Break Up Content Into Sections<\/h2>\n
Content that is a gigantic run-on paragraph is extremely boring, and it’s also difficult to read. \u00a0This method can work well for a book, article, or essay, but online users have the option of leaving your site to find another. \u00a0This can lead to an increase in bounce rate for your key landing pages, as well as a short time on site metric. \u00a0Here are some examples of good and bad content broken up into sections.<\/p>\n
Examples (click bars below to expand):<\/strong><\/p>\n Nunc a libero mauris. Mauris vestibulum metus ut leo imperdiet interdum. Morbi tortor enim, condimentum sed tincidunt vel, ornare non nulla. Donec vel leo eros. Sed vitae nisl quis ipsum viverra volutpat. Proin at risus tortor. Phasellus congue convallis euismod. Morbi dapibus, nibh eget iaculis sagittis, neque velit ultricies diam, sit amet fringilla dui nibh sit amet mi. Duis sed tellus a mi egestas luctus. Nullam lobortis scelerisque ante nec maximus. Proin diam mauris, tincidunt nec erat vel, vulputate tincidunt ante.<\/p>\n Vivamus placerat ante arcu, at bibendum neque blandit eu. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Aenean dui enim, sagittis id congue at, ornare maximus massa. Pellentesque eget dolor lectus. Fusce hendrerit mattis commodo. Etiam at arcu dui. Donec elementum vehicula lorem, a commodo dolor pretium sit amet. Aenean sit amet vehicula dolor. Fusce id nisl vel erat pretium posuere non ut eros. Sed bibendum urna nec velit hendrerit, in malesuada massa congue.<\/p>\n Suspendisse in vehicula ipsum. Vestibulum at consequat erat. Vestibulum porta, sem quis aliquam dictum, purus arcu suscipit diam, quis fermentum ipsum odio laoreet ante. Vivamus tristique gravida tellus, rhoncus convallis magna fermentum vitae. Cras nec magna magna. Donec a augue eget tortor dapibus vestibulum vel at neque. Aliquam ac ex vel justo hendrerit porttitor ac id felis.<\/div><\/div> From the above examples, we can see the the last section,\u00a0Content Broken Up Into\u00a0Sections<\/strong>, has the best readabilty and allows the user to scan the content at will. \u00a0Writing content this way certainly allows for better readability, and helps users who prefer to scan content.<\/p>\n Putting a Call To Action<\/a> between sections is another great way to break up content.<\/p><\/div>\n This compliments\u00a0the first point – if every major section has a different header, then every paragraph should revolve around a single topic. \u00a0This makes it easier to digest content, as well as makes the writing neater and clean.<\/p>\n Also, don’t be afraid to have short paragraphs. \u00a0As long as the topic is unique and seperate from the previous topic, most of the time it will warrant being used in a separate paragraph.<\/p>\n Further enhancing our first point is to use section headers to break up long content and summarize the section. \u00a0This is the greatest way to allow users to scan your content, and is the easiest way to improve readability. \u00a0Furthering our content example above, we will add some sample headers to improve readability.<\/p>\n Examples (click bar below to expand):<\/strong><\/p>\n Nunc a libero mauris. Mauris vestibulum metus ut leo imperdiet interdum. Morbi tortor enim, condimentum sed tincidunt vel, ornare non nulla. Donec vel leo eros. Sed vitae nisl quis ipsum viverra volutpat. Proin at risus tortor. Phasellus congue convallis euismod. Morbi dapibus, nibh eget iaculis sagittis, neque velit ultricies diam, sit amet fringilla dui nibh sit amet mi. Duis sed tellus a mi egestas luctus. Nullam lobortis scelerisque ante nec maximus. Proin diam mauris, tincidunt nec erat vel, vulputate tincidunt ante.<\/p>\n Vivamus placerat ante arcu, at bibendum neque blandit eu. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Aenean dui enim, sagittis id congue at, ornare maximus massa. Pellentesque eget dolor lectus. Fusce hendrerit mattis commodo. Etiam at arcu dui. Donec elementum vehicula lorem, a commodo dolor pretium sit amet. Aenean sit amet vehicula dolor. Fusce id nisl vel erat pretium posuere non ut eros. Sed bibendum urna nec velit hendrerit, in malesuada massa congue.<\/p>\n Suspendisse in vehicula ipsum. Vestibulum at consequat erat. Vestibulum porta, sem quis aliquam dictum, purus arcu suscipit diam, quis fermentum ipsum odio laoreet ante. Vivamus tristique gravida tellus, rhoncus convallis magna fermentum vitae. Cras nec magna magna. Donec a augue eget tortor dapibus vestibulum vel at neque. Aliquam ac ex vel justo hendrerit porttitor ac id felis.<\/div><\/div> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla placerat aliquam tempor. