Fundamentals of writing compelling content for the web.

1. Writing for the Web
PR Writing

2. We read differently on the web
Numerous studies have shown most
we read web content in an ‘F’
pattern.
What does this mean?
• We skim content
• Our main attention goes to the
start of the text
• We read the most important
headlines and subheadlines, but
only selectively read the larger
parts of the text1
1 conversionxl.com

3. Users will leave a web
page in 10-20 seconds1
1 Neilson Norman Group

4. What does this mean?
• Identify your objectives
• What do you want people do on your page?
• What do you want them to do after visiting?
• Understand your target audience
• Who is your audience?
• What is your audience looking for?

5. Homepages
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Design the site with the audience in mind
Graphically appealing
Update content as needed
Consider user experience

6. Guidelines for Creating Web Content
✔ Clear and concise writing
✔ Organized structure
✔ Relevant graphics / assets

7. Clear & Concise Writing
• Make content scannable
• Include most important information in first 2
paragraphs
• Limit each page to a single topic
• Include hyperlinks to relevant content
• Use appropriate language
• Write simply

8. Organized & Intuitive Structure
• Use headings and subheadings
• Use bullets or lists where
possible
• Use short, skimmable
paragraphs
• Use bolding or italics sparingly
• Avoid clutter
• Consider how content will look
on desktops, mobile and tablet
devices

9. Relevant Graphics / Assets
• Use relevant photos or videos
where possible
• Avoid using too many graphics
on one page
• Include an appropriate caption
for images or videos
• Avoid using text in graphics
• Reduce file size

10. Attracting Visitors to Your Site
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Hyperlinks (external)
Search engines
Social media
Create blog
Distribute an e-newsletter

11. Hyperlinks (external links)
• A hyperlink is a word(s) or image that takes you to another
location on the web. This can be a web page, file (e.g., PDF)
or an image. Hyperlinks can be internal or external.
• External hyperlinks (links from another web site directing
people to your site) can increase traffic to your site
• Quality is more important than quantity
• Leverage existing relationships
• Focus on your audience
• What types of sites content are they viewing online?

12. Search Engines

13. Search Engines
SEO stands for “search engine optimization.” It is the process of
getting traffic from the “organic” or “natural” listings on search
engines. All major search engines have such results, where web
pages and other content such as videos or local listings are
shown and ranked based on what the search engine considers
most relevant to users. Payment isn’t involved, as it is with paid
search ads.1
1 searchengineland.com

14. Search Engines
• Most of our online research starts here
• Organic Search
• Only 2% of go past the 1st page of search results
• There are several things to focus on to increase how high you
rank, but quality content is the most important aspect
• Paid Search
• You can pay to appear on the search results
• Typically, you pay for each click you get

15. Other Ways to Increase Traffic

16. Create a Blog

17. Social Media

18. eNewsletter

19. Tracking Site Visitors
• Tracking visitors is essential to measuring whether you are:
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Achieving your objective
Achieving your target ROI
Reaching your audience
Providing good content
• What terms you need to know
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Visits
Pageviews
Unique pageviews
Average time on page
Bounce rate