Marketing How Readability Affects Your Content and 7 Ways to Improve it Jenna Monney-Lupert Marketing 11 mins read 2 years ago If no one reads your content, does your brand even exist? While your web content may be interesting, informative and well-written, none of it matters if it’s not presented in a reader-friendly way. People don’t have the time nor the attention span to read through endless blocks of text swimming with complicated words and sentences that go on forever. They’ve got 20 tabs opened at the same time, emails pouring in from brands trying to sell, lasagna in the oven, and dings! going off on their phone every five seconds because Becky broke up with her boyfriend. What’s more, online readers like to scan. They want to be able to give a piece of content a once-over to see if it’s relevant to them before diving in too deep. So how do you turn scanners into readers? That’s where content readability comes into play. What in the world is content readability? Readability is so much more than creating content people will want to read. It’s about connecting with your audience by writing in a way that’s accessible and easy to understand. While there are many different definitions of what readability means, we like to think Grammarly sums it up the best: So how do you know if your content is readable? How to calculate readability There are many factors that can determine high or low readability scores—from word choice and sentence length to the legibility of your text. One of the quickest ways to calculate content readability is to use the Flesch reading scale. This popular formula grades your written content based on a scale from 1-100. The concept is simple: the higher your score, the easier and more accessible it is to read and understand your content. If you’re writing non-technical content aimed at consumers, Flesch recommends a minimum reading score of 80 (or about 15 words per sentence). But we wouldn’t worry too much about that since for most marketing content, it’s perfectly acceptable to score anywhere between 60-80. Today, most readability tools already incorporate the Flesch-Kincaid algorithm. All you have to do is find the right tool for you. Why is readability important for your user? Unclear messaging, wordy sentences, jargon-filled content, ambiguous headers… All these things impact your readability. And poor readability affects the user experience (UX), which directly impacts your ROI. Readability and UX go hand in hand. In other words, when you produce content that’s readable, legible and easy to understand, you’re providing your user with an enjoyable online reading experience. Why does this matter? Because it gives them a reason to stay on your website and explore more of what you have to offer, increasing the likelihood they’ll engage with your brand and share your content. Plus, when search engines like Google rank content, the algorithm takes into consideration whether a page is easy for people to understand and relevant to the search term. Think of it his way: the more readable your content, the more people will read it. The more people read your content, the more traffic you’ll get, which will help boost your site’s SEO and ranking. Still not convinced readability is a must-have in your content writing? Here are a few more benefits to creating readable web content. Benefits of good readability In addition to creating content that connects, publishing readable content will help: Keep people on your website for longer periods of time Increase engagement Lower bounce rates Retain subscribers Better UX Accelerate conversions & sales Boost brand loyalty & trust Improve overall SEO and site ranking in the long run 7 ways to instantly improve your content’s readability The good news is a poor readability score is quick and easy to fix. Here are 7 rapid-fire ways to turn chunky, ambiguous text into easy-to-read content that drives your users to action. 1. Use clear headlines Is your headline clear and snappy? According to Coppyblogger, 80% of your visitors will read your headline—but only 20% will go on to finish the article. So if your headline is long, unclear or confusing, your reader is going to tune out. This is a great example of how to turn a wordy headline into a readable one. Old headline:“10,000+ templates for all your PowerPoint presentation needs all in one place and available on a monthly subscription.”New headline:“10,000+ PowerPoint templates at your fingertips” See the difference? You don’t need to cram all the information into your headline to create a clear and compelling headline. The best headlines are short (8 words or less), punchy and always offer a clear benefit. What’s in it for your audience? You want to give them an instant window into what you do and the main benefit your product or service offers. Ask yourself: What’s the quick snippet I can give users if they were to read nothing else on my website or on the page? Clear headlines also make it easier for your reader to scan through your content if they’re short on time. 2. Break up content with captivating subheadings Subheadings play a big part in content readability, and readability plays a direct role in the profitability of your business. Whether you’re writing a beefy blog post or a persuasive sales page, piling a ton of words in front of your reader will discourage them from pursuing your content. Lots of words look like lots of work. Using clear subheadings will help break up your content into tasty nuggets your viewer will want to read. 3. Shorten those sentences We’ve all read a sentence that was so long we had to go back to the start to remember what we had just read. We get it—-you have a lot of awesome things to say about your product or service. But do you really need a 39-word sentence to make your point?Probably not. In fact, longer sentences sabotage your readability (and wastes your reader’s time). Not only are you increasing your chances of writing a run-on sentence, you also run the risk of creating messaging that lacks focus. To make your content more readable, break down longer sentences into shorter ones that are easier to absorb. Strive for an average sentence length of no longer than 14 words. 