The document provides tips for writing effective content for the web. It notes that people have very short attention spans online, typically only paying attention for 5-8 seconds. To capture attention, titles are extremely important and should be clickable, controversial if appropriate, and use plain language. Content needs to draw readers in within the first few sentences to keep them engaged. Both internal and external linking is important for search engines and to share quality information. The overall message is that online content needs to be tightly focused and optimized to capture short attention spans.

1. Writing for the Web
You have my complete attention
for 8 seconds

2. Everything has changed
A Nielsen survey conducted in
fourth-quarter 2011 found that
45% of Americans who owned
tablets used them daily while
watching TV, with 26% noting
simultaneous use of both
several times during the day.

3. Everything continues to evolve
New research from Nielsen found that 88 percent of
U.S. tablet owners use their devices while they watch
television.
86% of smartphone owners say they use their phones
as a second screen at least some of the time.

5. Are you paying attention?
• Have you checked your email since this
webinar started?
• How long do you wait before you look at your
phone after it vibrates during a meeting?
• Do you have this webinar minimized?

6. Attention is the new currency
You are competing with every other fragment of
life that is demanding your readers attention.

7. You used to have 12 minutes
Since the 1950‟s Americans have been
conditioned to pay attention for 12
minutes.
12 minutes was the average duration
between tv commercials…

8. At most, you have 5 minutes
In the 21st century that 12 minutes has
dropped to 5 minutes and seven
seconds.

9. Nobody reads the whole page
An Associated Press survey conducted in January of
2012 found that the percentage of page views that last
less than 4 seconds was 17%, while views over 10
minutes was 4%.

10. Content Curation
The way we get information has changed.
Walter Cronkite was once the
gatekeeper, now people use
very different methods to
decide what is important.

11. Content Curation
The way we get information has changed.
36 percent of Americans
under 30 getting their
news through social-
networking type sites.

12. Crowdsourced News

13. It’s all about the title

14. It’s all about the title
part 1
A good title can make the difference between
being found or not.
Research in the US showed that it accounted
for 30% of a user‟s decision of which result to
click on.

15. A real life story of a killer title

16. A real life story of a killer title

17. A real life story of
a killer title
What happened? Some clever
boys read my headline, improved
it and got all my fame (that I
honestly didn't deserve). But it
made me realise one thing:
Writing a good headline is the
single most important thing
you can do in successful
online publishing.

18. It’s all about the title
part 2
You have first think about clickability.
Nothing can happen until you get your reader
to notice your headline.

19. It’s all about the title
part 2
Reworking the title of a story can make all the
difference between ho-hum and must-read.

23. How to write better titles
Avoid puns

24. How to write better titles
Avoid puns
Don’t be too short. Rarely (almost never) use
short, verb-less labels as main titles for stories. They fail
to tell the story.

25. Write better titles
Avoid puns
Don’t be too short.
Be controversial. There‟s no better guarantee of catching
a reader‟s attention than to stir up a little controversy. Be
bold, dare to incite a little indignation, or get the pulse
racing just a bit. Don‟t be moronic about it though. You
don‟t need to incite a riot.

26. Write better titles
Avoid puns
Don’t be too short.
Be controversial.
Tell stories people can relate to. Create a
headline, title or slogan that tells a story people can
immediately recognize and relate to, and they may just
start telling your story for you.

27. Write better titles
Avoid puns
Don’t be too short.
Be controversial.
Tell stories people can relate to.
Use hot keywords like Apple and Al Jazeera (instead
of Hardware and Qatar TV Channel). People love to
read stories about topics they‟re interested in. Some
trends endure longer than others, whilst some are short
lived – but if you‟re writing about a hot topic, be sure to
drop in those keywords to whet your reader‟s appetite.

28. How to write better titles
Use plain English. Search engines don‟t understand
metaphors, puns, or other forms of wordplay, and
people don‟t use them when searching for information
– use plain English.

29. How to write better titles
Use plain English.
Explain your headline with your subheadings. Add a
h2 headline which is a sentence explaining your h1
headline. Example: h1 – „SEO Training Raleigh‟, h2 –
„We‟re the first professional search engine optimization
company in Raleigh offering training services‟.

30. They’ve clicked! Now what?
Google Analytic‟s Conversion University: Recent
research suggests that users decide to stay
or leave your site in 8 seconds or less — in
that short amount of time, headlines are the
one piece of copy that users will actually
read.

31. Really, 8 seconds?
Yes, you have 8 measly seconds to prove
that your content is worthy of their time.
Reading to this point just took
about 8 seconds

32. If you make it past 8 seconds
If you write a very short piece with only
111 words (2 paragraphs) most people will
read about ½ of it.
If you write a longer piece, say
600 words, they will read about
28% of it.

33. Should I just give up?

34. No, don’t give up
Every word needs to draw in your reader
with the promise of something even better is
coming next.
Edit, edit, edit. Then edit some more.

35. No, don’t give up
The only way to make an impact is to put out
a stream of high quality content on a
regular schedule.
Ask yourself before you publish
something, “would I share this?”

36. Content Creation
Writing for the web is about existing within a
complex and vibrant ecosystem where the
best content rises to the top in a meritocracy.
Okay, that‟s not actually the case, but great
content has a huge advantage.

37. People promote their friends
Expand your network
online.
Use your network to help
you when you need a little
push, but don‟t become
“that guy”.

38. Content Creation
From a pure SEO perspective, don‟t bother
publishing a page with less than 250 words
on it.
If you‟re writing over 800 words, make sure
you stay focused.

39. Learning while doing
There are great tools available for writers
who need some guidance when it comes to
writing tight, focused, optimized content for
the web.
scribeseo.com

40. Internal Linking
Writing for the web means you
have to be much more aware of
what has come before. You need
to link to other content you have
written, products you carry and
you need to do it intelligently.

41. External Linking
You are not an expert on everything. DO
NOT BE AFRAID TO LINK OUT to sites that
have more in-depth information.
Linking out to other sites can also get you
links back if done correctly.

42. Thank You
Phil Buckley
Director of SEO
Virante.com
@1918