Instantly Improve Your Blogs and Website with These Easy Formatting Tips (With Video)

It can even be added to the content you already have online.

Do you know the one thing that makes your content easier to read and improves your SEO. Plus, it isn’t that hard to learn. The answer is… formatting. 

You have a lot of content. It’s even high-quality content with useful and needed tips, recommendations and research. I mean, you went to school, wrote countless papers and filled your head with amazing knowledge for helping people. 

Even better, you continue to learn. And now – you are writing blogs and websites to broaden your impact and help more people.

But, some of the writing skills you learned in school don’t necessarily help with writing blogs and websites for people to read online. When people read stuff on the internet, they are likely using their cell phones. 

This means they are reading in the park, on the train, or while waiting in line at the store. 

This boils down to this: your content needs to be easy to skim. 

Formatting is an easy-to-learn concept you can apply to all your online content. So, here we go. 

Simple ways to use formatting to improve your blogs and websites. 

Use Heading and Subheadings

Listen up! This is my number one piece of advice. You can improve your blogs and websites just by focusing on formatting headings correctly. 

Headings make it so much easier for the reader. They know what each section is about. They can digest your material easily without needing to read every word.  

The other amazing benefit is that using correct headings and help you improve your search engine optimization (SEO). Because, by using titles and subheadings with keywords, search engines are able to understand what your content is about.

Then, Google can index it correctly and present it to people who are looking online for your content. 

This is THE key: Use Heading 1 for your title and Heading 2 for your subheadings. 

Because I believe this is so important, check out my video below to learn how to make headings and subheadings correctly. 

Break Up Long Paragraphs

If you are a rehabilitation professional, you are likely making this common mistake. You write long paragraphs. I get it. This is what you did in school. But try to break up those long paragraphs.

It’s too overwhelming for the reader.

Especially the reader on their little cell phone screen. 

When readers come to long paragraphs, they will just skip right on over them. So, you need to write differently than in school. Paragraphs should be short. Like 2-3 sentences short. 

You can even throw in some single-line paragraphs for impact. 

Use Bulleted Lists

Instead of listing out information in a sentence, try putting items in a bulleted list. Here is an extra tip to consider: bullets are good for listing out ideas and numbered lists are preferred when the list follows a specific sequence. 

Some great ideas for bulleted lists:

• Things you commonly treat
• Types of interventions
• Reasons your services are unique
• Reasons to seek therapy services

 Readers love lists because they:

• Are easy to read.
• Clearly present a lot of information
• Short and Sweet for skimmers
• Give extra visual space

Use your lists wisely because people will read a list when they skim the rest of your content. 

Add Some Pictures or Images

People are more likely to continue reading when there is some sort of visual content. This could be a picture related to your message or a graph or image. Images give the reader a break and quickly convey messages to a skimmer. 

Because Sometimes You Need To See How It’s Done – Watch My How-To Video

Not sure how to implement the suggestions above? Watch my video where I give step-by-step instructions on how to set-up your headings, break up some paragraphs and add some bullets. 

Formatting for the Instant Blog or Website Upgrade

You’re now ready for your next writing mission! If you implement these principles, your writing will instantly be more readable and search engine friendly.

You may want to go back through your web site or your blogs and look for places to add headings, break up paragraphs or add some bullets. 

Doing these things will make people more likely to read, share, and build a relationship with your business.

So glad we got to learn together. Check out my other writing resources in my blog.

• How OT and Copywriter can help market your business.
• Learn the basics of SEO
  
• How to Create Better Handouts

Ready to bring your website or blog to the next level to grow your business? Set up a free consult to learn more about my services as an occupational therapist copywriter.

Or, go the DIY route and write your blogs in-house. Learn how to write SEO blogs (or share with a staff member).

To learn more, check out my blogging mini-course: Biz Blog Essentials