Keeping your blog or website updated with snippets of news or general information bulletins will not only improve your readers’ experience as they land on your site seeking information, but also improve your visibility with search engines. This is an important part of the much dissected and discussed search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy. So how do content writers compose news items for web consumption?

The key is to keep the posts short and focused. Make the text clear and concise which will help deliver the message you want to convey. Always use easy to understand words.

But what should you discuss? If you are writing a news article, or creating a blog, a great guide is to follow the dictum of the news journalist: answer the 5 W’s (Who, What, Where, When, Why and H (How) on the subject on which you are writing. Where appropriate answer these in the first couple of paragraphs or as early in the article as possible. This will help catch those readers who “skim” articles quickly rather than read from start to finish.

This is particularly suited to the Internet where people now have a tendency to quickly look for what they want and move on should they not find it.

If you have a number of points you’d like to raise with visitors, do so using bullet points or a numbered lists. The items are separated with white space between them, making them easier to digest.

Lastly activate your verbs (the doing words). This usually results in a more effective, economical and direct way of communication. An example would be:

Passive: The conference was given an opening address by the professor.

Active: The professor addressed the conference.

To remember the saying “content is king” in regard to web writing is to know to focus on clear, positive text. If you’d like to hear more about what a content writing service can do for you, contact Leonie at Article Writers Australia here.