4. Ditch the flowery language Sophisticated language and jargon-filled sentences are also red flags for readability. When you use complicated language, you’re making it harder for your reader to absorb your message, which diminishes your content’s approachability. This often leads to them bouncing off the page to seek out the information they’re looking for elsewhere. The fact is, you don’t need to use the fanciest words to get your point across quickly and effectively. When in doubt, use the KISS principle: Keep it Simple, Stupid. Most of the time, the simplest language results in the best content. This means using straightforward words and avoiding clichés, jargon and industry buzzwords. For example, instead of saying “utilize”, just write “use”. 5. Formatting is everything Imagine clicking on a blog post link that sounds right up your alley only to come face to face with a hefty, uninterrupted block of text. We’re talking over 1,500 words, packed into one never-ending paragraph. Even if the content is excellent, its formatting (or lack thereof) is enough to discourage anyone from reading it. Formatting your writing is key to enhancing readability. And it starts by embracing the line break. Give your reader a reason to pause, breathe and take in what they read by breaking up your text into sections with headers and subheaders. Give your content flow and movement to make it easier on the eyes and less overwhelming for the reader. Use short paragraphs with no more than 3 sentences or 6 lines. One sentence paragraphs are also great! 6. Bullet points are your best friend Bullet points are the underestimated tool in your copywriting wheelhouse that will greatly improve your content’s readability. They will help you: Break up large blocks of text Help your user identify areas of key information, fast Provide a visual break for your user Make your content easier to scan In short, bullet points help slow your reader down, so you can deliver big ideas in bite size chunks. 7. Calm down on the commas A comma is like a speed bump. It’s a natural pause. It helps slow down a reader’s rhythm, making your message clearer and easier to take in. That said, driving on a street with too many speed bumps can be downright annoying, even for the most patient of souls. The same goes for too many commas. Adding them to simply break up words is incorrect and can ruin the user experience. A well-placed comma, on the other hand, can do wonders to improve your readability. So before you go throwing commas around like confetti, ask yourself: do I really need it? If you’re unsure, try reading the sentence out loud. If the pause where you add the comma sounds awkward or you find yourself slowing down too much, chances are you don’t need one. Practical readability tools we love It doesn’t matter if you’re writing a sales page, blog post or whitepaper—every writer should be checking their content’s readability before hitting publish. Here are some of our favourite readability tools: Read-able Read-able pulls together all the major readability algorithms (Flesch-Kincaid, Gunning Frog and SMOG index) into one zippy little tool you can use for free. All you have to do is plug in the URL of the web page you want analyzed and watch as it displays your content’s reading level. What’s more, you get insightful text statistics like the number of sentences and complex words, percentage of complex words, and average words per sentence and syllables per word. You can test your content’s readability here. Microsoft Word Fun fact: Microsoft Word has a built-in readability scoring tool based on the Flesch-Kincaid formula. After Word finishes checking your content’s spelling and grammar, you can enable the tool and check your document’s readability stats by following these steps: Go to File > Options. Click on Proofing. Under When correcting spelling and grammar in Word, check off the box beside Check grammar with spelling. Select Show readability statistics. Once the feature is enabled, open the document you want to check, and check the spelling by going to Review > Spelling & Grammar. When Word is done verifying your content’s spelling & grammar, it’ll automatically show your document’s reading level. Got a mac? Check out how to enable your readability feature here. Hemingway Editor The Hemingway Editor is a free online editing tool that helps you turn long-winded, complex sentences into compelling content that’s clear and easy to read. On top of that, it also analyzes your text’s readability and provides you with suggestions on how to make it more effective. While this nifty app won’t turn you into the next Earnest Hemingway, you can be sure it’ll help you craft content people will want to read from beginning to end. Headline analyzer Coschedule’s headline analyzer is one of our favourite tools when it comes to creating catchy headlines that boost traffic and search results. Just enter your headline and hit the “analyze” button to get your score. Anything around a 70 and green is considered a top-notch headline. Share This Article Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email