. This is a particular problem when plucking interesting features from a data sheet available elsewhere on a site. Again, this is directly related to the work you should be doing to create shared references.
8. Define your goal
Before you write anything, ask yourself:
WHY am I writing this
WHAT is my main message
WHO am I talking to?
HOW do I want them to respond.
Hey, no kidding. How DO you want them to respond? This is how you increase conversion rates! When people have made it to the bottom of the wonderful page you created, give them someplace relevant to go! Don’t make them scroll back to the top.
9. Minimize instructions
Here’s a fabulous example from Steve Krug’s outstanding book, Don’t Make Me Think:
“The following questionnaire is designed to provide us with information that will help us improve the site and make it more relevant to your needs. Please select your answers from the drop-down menus and radio buttons below. The questionnaire should only take you 2-3 minutes to complete.”
OK. Either folks know what a drop-down and radio button is or they don’t. Is there really a reason to tell people which techniques you’ve built into your survey? There’s also too much reference to “us” and “we”. You’re asking the reader to do you a favor. Act appreciative. ´
Here’s how Steve edited out the instructions and turned the message into something that was useful and potentially valuable to readers:
“Please help us provide better on-line service by answering these questions. It should only take you 2-3 minutes to complete this survey.”
Looks easy, but it requires thought. And you have to be aware of the problem, which you now are.
10. Eliminate “happy talk”
Any page that starts with the word “welcome” needs serious rethinking. Get rid of this kind of crap. As I suggested earlier, Kill your darlings – and cut out the first paragraph. This often helps.
Happy talk is often the result of a copywriter not knowing what to say. Go back to No. 8 and revisit your goals. You should have no problem – unless the page is really unnecessary (in which case it should be dropped).
11. Be objective
Drop the hype. People come to your site voluntarily. You don’t need to make a verbal fuss in the same way you would if you were trying to get a magazine reader to stop and read an advertisement. On the web, you want to get to the point and give people valuable information.
In traditional advertising, we use the AIDA model:
Awareness
Interest
Desire
Action
But we’re not talking about traditional media, are we? By the time folks have landed on your site, they’ve passed beyond the “interest” stage. It’s your job to create “desire” and encourage “action”.
12. Be personal
Lighten up. Try and use more “you” than “we”. Although your users may be guests in your house, as a good host you’ll want them to feel welcome. Make them feel as though it is THEIR house.
13. Be concise
Get to the point (I know I’ve said it before). Let folks grab-and-go. They’re not here to savour your fine language.
14. Avoid secret language
Acronyms are dangerous. So is industry slang. In the interest of creating shared references, make sure you don’t use words, expressions, or abbreviations that folks don’t understand (“E27” for example). Again, this is about creating shared references. Spell things out as often as you need to – and don’t worry about repetition.
15. Make stuff scanable, skimable, usable
Start by identifying trigger words and keywords make them easy to spot (keyword: “shirt” trigger-word: “non-iron”).
Consider bulleted lists as these are easier to skim than sentences. They improve overview and give you a navigational option (hyperlinked lists) General rule of thumb: use bullets for:
- features
- subjects
- ideas
Use numbered bullets for:
- sequential tasks
- ranking
- lists where the total number is somehow relevant (20 tips, for example)
16. Write communicative subheads
Subheads make text easy to scan, even while scrolling (or perhaps particularly while scolling). In general, you’ll want a subhead to be visible at all times on your screen.
You might want to consider writing your subheads as questions (as long as you don’t turn your text into a FAQ). In most cases, you should use more subheads online than you would in print.
Good subheads signal that the story is going to get even better. And truly great subheads tell site visitors a story even if they don’t read the details in the actual text:
“I used to be a poor ditchdigger”
“Then I discovered my writing ability”
“Now I am a top content strategist on the web”
17. Write accurate labels
Labels and link text will almost always be the same as the headline of the page on which folks arrive. You want to keep these short and direct. They are often the hyperlinks/buttons on which people are clicking.
Make the first word the most important word. When people scan a page, they rarely read the whole sentence/link, they look at the first word, so make it count!
Avoid “cute” headlines. You need to establish a shared reference. As opposed to the title of a magazine article (which is designed to entice and tease), a good label represents a promise to the web visitor: “If you click here, this is exactly what you are going to get.”
