Common Web-Article Writing Mistakes

The typical website visitor is impatiently searching for a solution; they arrive at a new website looking for something specific, usually through a search engine; they are looking for the first excuse to bolt out of the door, to try their luck somewhere else.

Fortunately, by avoiding a few major blunders your new visitors won’t leave after 10 seconds. Here are a few mistakes to avoid.

Creating A Wall Of Text

When presented with big blocks of text, your average internet visitor will not even read the first sentence. You must always remember that your audience is searching for something in particular, and if they don’t find it quickly they’ll try their luck elsewhere.

Paragraphs and sentences should be short and punchy. You should use subheads to split up and structure your articles. And you should highlight key words or phrases.

Doing these things makes your articles more approachable. It makes your articles more browsable and scannable. You ask for less of their time, and offer more opportunity for them to find what they want.

Being Too Formal

The long sentences, the fancy words, and the “correct” English of novels and newspapers are all unsuitable for an internet audience. All unnecessary and uninformative content will be skipped.

Being too formal is impersonal and off-putting. By being more conversational, you can be more to the point, easier to read, and inject personality into your writing. Annoy a few to endear the majority.

Saving The Best For Last

The average web reader will not read entire articles. In fact, they will read very little. They may only read your first paragraph, if that. For this reason, it is important to use your best information first, because if you don’t they may never read it at all.

You must help your readers at every stage of an article. The title and introductory paragraph must help them understand what the article is about. Each subhead should indicate what that segment is about. The beginning of each sentence and paragraph should help readers who are scanning your article by including informative words earlier rather than later.

There is no time for dillydallying. You you must grab your readers’ attention and not let go. Your readers want the answer now, not later.

Being Vague And Fluffy

Again, generally web visitors are searching for something specific. That may mean they are looking for some information or that they want a solution to a problem. They will quickly become frustrated if you dance around the answer.

It’s easy to fool yourself into thinking you’re being intriguing or mysterious. That may be true with a different audience, but internet surfers are solution hunters. If you do not offer the solution quickly and accessibly, then they will find someone else who does.

Not Including Keywords

If you don’t provide any keywords in your articles, then it is likely that no one will ever find your article. You must help search engines understand your article’s purpose, so that they can provide targeted traffic.

With the internet, great content isn’t an all-access pass to unlimited traffic.

Conclusion

The most important thing to remember when writing web content is the mindset of your visitors. Internet visitors will not passively fall in line and follow your lead. They are actively searching for a website that provides the information they’re looking for.

Understanding the internet audience, and catering to them, is the key when producing web articles.

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