If you want your audience to read the entire blog post on your website, make sure you write content that is easy to read. It will help you have loyal visitors and an increased conversion rate. Today, I am going to take you through how you can improve the readability of your blog posts. These steps are recommended by an SEO agency in Los Angeles.

Keep your audience in mind

An SEO agency in Los Angeles advises you to write for your audience. One of the most important things that you should keep in mind is writing for your target audience. If you write what your customers or potential customers want to hear, then you should have sales. For example, if you write about beauty products, the content should be aimed primarily at women and other beauty lovers of all ages, and it should be easy to understand. However, if your target audience is Ph.D. scholars, then the content should be more challenging, but still relevant to the target audience. If you write about LEGOs, the content of the blog post should be the easiest to understand, marketed to younger children. 

Now let’s dig deeper into some of the content writing rules, keeping the SEO perspective in mind. 

Always write short and clear paragraphs

A great blog post is a combination of short and clear paragraphs. Start a paragraph with the main idea and elaborate it in the later sentences of the paragraph. It will help the reader understand what you are talking about. If you want to add a new idea, concept, or new topic, start a new paragraph. A paragraph should not be longer than 6 to 7 short sentences. 

Write short sentences

Shorter sentences are always easy to understand and read – it’s a no brainer! Secondly, there are lesser chances of grammatical errors as they are short and nice. A sentence that has more than 20 words is considered as a long sentence. Writing sentences that have less than 20 words is always recommended. However, this limit changes as we write in other languages. A paragraph must contain one long sentence along with several short sentences. 

Minimize the use of difficult words

According to Scientific America, reading on screens entirely differs from reading on paper. It does not just apply to generation Z, but also everyone who reads on a screen. Limit the use of the words which are hard to understand. As a general rule, words with more than four syllables are hard to read, so minimize them where possible. 

Of course, in some niches, you need an advanced vocabulary to explain things. For example, if I write about artificial intelligence, it has more syllables, and it is often considered a difficult phrase. But I can not skip this word as a whole. In this case if I use sentences and paragraphs that are short, it will be easier to read the text. 

Unless you are writing about a specific niche, make less use of difficult words. Even if you have to use them, try to find better alternatives to difficult words.

Use proper transition words to cement the sentences

You can make your writing easy to read and understand by just using adding transition words where possible. Here is a list of transition words by SEO agency Los Angeles which are used too commonly:

• Besides that
• Therefore
• Because
• Still 
• However
• But

Transition words give direction to the reader. They reveal in what direction the content is moving ahead, whether the writer is going towards a conclusion or summarizing or explaining the topic further. If you are explaining several points, you will write, first, second, third, etc. and if you are comparing things, then you can use words such as either, while, instead, same or less. For the conclusion of the things, you will use consequently, hence, or therefore.

In simple words, transition words are used to cement your sentences so that their meaning becomes apparent. If you use transition words properly, your readers will better understand the content. 

Create juicy sentences by mixing them up a little

For a content piece to be attractive, it should have a mix of things. Mix sentences a little to make them engaging because the ultimate goal is to increase audience engagement. Use short sentences for the alternative longer paragraphs. Use synonyms as much as you can. Commonly people use words like ‘too’ and ‘and’ a lot. Use words like ‘moreover’ and ‘also’ to make your sentences readable. 

Use Yoast SEO plugin 

If you follow all the above instructions, you will surely have highly readable blog content. However, if you are not sure whether it’s up to the mark or not, use the Yoast SEO plugin to check every detail about your content. You can check paragraphs, sentences, use of transitions, and subheadings. It also assesses the use of passive voice. A Yoast SEO plugin measures the Flesch Reading score, which reveals whether your content is readable or not. 

If you want your audience to read your blog post till the end, make sure it is easy to read. Never make the content difficult by using difficult vocabulary. Avoid long paragraphs and sentences. Instead, write clear paragraphs with short sentences. Install the Yoast Plugin to make sure the readability score is perfect.