Content readability at its simplest is about getting ideas across in a clear, concise, and accessible way. People are busy, and they usually don’t have the time to unravel long sentences and complex paragraphs.
Readability is crucial for all forms of content writing. It is important for everything, whether it be blogs, articles, books, documents, or any other form of the written word. Without proper content readability, context is lost, and you cannot effectively reach your target audience.
In digital marketing, readability is doubly important as it goes hand in hand with SEO writing. The higher the readability, the more relevant users will find the content. But the factor of readability can be subjective.
To remove this subjectivity, one can utilize several tools to check content readability. However, they are not entirely accurate, but they are still faster than having test readers.
The post will look at why readability is important? And how we can increase content readability.
Why Does Content Readability Matter?
As stated in the beginning, readability matters because it makes consuming your content easier. After all, any blog writing or article writing, or any other kind of writing is done with the intention that it will be read and understood.
Content readability ensures that readers don’t stop reading partway through your content. In fact, when writing digital content, readability is an important factor when one is doing search engine optimization. Furthermore, the readability factor is a metric by which Google sets website ranking.
Beyond ranking, it helps increase traffic to your website or digital portal as people search using familiar terms. Readability drives traffic, engagements and can greatly help with conversions. If that is the goal of your content marketing strategy is the goal.
Content readability helps beyond these direct benefits. If the content is easy to comprehend, it will allow people who are not fluent in the page’s language or are cognitively differently-abled. So, readability can help increase the range of your potential audience as well.
How to Improve Content Readability?
You could write the best content possible covering all the topic points, but you’ve missed the point if it is not readable. However, content readability is something that is easily improved upon. There are certain questions that you can ask yourself that will help you improve content readability.
Who Are You Writing For?
Knowing who one is writing for is the biggest factor in deciding how well your content is received. The audience drives the way the content will be presented. For example, an article on the same topic will read very differently depending on its intended audience.
To further elaborate, the content readability of a scientific article will be high for its intended audience. However, it will score lower if presented to, for example, children.
Once you’re decided on who your target audience is. You can do content editing to ensure that content readability is good for the intended audience.
Is Your Language Easy to Understand?
Be mindful of your word choices. This particular point is relevant to any content you create. But it is something that is missed out when web page seo is being done.
The longer and more complex your words are, the harder it is to read them. Take into account that not everyone has the same vocabulary level as you. If you use complicated words, you will lose the readers somewhere along the way.
A good rule of thumb is to keep the readability level at grade level. Pick shorter words, and rely on words that are more commonly used. And remember to keep your intended audience in mind when deciding on the language complexity to ensure excellent content readability.
Have You Created a Wall of Text?
Avoid walls of text. There are two possible ways to go about it. The first is to keep your sentences short. The second is to avoid long-winded paragraphs. Both together help increase content readability by helping you avoid creating a wall of text.
A simple rule of thumb is to present one idea per sentence. On the other hand, avoid putting too many things in a single block of text. This tip will help keep your paragraphs short.
However, a fine line exists between a short paragraph and your content looking like a phone message. So be sure to use line breaks intelligently. Otherwise, content readability will go down rather than up.
Does Your Content Sound Natural?
It is easy to fall into the trap of adhering to blindly to specific metrics. The content that is written should sound and flow naturally. Your readers are there looking for information so treat them right. They should not get the impression that content creation was done for SEO purposes.
Avoid using unnecessary jargon and keywords as the saying goes, “Too many cooks spoil the broth.” So, ensure your content readability by keeping it as natural sounding as possible.
Are You Using The Right Tools?
There are several tools and metrics that can help determine and improve content readability. It is important to know which ones fit your needs best. If SEO is your goal, then tools like Yoast, Hemmingway are very helpful.
On the other hand, Grammarly is the most well-known tool to edit content for easier readability. Unfortunately, there is no single solution that can sort all issues regarding readability. Another thing to keep in mind is that none of the tools are 100% accurate.
So, your best approach is to use the tools that fit your needs. And remember, language and trends change over time. Similarly, the tools available are also changing as natural language processing improves.
Readability Truly Matters!
If your content is not readable, all the time and effort put into its creation will go to waste. This reason is why content readability is so crucial. Not only does it improve the overall writing experience, but it also greatly improves your site’s SEO.
Remember to use the tools that are at your disposal to help further refine your content. Over time ensuring content readability will become second nature to you.
Readable content hooks the readers in. As a result, your readers will be more compelled to read it and forward it. And this will result in higher rankings in search engines, bringing in more traffic and engagements.
Content readability means that your audience gets the answers they are seeking. So we’ve gone over different strategies for ensuring that the content is easy to understand.
And lastly, it may seem like a tricky proposition. However, at its core, it is about whether the point is coming across or not in an understandable manner.