18. Go back and edit your work
Do this before you publish your stuff. Do it after you see it online. Do it again next week (this article will be different the next time you look).
Keep asking yourself:
“Is this clear?”
“Is there a simpler way to say this?”
“Is there a shorter way to say this?”
“Is this even necessary?”
19. Remember to write the “invisible” text
About 10% of all web text is only read by machines – metadata. But it is incredibly important in terms of search engine optimization. Here’s the stuff you’ll need to provide for every page:
Meta title
Search engines see this first and the title functions as the link on which folks click in Google, MSN, etc. The meta title is primary text in the current search algorithms, so don’t dismiss it lightly! The first word should be the “killer term” but don’t start with the name of your company except on your home page. Most browsers cut the meta title off at about 65 characters, so be concise.
Meta description
This is the text Google displays on the two lines just under the link, so use it to grab people’s attention and play off your page title. Remember to include keywords and triggers. But kept the description to about 140 characters with spaces or Google will cut it off.
Meta keywords
Some experts say that the search engines don’t register the keywords. This isn’t true, so make sure you write them. Here’s how to do it:
- word or short phrase
- comma
- space
- new word or short phrase
And remember to write alt attributes for images and graphics, particularly stuff that is hyperlinked. You may know these as “alt tags”, which is the incorrect, but more popular term.
20. Don’t let anyone talk you into increasing keyword density for SEO
You cannot bore people into buying a product or exhibiting interest for a service. Keyword density is bullshit, plain and simple. Yes, it will get you a higher rank on Google, but it won’t improve your conversion rate. The same is true for keyword frequency (closely related to keyword density even if the official definition is a little different) “Optimization” means getting customers, not getting hits. If you’re really interested in improving SEO, here’s how to do it:
- Write worthwhile content
Build shared references
Answer questions
Create value
- Write relevant metadata
Title
Keywords
Description
Alt text for graphics
- Write clean code
<h1>Headline tags</h1>
<p>Call to action closing paragraphs</p>
Close “if” and “while” statements
- Get listed:
Open Directory
Yahoo!
LookSmart
And in closing…
There’s a lot more to say about the subject, but this should kick-start your “writing for the web” process. Other sources include:
FatDUX bibliography and key links
http://www.fatdux.com/resources.html
Very good writing guide from MIT
http://libstaff.mit.edu/webgroup/writing/layer.html
Excellent links and initiatives from Yale University
http://www.library.yale.edu/eli/instruction/webwriting.html
Jakob Nielsen’s slightly outdated “Writing for the web”
http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/
Sun Microsystems web-writing guide
http://www.sun.com/980713/webwriting/
Books I like
Letting Go of the Words
Ginny Redish
(Morgan Kaufmann, 2007)
Web Word Wizardry
Rachel McAlpine
(Ten Speed Press, 2002)
Web Copy That Sells
Maria Veloso
(Amacom, 2005)
Hot Text: web writing that works
Jonathan and Lisa Price
(New Riders, 2002)
Call to Action
Bryan & Jeffrey Eisenberg ( with Lisa T. Davis)
(Nelson Business, 2006)
The Internet Writer’s Handbook
Martha Sammons
(Allyn & Bacon, 1999)
On Writing Well
William Zinsser
(Quill, 2001)
The Elements of Style
William Strunk & E.B. White
(Longman, 1999)
Content Strategy for the Web
Kristina Halvorson
(New Riders, 2009)
Don’t Make Me Think!
Steve Krug
(New Riders, 2006)
Blatant commercial plug
I conduct “Writing for the Web” workshops for companies and organizations throughout Europe. These are custom-designed for your own in-house team and can be half- or full-day events, depending on your needs. These generally run from EUR 3,000 to EUR 6,000 plus travel and per diem. Although there are no limitations to the number of participants, 25 per session is a good maximum number. But three to four participants is also fine as there is more time for individual coaching. If you’re interested, contact me directly at: er (at) fatdux.com.
In the meantime, I hope you’ll follow my ramblings on Twitter: @elreiss.
