It’s no secret that creating great online content is essential to attracting and engaging an audience. But what many people don’t realize is that how you format your content is just as important as the actual words you use.
Formatting your content to ensure that it is easy to read and understand will make it more likely that people will stick around to read it. And if you format your content correctly for search engines, you’ll also be more likely to show up in search results – meaning more people will see and read your content.
So how do you format your content for both people and search engines?
Write for People First
It’s essential to write for your audience before you write for the search engines because it’s your audience that you want to engage and attract. While good search engine optimization can help more people find and see your content, they’re not going to stay on your site if your content isn’t relevant or interesting to your target audience. So, ensure you always consider your target audience when creating content, and you’ll be more likely to succeed in engaging them.
Here are some tips for writing for people first and then search engines
For people:
- Use Short Paragraphs – Long blocks of text can be overwhelming, so keep your paragraphs short and to the point. This will make your content easier to read, and people are more likely to stick around.
- Use Headlines and Subheadings – Separating your body text with headlines and subheadings makes it easier to skim and, therefore, easier to read. It also helps break up long blocks of text and makes your content more visually appealing
- Highlight Important Points – Use bullet points or bold/italicize text to call out important points or key takeaways. This will help draw the reader’s attention to important information and make your content more scannable.
- Use Images – Adding images, infographics, or videos can help break up text and make your content more visually appealing. It also gives readers a visual representation of what you’re discussing, making it easier for them to understand and retain the information.
- Write In A Conversational Tone – Avoid using technical jargon or complex language when writing for your audience. Instead, write in a conversational tone that is easy to understand and relatable. This will help keep your readers engaged and interested in your content.
For search engines:
- Use Keywords – Research the words your audience uses to search for content like yours. These words or phrases comprise the keywords you need to include in your titles, headers, and throughout your text. For example, if you’re writing about healthy smoothie recipes, be sure to include keywords like “healthy smoothie recipes” or “green smoothies” in your content.
- Include Meta Tags and Descriptions – Meta tags communicate important details about your page to search engines and should contain relevant keywords and a brief content description. Additionally, meta descriptions offer a succinct summary that shows up in search results, providing readers with insight into your content and encouraging clicks, which can improve SEO through higher click-through rates.
- Optimize Your Headlines – Your audience sees your headlines first when they find your content, so it’s absolutely imperative to ensure that they’re catchy and include keywords. Not only that, but search engines also place a high importance on headlines when determining the relevance of your content. Therefore, it’s crucial to optimize your headlines for both human readers and search engines. This looks like using descriptive and keyword-rich titles that accurately reflect the content in your body text.
- Use Internal & External Links – Internal links, which link to other pages on your website, show search engines that your website is well-organized and provides valuable information. External links, which link to reputable sources outside of your website, improve your SEO by showing that you’ve done thorough research and are providing valuable resources for your audience.
- Avoid Keyword Stuffing – While it’s important to use keywords in your content, avoid overusing them or “stuffing” them into every sentence. This can actually harm your website’s SEO and make your content less readable for human readers.
By following these tips, your content will be formatted for both people and search engines – meaning more people will see and read it. Don’t underestimate the power of great formatting for ensuring your content is consumed when creating your next piece of online content.
Want to learn more about content creation? Check out our blog post: Crafting Effective Cornerstone Content: Tips and Best Practices