At the latest when you use an SEO plug-in, you will come across the readability analysis as a content marketer. What is analyzed here and why you should pay attention to readability. I also give you practical tips on how to improve the readability of your texts.
That’s why readability is SEO-relevant!
First and foremost, readability has something to do with user-friendliness. People who are looking for information, a product or an answer will find their way around more quickly in a comprehensible text.
The positive experience of getting to your destination in an uncomplicated way strengthens customer loyalty and increases the likelihood that users will return to your site.
For longer pages and complex topics, good readability improves reading motivation. This increases the time spent on your page.
Or to put it the other way round: poorly readable texts reduce the attention and receptiveness of your readers, so that they are more likely to leave your page and look elsewhere for a suitable answer. But not only your users like understandable texts. As Google announced in the Helpful Content Update, this is also the search engine’s priority: users should find answers to their questions as quickly and easily as possible. That’s why content with added value is rewarded by Google – and added value doesn’t just mean precise answers, but also attractively designed answers that the user actually wants to read.
Adjust the readability to your target audience
There is one factor I have left out so far: The degree of readability depends not only on your texts, but also on the reading skills of your users! Depending on the target group, you can assume different levels of prior knowledge and adapt your language. That’s why it’s important to get to know your target audience. This way you can better assess your readership and address them specifically.
In B2B business, technical terms are a sign of competence and do not pose a hurdle for the readership. This way you can even distinguish your site from B2C sites. Nevertheless, you should not use scientific elaborations. After all, even a professional would like to get to the information on your page quickly and easily. In other cases, for example with public authorities, it is important to publish texts with as few barriers as possible. Here it can be useful to use “light language”, which is deliberately designed so that people with reading difficulties can understand it.