(Last updated 13 April 2010)
The truth is, most online readers don’t care much about how web writers tackle grammar, spelling, and punctuation as long as they get the information they need. That said, good grammar does build trust in your organization. Proper spelling does, too - so proofread your text and ask a professional copywriter to look it over if at all possible.
Here are some of the many tips I give our online clients during my popular “Writing for the web” workshop.
1. Kill your darlings
This is a quote from the American writer William Faulkner. Basically, it means you should take a critical look at what you’ve written. I often discover that if I cut out my first paragraph, I will improve the text 100%. On the web, visitors want you to get to the point. They’re not on your site to admire your fine writing.
2. Apply George Orwell’s rules
George Orwell, the English author of 1984, Animal Farm and other classics, has six rules of writing. Here they are – they’re all gems:
1) Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech that 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 voice when 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 equivalent.
6) Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous!
3: Build shared references
This is about getting your readers to understand what you already know. For example, if I mention “the soup Nazi”, you may or may not recognize this reference from the TV comedy, Seinfeld. As writers, we cannot take any chances - our job is to make sure that people understand exactly what we mean and what we say on each web page.
Just for fun, read this description and create a vision in your mind:
“Ordinary 60 W lightbulb with standard screw-in base (E27)”
Pause a moment before you read on. Make sure you see the lightbulb in your mind’s eye.
OK, continue reading.
Most people envision a typical frosted lightbulb. Yet, we lack a true share reference – after all, what does “ordinary” mean? For example, is this lightbulb 110V or 220V? Clear? Colored? Frosted? Does the lightbulb work or is it burned out? Do you know what an E27 base is? (probably not: it stands for Edison 27 millimeter, which is something of a defacto standard the world over).
This simple description of the lightbulb left a lot of questions unanswered. As web writers, our task is to leave nothing to chance. And it’s no surprise that marketingexperiments.com discovered long text outsells short text by 41%!
This point could be a whole lecture unto itself. But if you understand the generic principle, you’ll create much better web copy. Here are five tips for creating stronger shared references:
1) Don’t take anything for granted
2) Anticipate the questions people may have
3) Answer questions they didn’t think to ask
4) Examine your content in the context of what your site visitors probably want to do
5) The communication environment will affect the information needed at any given time
4. Write front-loaded paragraphs
Start with your conclusion. Here’s an example:
“A special tax on automobiles will be used to finance road safety improvements.”
You can then continue with the rest of the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How questions that you’ll want to answer in your introduction:
“The Prime Minister announced this yesterday at a press conference in London in response to the drastic rise in road fatalities.”
Your site visitors want information fast. Don’t make them wade through a lot of text to get what they need. And from an accessibility viewpoint, putting the conclusion up front means that automatic screen-reading devices (such as JAWS), can “tell” sight-impaired folks what they need to know immediately – including that this might not be the page they want to be on.
5. Accept that people read differently on the web
Reading from a screen isn’t particularly relaxing. The mention of “website” doesn’t conjure up images of a comfy sofa, a crackling fireplace, and a warm cup of tea. Fact: people read differently on the web (and about 25% slower, too). This is what they do:
1) Scan to find areas of interest
2) Scan subheads to zero in on subjects
3) Skim copy for keywords and phrases
4) Read to get detail
5) Click to interact
So, don’t get too wrapped up in creating atmosphere. Let your readers get on with the task at hand – whatever that may be.
6. Respect levels of detail
Web readers appreciate getting a basic idea of where they are when they dump onto a page from Google. Levels of detail help establish this understanding, even when other cognitive devices (breadcrumbs, for example) are not available.
In a newspaper, there will be three levels of detail:
- Headline
- Lead
- Full story
On a website, you’ll find:
- Label (often the same as the link)
- Short summary (executive summary)
- Detailed presentation (main subject page)
- Supporting evidence (data sheets, photos, and other contextual elements)
When writing web copy, it helps a lot to understand how your text will be used and where it is positioned in relation to other content elements. That means good writers will also understand the structure of the site on which they are working – the information architecture.
7. Don’t make things too granular
“Granularity” means the extent to which information is spread across multiple web pages. Well, sometimes a cracker is better than a handful of crumbs. So make sure that information that is needed simultaneously appears on the same page. This is a particular problem when plucking interesting features from a data sheet available elsewhere on a site. Again, this is directly related to the work you should be doing to create shared references.
