4 Ways to Increase Readability on Your Blog Posts
Did you know that the readability of your blog posts can greatly impact your SEO rankings? 👀
It’s true! Search engines like Google prioritize user experience in their ranking algorithms, which means that the readability of all content on your website, especially your blog posts, matters a lottttt!
Readable content tends to keep visitors on your site longer, thus reducing bounce rates which are both positive user experience signals. If users find your content easy to read and understand, they are more likely to engage with it, which can indirectly boost your SEO rankings.
If it’s not obvious, readability refers to the ease that your readers can consume and comprehend your content. A well-structured and readable blog post not only keeps readers engaged, but also enhances their overall experience, increasing the likelihood of them returning for more.
Sadly, however, I find that many people aren’t taking their readability into consideration when crafting their blog content, which is why I’m here to change that!
In this blog post, you’ll learn 4 easy to implement strategies to boost the readability of your blog posts. These are all tips that I give to my Writer’s Room members consistently and they’re all things that you should know too!
4 Ways To Make Your Blog Posts More Readable
Break Up Your Paragraphs
We aren’t In English class anymore, bestie! And thank goodness because I am notttt here for all of those rules, which sounds weird coming from a Type A rule follower.
But seriously, when it comes to your blog content, I want you to UNLEARN to basic MLA formatting where you write in paragraph form.
For readability purposes, it's actually best to keep your paragraphs between 2-4 sentences, so that your readers can easily skim the content if they prefer.
While it might feel weird to write this way at first, I PROMISE it's preferred!
Don’t believe me? Let’s do a little experiment using an excerpt from this recent blog post:
Exhibit A –
“Gone are the days of being able to create the same type of content that everyoneeee else is creating. If you’re a copywriter, that’s great, but there are 50 billion other ones out there and in order for someone to choose YOU, you’ve gotta stand out. And one of the best ways that you can stand out is through the content that you’re creating. Social media is awesome for sharing quick tips and tangible takeaways, but your blog content? THAT is where you get to dive deeper and truly give your audience a download of your brain and provide ultimate value on various topics. This builds your credibility and trust factor, which means that a potential client can feel 10x more confident doing business with you.”
Exhibit B –
“Gone are the days of being able to create the same type of content that everyoneeee else is creating. If you’re a copywriter, that’s great, but there are 50 billion other ones out there and in order for someone to choose YOU, you’ve gotta stand out.
And one of the best ways that you can stand out is through the content that you’re creating.
Social media is awesome for sharing quick tips and tangible takeaways, but your blog content? THAT is where you get to dive deeper and truly give your audience a download of your brain and provide ultimate value on various topics.
This builds your credibility and trust factor, which means that a potential client can feel 10x more confident doing business with you.”
We both know which version is easier to read!
Emphasize Major Points by Using Bold, Italics, & All Caps
In addition to breaking up your paragraphs with your sentence structure, another huge way to get your major points across to your audience is by using bold, italics, and all caps strategically.
Once you've written your entire blog post, go back and re-read it and ask yourself: what is the main thing that I want people to take away from each section of my blog post? From there, incorporate bold and italics, and maybe even all caps if it feels appropriate.
Don't overdo it or else nothing will stand out, but strategically input bold and italics whenever it feels natural to emphasize certain points.
Additionally, you’ve probably heard it said before that you should write your content like you talk and when you first hear that advice you might think, okayyyyy but how exactly do I do that??
THIS is one of the best ways to achieve that!
OH and bonus – use emojis. 🎉
Let’s look at a few examples again so you can see what I mean:
Exhibit A – My name is Natalie (but everyone calls me Natty) and I’m the face behind Natty Writes! I’m a blog and email writer for creative business owners and service providers where I help people stop obsessing over all of the fun and trendy things in your business and instead implement the long game content approach through blog content. It’s time to stop feeling glued to social media platforms that aren’t promised tomorrow and instead invest in the longevity of your business that will stand the test of time.
Exhibit B – Hey, I’m Natalie (but everyone calls me Natty) and I’m the face behind Natty Writes! 👋
I’m a blog and email writer for creative business owners and service providers where I help people stop obsessing over all of the fun and trendy things in your business and instead implement the long game content approach through blog content.
It’s time to STOP feeling glued to social media platforms that aren’t promised tomorrow and instead invest in the longevity of your business that will stand the test of time. 🙌🏼
See the difference?
Use Bulleted or Numbered Lists
This probably sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many blog posts I read that list off a ton of information and the writer doesn’t include a proper listicle format.
If your blog topic includes information that can be displayed in a bulleted or numbered format (sort of like this one you’re reading 🤗) DO IT!
Lists help organize information in a digestible format and again, it allows your readers to easily skim your content and zoom into the section that they are most interested in.
Section Off Your Content with Subheadings
Lastly, and probably some of my most given advice especially to my Writer’s Room members… USE. SUBHEADINGS.
As mentioned, the last thing you want is for your blog posts to read as a novel. Instead, you want your audience to be able to quickly scan your post and find the information they're specifically interested in.
Using subheadings is a GREAT way to do this! Generally speaking, I suggest breaking your entire blog post into 2-4 sections that are separated by subheadings that include strategic keywords so you can also get an added SEO benefit.
Here’s an example for you:
If implementing subheadings into your blog content is new for you OR if you struggle to write them, don’t overcomplicate it. Instead, think about subheadings as additional titles within your blog post.
For example, if you’re writing a blog about 5 Ways To Digitally Declutter, your subheadings might be something like:
The Benefits of Digitally Decluttering – this could be a potential sub-topic of your main idea at hand
How To Digitally Declutter With Ease – this is the meat of your blog post and the content that you promised in your blog title
Additional Resources to Help You Digitally Declutter – this could be the subheading you use for your conclusion that includes a call-to-action to other resources or support that’s directly relevant to the content at hand
Want more writing tips like this?
Overall, there is a way for you to control the readability of your blog posts and it’s not as complicated as it may seem!
If you found this blog post helpful, you should know that I have wayyyy more where this came from, which is why each week in Notes From Natty I share a weekly writing tip to help you level up your blog and email content writing.
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New to my world? Nice to virtually meet ya. 👋 I’m Natalie, but everyone calls me Natty (you can too) – blog and email writer for creative business owners and service providers.
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