The bigger your words, the smarter you sound, right? Not necessarily. Especially when it comes to your content marketing strategy. You already know the importance of quality, relevant content. But the first and most important task is retaining a reader’s interest through readability. Otherwise, how will you know they got your message?
What is readability?
When your writing is clear and understandable, it’s easy for your target audience to understand. There are many ways to measure content readability, one of them being the Flesch Reading Ease Test. Using a patented formula, this test evaluates how simple it is to read a piece of content. It identifies words per sentence and syllables per word. Short sentences with fewer syllables are rated most readable.
The text then falls on a scale between one and 100. The higher the score, the easier it is to read. Since 2014, content on the web has scored higher and higher when it comes to readability. The average URL content’s score remains constant at an average of 76, with the top 10 search results at a slightly higher average score.
What does this mean?
So what does this do for you and your SEO practices? Higher readability means higher search ranking. Your content should be able to speak to each reader in a way they can easily grasp, so they’ll spend more time on your page. In today’s digital world, attention spans are getting shorter by the minute, so don’t give your visitors an automatic excuse to leave.
Pro tips for readability:
- Text should have both a rhythm and flow. Break up it with sub-heads and clear breaks.
- Make sure your content is visually appealing to the eye.
- Write for your audience. Tailor your writing style to match a tone to which they can relate.
- Use smaller sentences and shorter words whenever possible.
- Stay away from jargon: Be straightforward and simple in your wording.
