Only 20% of website content actually gets read

Why we’ve become scanners is less important than what we should do about it.

But for the curious, here are two reasons why:

1. It’s simply not as comfortable to read large volumes of text on a screen, let alone a small mobile one where most all digital content is being consumed.
2. In general, we’re looking for specific answers or information, once we’ve found it we’re good, or if we can’t find it quickly, we’re clicking back and looking somewhere else.

So what does this mean for your website?

Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind as you create new content or review your existing copy for improvements:

• On the whole, keep it brief and to the point! Best way to do this, think power statements v. prose. “Get a website that drives new business by a team you can count on” is different than “Since our founding, Big Rig Media has been focused on.”
• Don’t bury multiple thoughts in a 5-7 sentence paragraph. Instead, give each key point its own paragraph which will help keep your paragraphs short and improve the scan ability of the reader.
• Highlight key points in bold and where appropriate, create bulleted lists like was done here.

The guidelines above are actually pretty straightforward to apply. The hardest part will be applying a little objectivity. When you consume other company’s content, it’s easy to critique. When it comes to our own there’s a little “but everyone loves reading about our history.”

Up for a little test: Go on about your day. When done think back to how you engaged with business sites you interacted with. We’re willing to bet you didn’t consume large quantities of text or info. You simply scanned for the info you were looking for and once found went on about your day.

So when it comes to your websites content, remember the adage: less is more.