Information foraging
At a time when there is more information around than at any other time in history,people don't have time to open every email, or read entire web pages in the hope they'll read something interesting. Instead, they forage for information like wild animals forage for food.
They sniff out snippets of information, looking for clues which will lead them to facts to satiate their hunger for information.
Writing for the web is all about assisting this process, about providing good, nutritious information which satisfies the reader and will make them come back for more.
More importantly, you need to make your information easy to find, and this is where Google can help.
Searching Google
Many people begin their journey of discovery on Google. In fact, Google is the search engine of choice for over 90% of the UK's web users.
A typical web search will begin with the web user wanting to find out information about a subject or how to complete a task, e.g "I want to find out about examples" or "how can I fight bad examples?"
They may type "examples" or "how can I fight bad examples" into the Google search box.
The Google Search Engine Results Page (a phenomenon so significant it's even been given it's own acronym - SERP) will display a series of results in response to that query which the user must then decide which is the most relevent so they can click the link and continue on their journey of discovery.
There's three ways that a user can make a decision about whether a Google search result is worth clicking on, each of which offers a clue as to what value the destination page might have, and how they'll be rewarded if they click on it.
- Page title
This should be a good indicator of what the destination page is about. It appears at the very top of the browser window when the page loads and describes the main subject of a page. Take a look - the very top of this browser window should say "How people read on the web - Virtual Construction." - Description or sample text
This can either be a description of the destination page's content or some sample text which contains the keyword or phrase you searched for. A bit of context should help the web user decide whether that link is worth clicking on. - URL
The web address of the destination page may also be a persuader. Does it contain the search keyword? If so, there's a chance that it's directly relevant and worth clicking on.
To return to the information foraging analogy, these three small pieces of content make up the "information scent" and help the user decide whether or not there's likely to be a feast of information at the end of that link.
Optimising these three morsels of information is part of the dark art of Search Engine Optimisation, and we'll show you how to get the best out of them later.
Reading
Once a user clicks on a link, they arrive at your website, but notice they haven't arrived at The Example Foundation's homepage - they've landed on an internal page full of content about a specific subject. Hopefully, the content you've written is exactly what they're looking for.
Numerous studies, reports and anecdotal evidence shows that people read web pages differently to paper pages. Of particular importance to content writers:
- people generally read 25% slower on the web
- reading online is generally less comfortable due to a back-lit display and the flickering of traditional montors
- people skim-read or "scan" web pages in an F pattern, starting at the top left (where most organisations put their logo), then along the top of the page (where the main navigation usually goes) and then down the page, looking for visual clues such as subheadings or keywords at the start of paragraphs.
So good practice seems to be:
- write less
- put your important information at the top of your article
- break up the text with subheadings and white space
- start paragraphs with the most important words/ideas
We'll discuss some of these tips in more depth as we move through the six steps.
Next: How robots read the web