7 Proven Tips to Instantly Improve Content Readability for SEO

Although SEO is helpful, without good quality, readable content, your SEO efforts will go to waste. That’s why more than 60 of the over 200 ranking factors that Google uses have to do with your content!

Do you make this blogging mistake? Ask any blogger or content creator. If they’re honest, they will tell you they pay little or no attention to the readability of their content.

And that’s a huge mistake for any creator to make.

This is what I mean.

SEO may be helpful, but without good quality, readable content, your SEO efforts will amount to nothing. In fact, over 60 of the 200 odd ranking factors that Google considers have to do with your content!

One permanent visitor is more valuable than dozens of casual visitors. This is because many of the visitors don’t read your content. However, the permanent reader will always engage with your content.

The question then is this.

Is there a way to instantly improve content readability for SEO purposes? In other words, is there is a way to write content that Google loves, and which actually converts?

The short answer is yes.

And in this article, we will discuss some of the strategies that can instantly make your content more readable.

Here is the reality.

If you create compelling content that’s amazing and with good a readability score, your readers user experience will rapidly go up. In addition, you will see an immediate improvement in some specific areas of your SEO score. These include the following:

• Bounce rate
• Time on page
• Conversion rate
• Social sharing rate
• Exit rate
• Total number of sessions

In a moment, we will look at ways to instantly improve content readability for SEO purposes.

But first, what is readability? And why is it important?

What is Readability? And Why is it Important?

Readability refers to the clarity of the content you write. Your readers have a clear and simple understanding of the context. Readability allows you to address your audience. The higher your readability score, the more people you will reach. Not only that, the audience will also interact more with your content if they feel that the article is legible and of high quality.

Making your content readable should be a key part of your content creation strategy. Before you publish any article on your blog, you need to check the readability score. A low readability score can ruin all your efforts.

Here are some reasons why readability should matter to you as a content creator:

#1. Target group must be the lower age group

According to Readable, the general public has an average reading grade of 8. Therefore written content must be standardized for the 7th to 9th grade. Despite the target audience or the specific demographic situation, you should know that the average reading rate of your article may be lower than you expect.

As literacy rates rise, bloggers and other writers are improving their readability to remain part of the competition.

#2. Readability increases the accessibility of the Internet

When you write the content that’s not legible, you are actually alienating your audience. That’s because you discriminate against those with learning disabilities.

Writers should aim to write content that’s aimed at secondary school students. That way, you’re not just benefiting low-age students but also the search engines.

When we talk about the language that is recommended, it is simple and conventional. This makes your content more legible. To achieve this, you should use short sentences. Each paragraph should not exceed three lines. Search engines and most readers always recommend the active voice for any type of writing.

#3. Reading online is not the same as reading printed text

Online reading is very different from the written text in newspapers and books. This is because online reading is not aimed at a particular community, but can be written for anyone. Furthermore, people spend more time in newspapers or books. However, when online, people just want to read quickly and get their conceptual ideas.

Generally, people only read 18% of online content after they have skimmed through the entire web page. This is because they usually look for important headlines. However, if you have readable content that’s easily digestible, the reader might decide to read on.

Proven Tips to Make Your Content More Readable and Increase Readability for SEO

Here are 7 proven tips which you can implement immediately. And the amazing thing about these pointers is that they will instantly increase your content readability.

#1. Keep an eye on the length of the article

When it comes to informative blog posts, readers look for short, concise posts. That means 400 to 600 words. Therefore, it is advisable not to stick to the minimum words of 300, as Google suggests for search engine optimization purposes. In case your writing needs to be longer, it is very important to make use of short paragraphs that are 2 to 4 sentences long.

It is a good practice to break the sentences and even paragraphs in an attainable way. Readers usually go skimming. So you need them to quickly figure out what you’re writing about. To do this, use numbered lists and irresistible headlines.

Be aware that Google and the other search engines prefer long form content that adds value to the topic.

#2. Use legible styling

New bloggers and authors seem to have a misconception that the size of the fonts does not matter. There are thousands of sizes and fonts, but simplicity is the key to better legibility. For example, fonts like Arial, Times New Roman, Helvetica, and Open Sans are user friendly. They are easy on the eye.

Your introductory paragraphs should be larger and if possible with drop cap. This is because , many readers simply read the introduction to get an idea of the entire article. Key keywords and eye-catching phrases must be highlighted or written in bold.

If you’re using quotes or some other relative fact, consider using quotation marks to increase their visibility.

#3. Use a bright background

When designing your blog, especially if you’re with WordPress, you get several options. These include options for choice of background color. If you choose a dark color, your text will not be visible because of the low contrast.

You should choose light colors for the background with the text color black. You can use different colors in different sections such as the caption.

It is not advisable to have a pattern in the background, as it affects readability.

More Tips to Increase Content Readability

#4. Do not plagiarize

Avoid plagiarism like a plague.

Sadly, many people copy content from other websites. But have you ever considered what would happen if your reader finds words in your content they have already read on another website? Their respect for you and your blog will instantly dissipate.

Not only that, Google and the other search engines can also penalize your site for plagiarism.

To avoid this, write unique articles. Don’t copy!

Furthermore, you could use a free online copyright checker to check for plagiarism before publishing.

#5. Simplify navigation on your web posts and pages

Whenever a user clicks on your blog post, they will be interested in similar articles. And if they find your article interesting, they will look for more. However, if they find it difficult to find another article, they will go to another blog.

In this case, you should have navigated the user on the right track to the other articles in your blog. One way to do this is through internal links and widgets. You can display featured posts, latest posts, and relevant posts using widgets. A good navigation system on your site is also a ranking factor for Google. Google always wants to give the maximum user experience through any site that is ranked in the SERPs.

#6. Use relevant images

As we discussed earlier, people do not like to read. They will rather skim through reading only the important and necessary sections. However, they look for images to find relevance and information.

If you find a relevant image, you’re likely to read the article. Another advantage of using the images is to increase readability between texts. For example, it is quite boring to read a long form article continuously. However, breaking the text through relevant images will keep the reader interested.

You can add screenshots, sample images, graphics, and informative images to improve your readability and authentication.

Remember, to add the Image ALT Text which is a SEO practice for ranking.

#7. Keep the writing tone natural

Readers love to read the article that looks like someone is talking to them. You should have the natural tone of how you talk to the people around you. This rule should apply especially when you need to write an informative article.

Wrapping Up – How to Improve Content Readability for SEO

Your goal as a blogger should be to give your readers an amazing user experience. Improving or increasing your content readability score is one way to do this.

Even if your goal is not simply to improve your content readability for SEO purposes, improving your content readability will invariably lead to better SEO results.

And that can only be a good thing!