Stoney deGeyter, Search Engine Guide’s resident business expert recently posted about how to get your audience’s attention using the content on your site. His tips, techniques, and ideas are summarized for you here.

When trying to get your readers to absorb your content then perform the action you want them to (buy!) you’ve got to remember a few things. The first is to not get too repetitive and “train” your content so that it will do what you want it to in order for you to reach your consumers. It’s got to be easily skimable, scanable, and point your consumers to calls of action.

Make your audience like it

There are only two options: get your content to do things you like or to do things your audience likes…which one do you think converts better? When people visit a site they do a quick scan to see if they’re interested, then, if you’re lucky enough, they skim your content. It’s only then that they read your content in full, and that’s when you can sell your services such as seo hosting or artwork. There are four ways to make your content really “scanable”:

Headings – Your content should have lots of headings and be easily readable as a whole. The longer your text is the more it needs to be broken up, mostly because web copy is read differently than standard print. People need headers to identify which paragraphs they want to read.

Linking – Don’t forget to link internally to content on your site that you think may be relatable to your readers. Relying on the navigation bar alone is not a good idea since that forces people to hunt for what they need on your site…not a good way to build trust. Linking is more intuitive and gives people confidence that you understand their point of view.

Bolding – Bold certain important words because they’re important, not just for SEO purposes. This is another way for readers to tell what you think they should deem important on your site, and bolding is internationally recognizable.

Bullets – Rather than reading everything on a page, most people simply read bullet points instead if they’re there. Bullets break up your content and highlight relevancy and provide an easy way to point out certain bits of information.

It’s fine to trick your content into working for you, but don’t try to trick your audience. Give your readers what they want but use your content wisely…it can benefit you and your consumers overall. Remember that you’re not deceiving people but you’re instead leading them to the content they came to your site for in the first place.

Heather Hendrick summary