8. Define your goal
Before you write anything, ask yourself:
WHY am I writing this
WHAT is my main message
WHO am I talking to?
HOW do I want them to respond.
Hey, no kidding. How DO you want them to respond? This is how you increase conversion rates! When people have made it to the bottom of the wonderful page you created, give them someplace relevant to go! Don’t make them scroll back to the top.
9. Minimize instructions
Here’s a fabulous example from Steve Krug’s outstanding book, Don’t Make Me Think:
“The following questionnaire is designed to provide us with information that will help us improve the site and make it more relevant to your needs. Please select your answers from the drop-down menus and radio buttons below. The questionnaire should only take you 2-3 minutes to complete.”
OK. Either folks know what a drop-down and radio button is or they don’t. Is there really a reason to tell people which techniques you’ve built into your survey? There’s also too much reference to “us” and “we”. You’re asking the reader to do you a favor. Act appreciative. ´
Here’s how Steve edited out the instructions and turned the message into something that was useful and potentially valuable to readers:
“Please help us provide better on-line service by answering these questions. It should only take you 2-3 minutes to complete this survey.”
Looks easy, but it requires thought. And you have to be aware of the problem, which you now are.
10. Eliminate “happy talk”
Any page that starts with the word “welcome” needs serious rethinking. Get rid of this kind of crap. As I suggested earlier, Kill your darlings – and cut out the first paragraph. This often helps.
Happy talk is often the result of a copywriter not knowing what to say. Go back to No. 8 and revisit your goals. You should have no problem – unless the page is really unnecessary (in which case it should be dropped).
11. Be objective
Drop the hype. People come to your site voluntarily. You don’t need to make a verbal fuss in the same way you would if you were trying to get a magazine reader to stop and read an advertisement. On the web, you want to get to the point and give people valuable information.
In traditional advertising, we use the AIDA model:
Awareness
Interest
Desire
Action
But we’re not talking about traditional media, are we? By the time folks have landed on your site, they’ve passed beyond the “interest” stage. It’s your job to create “desire” and encourage “action”.
12. Be personal
Lighten up. Try and use more “you” than “we”. Although your users may be guests in your house, as a good host you’ll want them to feel welcome. Make them feel as though it is THEIR house.
13. Be concise
Get to the point (I know I’ve said it before). Let folks grab-and-go. They’re not here to savour your fine language.
14. Avoid secret language
Acronyms are dangerous. So is industry slang. In the interest of creating shared references, make sure you don’t use words, expressions, or abbreviations that folks don’t understand (“E27” for example). Again, this is about creating shared references. Spell things out as often as you need to – and don’t worry about repetition.
15. Make stuff scanable, skimable, usable
Start by identifying trigger words and keywords make them easy to spot (keyword: “shirt” trigger-word: “non-iron”).
Consider bulleted lists as these are easier to skim than sentences. They improve overview and give you a navigational option (hyperlinked lists) General rule of thumb: use bullets for:
- features
- subjects
- ideas
Use numbered bullets for:
- sequential tasks
- ranking
- lists where the total number is somehow relevant (20 tips, for example)
16. Write communicative subheads
Subheads make text easy to scan, even while scrolling (or perhaps particularly while scolling). In general, you’ll want a subhead to be visible at all times on your screen.
You might want to consider writing your subheads as questions (as long as you don’t turn your text into a FAQ). In most cases, you should use more subheads online than you would in print.
Good subheads signal that the story is going to get even better. And truly great subheads tell site visitors a story even if they don’t read the details in the actual text:
“I used to be a poor ditchdigger”
“Then I discovered my writing ability”
“Now I am a top content strategist on the web”
17. Write accurate labels
Labels and link text will almost always be the same as the headline of the page on which folks arrive. You want to keep these short and direct. They are often the hyperlinks/buttons on which people are clicking.
Make the first word the most important word. When people scan a page, they rarely read the whole sentence/link, they look at the first word, so make it count!
Avoid “cute” headlines. You need to establish a shared reference. As opposed to the title of a magazine article (which is designed to entice and tease), a good label represents a promise to the web visitor: “If you click here, this is exactly what you are going to get.”