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Sed at urna sem. Fusce tempus elementum tortor, eget iaculis felis finibus eu. Vestibulum ut ipsum viverra, hendrerit ex eu, ultricies ipsum.<\/p>\n Nunc a libero mauris. Mauris vestibulum metus ut leo imperdiet interdum. Morbi tortor enim, condimentum sed tincidunt vel, ornare non nulla. Donec vel leo eros. Sed vitae nisl quis ipsum viverra volutpat. Proin at risus tortor. Phasellus congue convallis euismod. Morbi dapibus, nibh eget iaculis sagittis, neque velit ultricies diam, sit amet fringilla dui nibh sit amet mi. Duis sed tellus a mi egestas luctus. Nullam lobortis scelerisque ante nec maximus. Proin diam mauris, tincidunt nec erat vel, vulputate tincidunt ante.<\/p>\n Vivamus placerat ante arcu, at bibendum neque blandit eu. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Aenean dui enim, sagittis id congue at, ornare maximus massa. Pellentesque eget dolor lectus. Fusce hendrerit mattis commodo. Etiam at arcu dui. Donec elementum vehicula lorem, a commodo dolor pretium sit amet. Aenean sit amet vehicula dolor. Fusce id nisl vel erat pretium posuere non ut eros. Sed bibendum urna nec velit hendrerit, in malesuada massa congue.<\/p>\n Suspendisse in vehicula ipsum. Vestibulum at consequat erat. Vestibulum porta, sem quis aliquam dictum, purus arcu suscipit diam, quis fermentum ipsum odio laoreet ante. Vivamus tristique gravida tellus, rhoncus convallis magna fermentum vitae. Cras nec magna magna. Donec a augue eget tortor dapibus vestibulum vel at neque. Aliquam ac ex vel justo hendrerit porttitor ac id felis.<\/div><\/div> We can see that with the addition of section headers, we’ve really helped our users out by giving them a short, descriptive summary about the section.<\/p>\n Using HTML\u00a0H1-H6 tags as section headers is a great SEO optimization technique<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n Whenever your content calls for a list of items, consider putting that content into a bulleted list. \u00a0Lists are a great way to draw the eye to a specially designed element, while noting that the elements are of a list. \u00a0Take a look at the following.<\/p>\n Examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/div><\/div> From the above example, the bulleted list is a far superior way to showcase needed items. \u00a0That’s because lists support the idea that one item per line is used, and is easier for a visitor to scan versus\u00a0having the information presented as a sentence.<\/p>\n In some paragraphs, you may wish to call our or highlight specific items – things such as an industry term, or a page’s main topic or phrase. \u00a0In this case using bold tags<\/strong>, or italic tags<\/em>\u00a0inside of your content can help accentuate and make the content easier to\u00a0scan as well.<\/p>\n Sometimes, your design or WordPress theme may include tools that can help create special attention-grabbing sections. \u00a0One such tool that I highly recommend is WP Shortcode<\/a> by MyThemeShop<\/a>. \u00a0It’s very flexible and offers many options to format content.<\/p>\n A picture is worth a thousand words<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The above statement is a wise proverb. \u00a0In writing for the web, it can prove invaluable in many ways – photos and images can help to break up content into readable sections, while also helping to tell a story that words alone could not.<\/p>\n Using a photo to help visually break up content can help create “digestable” chunks of information, if the image fill the width of the content, as seen above. \u00a0If you don’t have images that are that large, you can use them as asides to the content to help create a sense of flow.<\/p>\n This is a no-brainer. \u00a0If your content is based around an instructional theme, adding visuals will most certainly help users. \u00a0Imagine in our tire scenario\u00a0describing where a jack point is, what it is for, where it is located at on a car, and how to set up a jack stand to secure the car.\u00a0Now, consider using a photo to tell that story.<\/p>\nUse One Topic Per Paragraph<\/h2>\n
Use Section Headers<\/h2>\n
How To\u00a0Change A Flat Tire<\/h3>\n
Tools And Skills\u00a0You Will Need<\/h3>\n
Steps To\u00a0Change The Tire<\/h3>\n
Cleaning Up And Safety<\/h3>\n
Modify Lists To Become Bullet Points<\/h2>\n
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Format Strategically<\/h2>\n
Include Relevant Images<\/h2>\n
Use Photos To Break Up Content<\/h4>\n
How-To and Instructional Content Photos<\/h4>\n
![\"car](\"http:\/\/www.gregcruce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/car_jack1.jpg\")
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