Maximize Readability on Your Website

Maximizing Readability, and ticking off all the items to improve Search Engine Optimization are the best ways to optimize your blog post or your website as a whole. Last week I wrote about the checklist that will help you optimize your chances of your content being found in search engine results. This week, I will be discussing how to maximize readability. There are some major ways to direct your writing in order to make it the best content possible, but each of these items on the checklist have limits- and I will discuss each one below.

Maximize Readability on Your Website

In order to maximize the readability “score” on my blog, I use Yoast to optimize the Tiny Twenty-Something and The Montana Woman Foundation. I have purchased a business plan with WordPress for The Tiny Something and that includes “free plans” with plugins. But with this blog, I don’t have a business plan. So here is your own guide to optimize your blog and maximize readability without buying a plugin!

Flesch Reading Ease

Let’s start with talking about Reading Ease and then move into each little section. If you walk the fine line of being your best creative self and maximizing your web copy, then your content will be considered ‘easy to read’. Which makes the internet spiders (not the techy term) easier to find your content. Website writing is kinda like writing for robots to “read” and find your website, and for people to read your awesome content like you are a normal person.

Your score is determined by these two factors:

• “The average length of your sentences (measured by the number of words)
• The average number of syllables per word” (YOAST)

The score is from 0-100, with 100 being content that is easily understood by the minimum age of “the average 11-year old student” (Yoast). Keep in mind, that the average adult in America can read at 8th grade level. So if you’re planning to write for the average person, think about that. The 2 score brackets 0-50 is described as being something best understood by college students and graduates, while the top 3 score brackets 70-100 is easy to read and best understood by 11-15 year old students. Keep your sentences clear, short and to the point.

Consecutive Sentences

When you’re writing out your blog post or web copy for a site page, you have to be really conscious about your writing style. You have to balance between approaching content writing like it is creative nonfiction, but you also have to monitor the direction of your writing. One of the no-no’s is by starting your sentences the exact same way several times in a row. You need to switch it up.

When to Ignore the Rule

With that said, you can’t always listen to this rule. If you’re a recipe blogger, you can’t always help but start a sentence the same way. Example: you need 1 onion, 12 TBS of this, 1 tsp of that. Even if it is in a bullet list, it will catch that. If you’re wanting to add dramatic effect to your writing, go ahead an start 3 sentences the same for emphasis.

Sentence Length

We can’t all be David Foster Wallace and write novellas and plays in the Footnotes section or have 200-300 word long sentences or 20 line long paragraphs! It is recommended that you keep most of your sentence length to 20 or fewer words.

Passive Versus Active Voice

It is recommended that you should use the Passive Voice 10% or less of the time in your writing. The difference between Passive and Active Voice is how you write your verb tenses. Using the Active Voice makes your content assertive. Use the verbs in their “to be” tenses. Instead of “being” use “to be”. Instead of “empowering” or “helping” use “we empower” “Our company empowers” or “helps”.

When to Ignore the Rule

If your point is to make the web content passive – especially if you’re a fiction or other kind of writer- then simply ignore this rule! Have fun with your writing! If you need further help understanding writing style and finding your writing style, read this article of mine: How to Figure out Your Online Writing Style

Transition Words

Transition Words are words and phrases that are used to describe the sequence of events. Using words like then and next and after is especially easy when you’re writing a recipe or describing how the process of your services work.

When to Ignore the Rule

If it isn’t necessary or naturally in your content, don’t add it. You are the master, the SEO checklist is just a guideline.

Content Length

Sections and paragraphs shouldn’t be too long either. It is alllll about balance. You should try to keep your paragraphs or sections no more than 200-300 words. But if you’re starting with a narrative or there is no natural way of dividing a section – ie if a subheading distribution is not actually necessary, don’t do it.

Untangle the process of developing website copy and prepare for your online marketing strategies from my Content Writing Workbook- $20

How Does Maximizing Readability fit in with SEO?

As I said above, your writing, maximizing readability and optimizing your blog post for search engines is like writing for the internet robots to find your content. H2, H3 and the rest of them are created so that information is organized for “them”. It it also helps with desktop management so actual readers are better able to store the information you’re presenting them.

Desktop Management is a rhetorical technique in which a writer’s act and/or design to aid readers in remembering and prioritizing information that has been written in a text. To a certain extent, it is your responsibility to direct the reader to the most important information and manage how they remember the information. 

The best part of this readability guide is that you can totally ignore some of it! Writing is an art and if any of these rules aren’t sounding or natural when you’re done writing your first draft, don’t let these suggestions get in the way. My blog post about Organizing Your Website, also has useful advice on how to better shape your writing and design.

This is not a sponsored post. Some information is quoted by Yoast and other information is base on my own experience.