18. Go back and edit your work
Do this before you publish your stuff. Do it after you see it online. Do it again next week (this article will be different the next time you look).
Keep asking yourself:
“Is this clear?”
“Is there a simpler way to say this?”
“Is there a shorter way to say this?”
“Is this even necessary?”
19. Remember to write the “invisible” text
About 10% of all web text is only read by machines – metadata. But it is incredibly important in terms of search engine optimization. Here’s the stuff you’ll need to provide for every page:
Meta title
Search engines see this first and the title functions as the link on which folks click in Google, MSN, etc. The meta title is primary text in the current search algorithms, so don’t dismiss it lightly! The first word should be the “killer term” but don’t start with the name of your company except on your home page. Most browsers cut the meta title off at about 65 characters, so be concise.
Meta description
This is the text Google displays on the two lines just under the link, so use it to grab people’s attention and play off your page title. Remember to include keywords and triggers. But kept the description to about 140 characters with spaces or Google will cut it off.
Meta keywords
Some experts say that the search engines don’t register the keywords. This isn’t true, so make sure you write them. Here’s how to do it:
- word or short phrase
- comma
- space
- new word or short phrase
And remember to write alt attributes for images and graphics, particularly stuff that is hyperlinked. You may know these as “alt tags”, which is the incorrect, but more popular term.
20. Don’t let anyone talk you into increasing keyword density for SEO
You cannot bore people into buying a product or exhibiting interest for a service. Keyword density is bullshit, plain and simple. Yes, it will get you a higher rank on Google, but it won’t improve your conversion rate. The same is true for keyword frequency (closely related to keyword density even if the official definition is a little different) “Optimization” means getting customers, not getting hits. If you’re really interested in improving SEO, here’s how to do it:
- Write worthwhile content
Build shared references
Answer questions
Create value
- Write relevant metadata
Title
Keywords
Description
Alt text for graphics
- Write clean code
<h1>Headline tags</h1>
<p>Call to action closing paragraphs</p>
Close “if” and “while” statements
- Get listed:
Open Directory
Yahoo!
LookSmart
And in closing…
There’s a lot more to say about the subject, but this should kick-start your “writing for the web” process. Other sources include:
FatDUX bibliography and key links
http://www.fatdux.com/resources.html
Very good writing guide from MIT
http://libstaff.mit.edu/webgroup/writing/layer.html
Excellent links and initiatives from Yale University
http://www.library.yale.edu/eli/instruction/webwriting.html
Jakob Nielsen’s slightly outdated “Writing for the web”
http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/
Sun Microsystems web-writing guide
http://www.sun.com/980713/webwriting/
Books I like
Letting Go of the Words
Ginny Redish
(Morgan Kaufmann, 2007)
Web Word Wizardry
Rachel McAlpine
(Ten Speed Press, 2002)
Web Copy That Sells
Maria Veloso
(Amacom, 2005)
Hot Text: web writing that works
Jonathan and Lisa Price
(New Riders, 2002)
Call to Action
Bryan & Jeffrey Eisenberg ( with Lisa T. Davis)
(Nelson Business, 2006)
The Internet Writer’s Handbook
Martha Sammons
(Allyn & Bacon, 1999)
On Writing Well
William Zinsser
(Quill, 2001)
The Elements of Style
William Strunk & E.B. White
(Longman, 1999)
Content Strategy for the Web
Kristina Halvorson
(New Riders, 2009)
Don’t Make Me Think!
Steve Krug
(New Riders, 2006)
Blatant commercial plug
I conduct “Writing for the Web” workshops for companies and organizations throughout Europe. These are custom-designed for your own in-house team and can be half- or full-day events, depending on your needs. These generally run from EUR 3,000 to EUR 6,000 plus travel and per diem. Although there are no limitations to the number of participants, 25 per session is a good maximum number. But three to four participants is also fine as there is more time for individual coaching. If you’re interested, contact me directly at: er (at) fatdux.com.
In the meantime, I hope you’ll follow my ramblings on Twitter: @elreiss.
Great! But keep something new for the precon at the EuroIA
( http://www.euroia.org/Precons.aspx )
Comment by Olga — August 8, 2009 @ 09:27
Oh, this is just the 20 tips of the iceberg!
