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In week 4 of my Technical Writing module, we learned about writing for the web. Learning how to craft the perfect tweet was particularly interesting and I was thoroughly entertained hearing my classmates’ takes on Daily Mail headlines and clickbait articles.

Here are a few of the tips I took away from my lecture:

Short and snappy

According to a study conducted by the Nielson Norman group, the average viewer only reads about 18% of what you write. That might sound depressing but knowing that you must make every word count can help you to make the most of language! Get creative with your words and you’ll be surprised at how quickly your writing improves.

Titles

Headlines are super important. They are the first thing your audience will read and the deciding factor as to whether they click to find out more. Your title should pique curiosity, ask questions and give enough information to the reader to draw them in.

Subheadings

I’m a big fan of this one. Subheadings allow readers to skim your text and get to the information they really want to know.

SEO

Search Engine Optimisation. Basically, it’s how you ensure your work goes to the top of the Google rankings. Researching can help you to zone in on the keywords you should include in your posts, while categories and tags organise your content and make navigating your site much easier. I found this fantastic blog post by housewifehustle, which gives a more in-depth look at SEO and how you can use it to your advantage when writing for the web.

There are lots more helpful articles out there, with loads of tips on how to improve your online writing. Check out this article by The Art of Blogging or these SEO tips from New Lune. Know any other good tips? Let me know in the comments down below!