3 Copywriting Tips to Increase SEO Readability Ranking on Your Site and Blog Posts

Search engine optimization (SEO) is an important part of successful digital marketing. Optimizing your content helps get it in front of your target audience, so you can attract more leads and ultimately grow your business.

When it comes to optimizing your content, including relevant keywords is certainly important, but it’s not all that matters.

Google and other search engines also care about the readability of your content, which means they are more likely to show well-written content higher in the search results.

How can you improve your copywriting and boost the SEO ranking of your blog posts?

Today we’ll dive into the top three tips for improving readability.

What is Readability?

Readability defines how reader-friendly your content is. Will readers find it enjoyable to read? If so, then it’s more likely to rank higher in search engines also. Search engines prioritize content that’s easy to read and understand.

One of the top considerations for readability is the difficulty. If your content is rated as very difficult, then it will have a lower readability rating. However, the difficulty is not the only factor. Properly using headings, paragraphs, sentence length, and more contribute to readability.

How Can I Measure Readability?

You should examine every article you create for readability. This way, you can make any necessary adjustments and help increase its SEO.

There are a few ways to measure readability, but we use the Yoast SEO plug-in for WordPress. This plugin provides you with an SEO readability analysis that is used to improve readability in real-time. Yoast provides you with tips for improving readability, especially in regard to three key areas we will dive into shortly.

1 - Passive Voice

Too much passive voice harms readability. Yoast SEO recommends using passive voice in no more than 10% of sentences. What exactly is passive voice? Active voice is a sentence structure where the actor does something to a receiver. For example, “she watered the flowers”. On the other hand, passive voice puts the receiver as the subject. “The flowers were watered by her.” Passive voice cannot be avoided all the time, but you should aim to minimize it. Here are the reasons to limit passive voice:
  • Wordy, creates unnecessarily longer sentences
  • Complex sentence structure, which is harder to read.
  • Disrupts clarity.
Whenever possible, swap out passive sentences for the active voice. Doing so improves the clarity and readability of your text.

2 - Transition Words

Transition words help text flow and connect different parts of the content. Transition words show the relationship between phrases and sentences. Using them helps readers better understand how your ideas intertwine. For example, transition words illuminate cause and effect, provide clarification, offer contrast, set up examples, and more.

Often, we find transition words at the beginning of a sentence. However, they may also appear in the middle of phrases.

Why do transition words matter? They improve readability by making text easier to understand. They create a better sentence structure that helps readers understand your content.

Here are some examples of transition words to include:

  • First
  • Second
  • Third
  • Lastly
  • Finally
  • Therefore
  • However
  • Because
  • Coupled with
  • In the same fashion
  • In light of
  • Not to mention
  • Equally important
  • By the same token
  • Also
  • Like
  • As
  • Similarly
  • Identically
  • Equally
  • In contrast
  • Then again
  • After all
  • In reality
  • In spite of
  • Granted
  • So long as
  • With this in mind
  • In order to
  • In other words
  • For this reason
  • On the positive / negative side
  • In effect
  • Hence
  • Thus
  • In the long run
  • Given these points
  • For the most part
  • Overall
  • Usually
  • Sooner or later
  • In the meantime
  • All of the sudden

3 - Flesch Reading Score

The Yoast SEO plugin also provides you with a Flesch reading ease score. This score demonstrates how easy your content is to read. The score relies on two key factors: average sentence length and the average number of syllables per word. To receive a “green” rating on Yoast, your Flesch reading score must be below 60.

A score between 60 and 80 is considered ideal for web copy, as most 13-15-year-old students should be able to understand it. It’s true, your target audience may not be teens. However, you still want simple text that people are willing to read.

Shorten your sentences to improve your Flesch reading score. Long sentences increase reading difficulty. They also make it harder for a reader to follow. Break long, complex sentences into shorter sentences. You can even add transition words for smooth flow.

Use simple words. Limit the use of long, difficult words. Along with this tip, avoid overusing jargon. When possible, use the simplest alternative words in your text.

Engage 2 Engage is Here to Help!

Implementing these simple tips will help you boost the SEO ranking of your blog posts and websites. Of course, doing so does take time. That’s where we come in. Engage 2 Engage is here to help you design, implement, and automate your marketing needs. That includes copywriting. We can help you get the most compelling, SEO-friendly content. Learn more about our Programs today! 

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