Comment by Eric Reiss — August 8, 2009 @ 11:05
And use lots of links wherever appropriate? “Ordinary 60 W lightbulb with standard screw-in base (E27)” can be a phrase linked to Wikipedia or its product page better.
Comment by Can Basit — August 9, 2009 @ 21:38
Exactly, although the point of this exercise was to provide enough information to mislead, but not enough to make a useful decision. Hence, no link. But in “real” life, this might have been an option. Even better, explain things well so that people don’t have to leave your site to understand what’s going on.
Interestingly, we’ve (FatDUX) discovered that people don’t always buy stuff online in places where it’s cheapest (digital cameras, for example). Rather, they buy where they feel most comfortable, in almost all cases because a solid shared reference has been established.
Comment by Eric Reiss — August 10, 2009 @ 06:59
Great article – I am going to use this in my writing for the web classes!
Comment by Cathie Walker — August 11, 2009 @ 22:58
Thank you. I get so bored of bloggers over-marketing and over-elaborating their own writing insights. You give it straight, and in abundance. This is the best summary of how to write for the web I’ve come across.
Comment by Gabriel Smy — August 12, 2009 @ 15:07
Another valuable precept, perhaps #21:
Less is more.
Comment by Larry Bowersox — August 12, 2009 @ 21:50
Excellent.
This post is in itself a perfect example of its content
Comment by Charles Seger — August 13, 2009 @ 13:02
Thanks for the kind words. Feel free to share this info with all you meet.
Larry, usually “less is more” but not always. Just making things shorter doesn’t guarantee things will get better. So I’m not sure I’d want to include this as a tip. As I explained in #3, longer, better descriptions are more effective than short ones because they created the needed shared reference. Do check out the marketingexperiments.com study.
Comment by Eric Reiss — August 22, 2009 @ 12:52
Hi!
After I read your article i got your point!
Infact I am going to edit some instructions (only for me) and will have a routine for this!
Thanx for this tip and Regardssssss!
Comment by Wasim Mughal — August 23, 2009 @ 13:17
Excellent article, thanks Eric.
One nitpick – I agree that keyword density is bullshit when it’s used to stuff keywords in – but Google’s algorithm is still designed to look for relevant keywords in the correct context in the content. So a page that uses a keyword once will lose to one that uses it 4 times (all other SEO things being equal).
Which is why affiliate marketers that have high keyword densities tend to rank higher than the companies whose products they are selling.
The challenge to be a better web writer is to serve both masters – have good keyword density and still have engaging content for the reader. In other words, write so well that keyword density is ‘invisible’ to the reader.
To say that keyword density is bullshit is to deny us one of the most fascinating aspects of crafting web content
Comment by Marc — August 24, 2009 @ 18:30
Oh, meant to say… that said, you’re spot on about the most important thing being worthwhile content and clean code. However, Google ignores meta keywords and description when ranking. It gives more weight to keywords in the content than to what you put in the meta fields, because its algorithm is based on what it calls latent semantic indexing – i.e. where and in what context do the keywords appear in the actual page content. It’s therefore important to actually have the keywords in your content in the right density – too much density will trigger its spam filters. So while writing content specifically for keyword density is indeed bullshit, having the words in your content in the right places is critical – because that is how Google knows what your page is actually about.
Comment by Marc — August 24, 2009 @ 18:39
Sorry to comment yet again, lol – your point 19 about Google using meta desc for the two lines below the link – if you look at the description of a site that Google uses in its results, you’ll see it’s not often taken from the meta description – it’s extracted from the page content where Google has found the keywords.
Taking a random search – ‘sleep deprivation’…
the no 1 result does not have a meta desc tag – the blurb is the first sentence of content on the page, containing the keyword in bold / no 2 uses meta desc / no 3 uses first paragraph of page content and ignores meta desc / no 4 uses meta desc / no 5 uses the first para of page content / no 6 uses the 2nd sentence on the page and ignores the meta desc.
So, like everything in SEO, it’s more complicated than a few hard and fast rules
Comment by Marc — August 24, 2009 @ 18:57
Damn, now it sounds like I’m trying to argue with you about SEO. Which I’m not. Just saying it’s still a bit of a dark art.
