Using Visuals in your Online Writing

Visuals are a very important part of writing online. Unlike reading a book, searching online is very much about "looking" as much as it is about reading. However, you need to be sure to use visuals that support or continue the main ideas and are relevant to your article -- otherwise, they are just fluff.

There's enough "fluff" on the internet these days, you want to add valuable, useful information to the billions of pages available out there, including your visuals.

What's the Deal with Visuals? 

Users are hunting for specific information when they type into a search engine. Everything on your webpage, post or article should convey that information to the user. It's been proven over and over again that internet users first "look" at a webpage for something to catch their eye.

It could be bold or italicized fonts, highlighted links, videos, graphics or images. You have just a couple of seconds time to capture their attention so they will decide to stay and scan or read your content. You need to "hook" them.

Videos, graphics and images are a great way to capture that attention. However, to include any old image or one without relevance to your topic can backfire on you.

Your credibility is always on the line. Don't try to "trick" the user into staying. Visuals need to support the information/content you are delivering.

Ideas for Visuals

As with the visual above, you can make your own. Pull a quote from your article to highlight an important piece if information or make a statistic stand out.

Photos are great visual content as well. Be choosy. Don't use a photo simply because you like it. I should relate to or be the subject of your topic. Be careful when choosing photos. Copyright infringement is rampant on the internet. It's stealing. Don't do it.

Best practice is to take your own photos or make your own graphics. Even if you are reviewing a product you own, take a photo of it as it sits in your home instead of using the manufacturers photo.

The bottom line is, online users want information quickly and efficiently. They won't remember all the text in your article but they will remember visuals that carry an important message.

Interesting Stats About Using Images

Infographic by MDG Advertising

How Internet Users Read Online

It's a fact -- people online don't read the same way they do print. That's not to say they don't read at all, as some people profess, just differently.

There have been a number of studies conducted to find out how we all read and interact with content on the internet. Knowing their findings can actually make us better writers.

If you know the "how" of readers online, you can make sure your articles and posts are formatted for the best chance of reading success. Let's take a look at some of the statistics.

Internet Behavior Statistics

• In a study by Missouri University of Science and Technology, it was concluded that readers spend 2.6 seconds scanning a webpage prior to settling on a particular section (or hitting the back button). First impressions are very important.  
• In a usability test the Neilson Norman Group tried different styles of writing. When 3 styles were combined (scannable, concise and objectionable) the users tested found the content 124% more usable.
• Relevance -- Most experts agree that relevance of the content is most important to turn a scanner into a reader. Angie Schottmuller (Inbound Marketing Advisor) has even come up with the "Triangle of Relevance" formula to help give searchers what they want in our writing. 
• According to another Neilson Norman Group Study, people actually read content when it meets 2 goals: Information Architecture and Good Page Layout. 

Changing Our Style of Writing So It Will Be Read

Now that we have some statistics related to how internet users read, all we have to do is tailor our writing to them. Sounds simple, right? With a few stylistic changes, you will have a much better chance of being read -- word for word -- rather than scanned. Make sure you aren't making any of these mistakes in your online writing either...

Check out some of our other articles for specific ideas for titles, page layout, info architecture, using images and more!