Texts on the internet that truly get noticed

Where do your customers spend their time these days? That's right! Online – whether on search engines like Google, or on platforms like Instagram or LinkedIn. This means that the main communication takes place on the internet, especially in the form of text on your website. This brings new challenges to customer engagement: How do you ensure that users find you on the World Wide Web? How do you stand out from the multitude of websites? How can you get users excited about your content, products, or services?

Everyone knows that an online presence is essential for reaching customers these days. After all, search engines like Google are the leading source of information, whether for research or shopping. The number of websites grows daily, which simultaneously increases the competition for top search engine rankings. To illustrate this, take a look at the Google search query "jeans." In just 0.50 seconds, you get an astonishing 2,210,000,000 results.

This shows how many websites you have to navigate to be found in the top 10 results for this search query. Of course, "jeans" is an extremely popular search term, and this isn't true for every search query to the same degree. Nevertheless, due to the sheer number of existing websites, Google can always offer users an impressive selection of search results for various queries.

Texts are read when they are found.

Focusing on keywords initially helps websites be found. However, once your site ranks in the top 10, the challenge lies in convincing users to actually visit it. The first contact between user and website occurs via the search result preview, which consists of the title tag, meta description, and URL. Google's search results are limited in size, meaning there's only a limited number of characters available.

Title-Tag

• 50 and 60 characters
• precise and relevant to the content
• clearly
• Keyword relevant

Meta-Description

• 150 and 160 characters
• The main topic briefly and concisely
• Keyword relevant
• Call to action

Beyond this formal challenge, the most important aspect of creating a page preview is capturing the user's interest. After all, they still have a choice between ten results, and statistics show that the first result is usually preferred. To capture the user's interest, you have several options at your disposal:

• Clearly emphasize the unique selling points (USPs) or advantages of your content or offer.
• Use special characters such as stars, checkmarks, hearts, and similar symbols to attract attention.
• Address users directly with "you" or "you", depending on what is appropriate for your target audience.
• Evoke emotions and offer opportunities for identification, for example with phrases like "Your new product XY".
• End the meta description with a clear call to action, for example, "Discover our extensive selection here!"

However, it's crucial to ensure you don't create unrealistic expectations in users that you can't fulfill. If users visit your site and find that the promises aren't kept, they'll quickly return to the search results page. Therefore, you should focus on generating interest without creating false expectations. Don't promise unicorns if you only offer ponies.

Texts gain attention when they are tailored to the needs and interests of your target audience.

To avoid getting lost in the sea of content, targeted communication with your audience is a crucial success factor. Don't write for a general readership; instead, tailor your texts specifically to the people you want to reach. Take the time to define your target audience precisely and analyze it thoroughly.

• What concerns drive them? What questions do they ask?
• What are their needs?
• When readers see themselves reflected in your content, a feeling of familiarity arises. They sense that you understand them and share your views.

This can create a strong emotional bond that motivates the reader to return regularly and eventually become an enthusiastic supporter.

There are various ways to tailor texts to the target audience. On a linguistic level, you can achieve this by:

• Use the appropriate and suitable form of address, be it "Du" or "Sie".
• The choice of words should be designed to create a suitable and appropriate style of language, be it familiar and friendly, factual or emotionally appealing.
• Use images and metaphors that relate to the target audience.
• In terms of content, you can achieve this by addressing specific questions and needs associated with a particular topic in your text.

Keyword tools can already provide some of these terms, which you can then select and expand upon for your target audience. The point here isn't so much to strictly adhere to pre-defined personas, as is often the case in marketing. It's much more important to understand what kind of people (men, women, seniors, students, decision-makers, etc.) you're writing for and what their life situation is. It's extremely helpful to put yourself in your target audience's shoes and consider how they think and feel. For example, the approach for new parents looking for advice on baby food should logically be different from that for executives considering implementing expensive ERP software.

Before you begin creating content, it is therefore crucial to thoroughly understand your target audience: Who are the people for whom your product or service is intended? Which target group do you want to reach with your blog? Who is interested in your expertise? Define clear criteria, such as:

• Gender
• Alter
• Marital status
• Profession
• etc.

By implementing this targeted approach, you can ensure that your content is appealing and relevant to your target audience.

Texts find readers when they speak directly to the user.

Online texts must be reader-friendly because online reading habits differ from those offline. Online readers tend to skim, scan, and read content before delving deeper. This is due to the digital environment and the need for quick answers to most search queries. Therefore, a text should meet users' needs by providing them with quick answers to their questions. This can be achieved through careful text structure.

• Use bullet points to highlight important information.
• Insert headings to summarize the following section.
• Integrate user questions (which you identified through keyword research) as subheadings.
• Visualization of comparisons and provision of overview tables.
• Placement of a table of contents with internal jump links at the beginning of long texts.
• Summary of the most important facts at the end of long texts.

Readability also depends on formal factors:

• The optimal line length is 60 to 80 characters to improve readability, as longer lines make it difficult to find the beginning of the next line and moving the head can be tiring as the line width increases.
• 65 characters correspond to approximately ten words on average, but both lines that are too short and lines that are too long can be off-putting.
• On desktops, easy-to-read lines can be achieved through image-text combinations or a two-column layout, while on mobile devices the above recommendations can be implemented well.

To be read by users, your content must first be positively evaluated by search engines, as they represent the initial hurdle. However, you ultimately write not for search engines, but for readers. These readers are more demanding today, as they can choose from an ever-increasing selection of websites. Users don't have to stay on a page they don't like and can simply return to the search results page to select another option. This return, known as the bounce rate, is tracked by search engines and can negatively impact your ranking. Therefore, it is crucial that your content satisfies users and meets their expectations.

Before you start creating your content, you should determine the intent of users when they enter specific terms into search engines. You can do this by analyzing the top 10 search results for these terms. Examine which types of pages are already ranking well: are they transactional pages that sell products, or informative content such as magazines and blogs? This will help you better understand and tailor your content to user preferences.

• Check whether the content should be transaction-oriented or information-oriented.
• Determine the appropriate length for your text.
• Consider whether visual elements such as videos should be integrated into your content.

By following best practices while adding your own personal touch, you can ensure your texts appeal to users and meet their needs. Online texts that resonate well are characterized by the following features:

• They are user-friendly and easy to read, especially on mobile devices.
• They have a clear structure and a logical layout.
• They offer help, information, or entertainment.
• They answer questions or address needs.
• They are tailored to the target group and promote identification.
• In addition to text, they also contain visual elements such as images, graphics, or videos.