My main point remains – excellent article – thanks!
Comment by Marc — August 24, 2009 @ 19:00
An excellent list! Well done, sir.
I have one small comment: grammar, spelling and punctuation is less relevant for the widespread user-generated web content we see today, but it is relevant for marketing.
It speaks to a brand’s credibility. People can equate the quality of content on a site to the potential quality of a product or service being offered.
However, you are correct that getting the reader the info they need is paramount.
Many thanks for creating such a comprehensive and spot-on guide.
Comment by Ross — August 24, 2009 @ 23:55
All that advice and you still suck at writing.
Comment by Grayag — August 24, 2009 @ 23:57
First a quick comment to Ross, yes, proper grammar and spelling are incredibly important in terms of trustbuilding. In fact, I revised the introduction to reflect this. Thanks for emphasizing this. Most websites will feature content from three sources: professional writers, subject specialists within the host company, and users. To be frank, I think the subject specialists need to learn how to write better, but folks are generally willing to put up with clunky writing if they perceive value. And since most subject specialists are dealing with pages three clicks off the main page, one would assume that any visitor who drilled down to this level was genuinely interested in the subject matter. Hence my remark. (And yes, I know many people will land arbitrarily on a page via a search engine, which to some extent negates this argument.)
Grayag, thanks for your candid comment. I look forward to reading your own tips and suggestions sometime. To quote Guy de Faur, “Jusqu’au cercuil (mon fils) vueilles apprendre, Et tien perdu le jour qui s’est passe, Si tu n’y as quelque chose ammasse, Pour plus scavant et plus sage te rendre.” Pardon my French…
Marc, Google does look at meta keywords. You can test this by typing some nonsense word into your metadata and then search for it after Google indexes your site. Bear in mind, though, that tags added in WordPress and most other blogging tools don’t show up as genuine HTML metadata in the code.
But my main point is that while higher keyword density within written content will certainly help you attain a better Google rank, it will not help one iota with your conversion rate. And the truth is, you don’t necessarily want to be at the top of Google, you want to be relevant to anyone who performs a serious search. In fact, you probably want to be the ONLY link to turn up in Google.
Forcing writers to resort to multiple use of certain words is something akin to Demosthenes learning to speak with stones in his mouth. Demosthenes spoke better when he removed the stones; copy is better without the chaff.
Here’s a tip: if you do write relevant meta data, this will help your rank. Google, for example, will look at keywords, metadescription and the first SUBhead on your page. If the same word turns up in all three, your rank will generally be pretty good. And this is a lot easier to do than to introduce the same word four times in a paragraph of copy.
Regarding the meta description, yes, sometime Google won’t use the metadata. This appears to happen when Google suspects the metadata of spamming, for example when meta keywords are not comma separated so that the same word pops up 10-20 times. Sometimes it’s a coding problem – a lot of poor CMS solutions post the metadata in the code but in such a way that it doesn’t get indexed. Not sure why this is the case, but my technical gurus tell me this is so (including folks at Google and Yahoo!).
Anyway, thanks for an interesting conversation!
Comment by Eric Reiss — August 25, 2009 @ 07:14
Great post! Thanks for these tips.
Something new about web writing, far away from the oversimplified “be concise” and “keep it simple”.
Comment by Davide Potente — August 25, 2009 @ 18:33
Really helpful tips, thank you for sharing them Eric.
As always your advice is practical and helpful, and makes writing for the web seem so much more achievable.
Comment by Bonny Colville-Hyde — August 26, 2009 @ 15:07
You should have taken William Faulkner’s advice and killed your darling. Telling me I don’t care about something would have been a great lead in.
Comment by Dave T — August 27, 2009 @ 15:19
Would you PLEASE not use the term “alt tags”. Good god … they are attributes, ok?
Comment by nobody worthwhile — August 28, 2009 @ 01:58
Gosh, David, I’m clear that you don’t like what I wrote here. What I don’t understand is why you think I should have “killed it”. I’d be grateful for some clarification. Obviously I care, otherwise I wouldn’t have taken the time to share this information – or respond to your comment.
