I’m sure you’ve heard the expression “Content is King” before, right? Bill Gates first said it in 1996 but today it is more accurate and up-to-date than ever.
Google will help your website get more exposure if you write original content for it and has also made quite clear that websites with duplicate content will be penalised. And if that content is amazing, well written – scroll-stopper type! – then your users will also enjoy it, and stay on your website longer or come back more often.
But everyone knows that people don’t read online anymore these days – they skim through the content. And if users want short, ‘to-the-point’ texts, where they can get the message quickly and easily, and Google wants long texts, for his bots to know what your website is all about, is it possible to please them both?
Yes! Here are a few tips on how to do it:
- Start with a great headline;
- Use short but compelling intros, where you sum up what you really want people to retain;
- Keep the paragraphs small and the sentences short, as they are easier to read and to digest;
- Break up your text into smaller parts and add images and videos between them, when possible and if it makes sense;
- Use sub-headers for the different portions of your text and optimise them with beautiful long-tail keywords;
- Write about what you know and do best, and keep it simple, refreshing and original.
On the other hand, don’t forget that everyone nowadays searches and reads on their mobile devices all the time, rather than on their desktops. So, mobile traffic has become that much more important. And if you add to this Google’s mobile-first index, then you know that that mobile content needs to become one of your priorities.
But how different is it copywriting for mobile and engaging that mobile audience? The first thing everyone points out is that the screen is much smaller, which makes the texts look longer and users scroll much more. But another important thing you mustn’t forget is that on a mobile you will not have users’ ‘undivided attention’, as 90% of the times it is use on the go, while doing something else at same time.
To grab them, your copy needs to be focused on them – know thy audience and give them exactly what they like and want, no fooling around! As we’ve said before, keep it simple – write short sentences that don’t stretch over a dozen lines on a mobile device. If content is King, the text’s structure is his Queen – well-structured texts, with sentences that link to one another, neatly arranged within paragraphs that follow a logical order, will make your users understand it, and your message, better. Create “breaks” between these paragraphs using informative and catchy subheadings and your users will be hooked-up to what you’re saying.
As it turns out, copywriting for mobile devices is actually not all that different than doing it for desktops. Just pay a little extra attention to your content’s readability on mobile, to make reading on those devices less challenging, and you’re good to go.
And that’s it, now you just need to start writing!