And Nobody Worthwhile with the fictitious e-mail address: you are indeed worthwhile. Thanks for calling my attention to this. You are, of course, completely right in calling these “attributes”. I have amended Tip 19 to reflect your comments. In my defence, though, I’d like to point out that if you google “alt attributes” you’ll get about 50k results. If you google “alt tags” (and I’m searching these terms as phrases, not individual words), you’ll get almost seven million hits. So although less-than-correct, my original usage was more in the popular vernacular. However, I did change the text to reflect your more accurate suggestion.
Comment by Eric Reiss — August 28, 2009 @ 23:06
And Bonny and Davide, thanks for your support
I really hope you can use this in your work.
Comment by Eric Reiss — August 28, 2009 @ 23:08
I don’t think you understood what I meant. I thought the piece was good but, your first paragraph, well sentence really, serves no purpose.
The intrigue of stating my position: “The truth is, most online readers don’t care much about…” would have been a great hook to get me interested in the article.
As it reads that statement obviously implies other readers. So I come back to what I said, you should have taken advice tip number one and killed you darling.
Comment by Dave T — August 29, 2009 @ 05:38
Hi Dave,
Thanks for expanding. Reading your original message, I assumed you wanted me to kill the entire piece, not just the first paragraph (which I now have – great advice; you were right, there was a “darling” to be killed here:) And your conclusion about “caring” now makes perfect sense. Ah-ha! We now have a shared reference! Thanks again.
Comment by Eric Reiss — August 29, 2009 @ 07:43
This is such a well written piece of work! Thank you so much. I have been an avid web writer and now see the error of my ways! If more people read this site, then the internet will become a more useful place!
Comment by Peter Fogarty — September 9, 2009 @ 21:04
The information you have provided is really resourceful for me in my learning experience.
Thanks for sharing the information
keep doing the good work
Looking for more from you………
Comment by Study8Home — January 21, 2010 @ 14:25
Some important tips. Unfortunately we find some crap on the net. I am from Romania and I do not know English well so excuse the grammar.
Comment by auto second hand — February 10, 2010 @ 18:02
Very important Tips. I think all it use this.
Comment by masini — February 10, 2010 @ 18:03
It ‘s a nice tip article. Thanks for your sharing.
Comment by host — February 11, 2010 @ 02:18
Really useful article. Thanks a lot. Really wrriting for web is a little bit diiferent than writing for a print media. You definately have provided enough information in a very interesting way. Again thanks a lot.
Comment by Manoj Kotak — February 27, 2010 @ 10:05
Of course keywords densityis bullshit! But search engine works in that way. In the same way you are true that only consideration of keyword density would bore the reader and the article or content may loose the reader in between which might drop the conversion ratio or might adversely impact the objectivity of the content.
But in my opinion one should try to balance both the factors.
Because if one ignores the algoritham he will not get optimum traffic and if he compromise with the objectivity if the article the conversion ratio will drop or the main purpose of the content will be killed. So the best way is to balance both the factors.
But suppose if one is compelled to choose only one of them I must say the objectivity of the content should dominate. Because it will automatically take care of both the things.
Comment by Manoj Kotak — February 27, 2010 @ 10:18
h-ha! We now have a shared reference! Thanks again.
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Comment by addywohra — March 2, 2010 @ 15:41
I agree on most of your points. Except for do not use metaphors? I don’t quite get it. I like reading metaphoric statements. But I think the general rule here, is to keep it as simple as possible.
Amy Cameron
BuildMySiteforFree.com
Comment by Amy Cameron — April 1, 2010 @ 23:48
Amy, this is George Orwell’s rule. Don’t use an old tired phrase. This isn’t to say you can’t use metaphors, just be original.
Comment by Eric Reiss — April 4, 2010 @ 09:26
Printed this out – it’s a keeper! This is exactly the kind of specific direction I was looking for. Thank you so much!
Comment by funcolors — April 19, 2010 @ 07:51
Great to learn it was helpful to you! Thanks for letting us know!
Comment by Vibor Cipan — April 23, 2010 @ 23:19
These are good tips. People are more likely to follow your advice if your grammar and spelling is up to par.
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Williams
Comment by Williams — May 16, 2010 @ 01:36