Reading content on laptops and PCs is relatively easy because the content is equally divided and the massive space of the screen facilitates the viewers. Keeping this in mind, Jacob Nielson introduced his research of the golden triangle which showed that the readers only saw the content on the top of the page. While this is true for the wide screen users who prefer to stay on the first pages of the search engines, the same rule cannot be applied to the mobile users.
Research by Briggsby showed that the mobile users tend to look in the center of the screen because there isn’t much space available for eye movement. The purpose of informing the readers of this change is that we need to abandon the good old practices and opt for new and modern strategies for enhanced mobile readability.
Opt for Images Instead of Content-Only Design
Eye-tracking studies similar to the golden triangle revealed that the mobile users tend to look at the pictures more On April 21, 2015, Google rolled out its new mobile-friendly feature which meant that the Google algorithm would rank sites on search engines considering their responsiveness to mobile users. The marketers were so afraid that they started labeling the new feature as ‘mobilegeddon’.
With time, marketers and website owners started to focus more on resizing their websites to facilitate the mobile users. While they were busy in the redesigning of the websites, many of the content developers and designers ignored the most important aspect of the responsive websites: mobile copywriting.
Yes, mobile copywriting is a newly introduced term, and it is apparently important as it affects the ranking of your website no matter how quick or responsive your website layout is to the mobile users. Now the question is how do you write an optimized web copy for mobile users? It’s simple. Just follow the following critical lessons and you are all set!
Reading Mobile Content is Different from Desktop Content
No matter what the people tell you, reading content on bigger screens would always be different from reading content on mobile. This means that the same strategies cannot be applied to both of them.
than they look at the text. And to prove it to the public, a KG (Knowledge Graph) study was conducted which proved that the mobile users pay more attention to the images.
Although the user’s eye is drawn to the images, that doesn’t mean that you should plaster images everywhere. Only use images when it is providing some strength to your cause, and if not, then it is better to drop the idea of adding pictures altogether.
Don’t Overstuff Your Content
Been there done that! We all are a little guilty of stuffing the content with unnecessary words and phrases to reach a certain word count. But when it comes to the mobile, concise writing is the key. It doesn’t have anything to do with the attention span of the readers, but it all depends on the size of the screen.
Your goal should always be to present the users with a plethora of information without them having to press or swipe to access more information. The volume of content should never be your focus, but to remain on deliverance of your message within the provided space. You do not need to follow the preconceived length of an article because you can keep it short while writing in a diligent manner.
Focus on Short, Strong Titles
Titles are always important no matter the genre of the writing. When it comes to writing mobile content, the length of the titles can be a make it or break it factor. The reason for this is because if the heading is of considerable length, then half of you topic would be hidden/cut due to the size of the screen. When you produce shorter and stronger headings, your titles can be easily viewed and quickly scanned by readers.
The appearance of the title also depends on the mobile designers. The mobile designers need to realize that there is no need to design colossal titles, and you can also save the readers and the designers by sticking with the essential words in the headings.
Start with Attention Grabbing Sentences
The blogs and articles have a better chance of surviving on the larger screens. Due to the massive amount of space available, the starting few paragraphs can be read without opening the article/blog, but the mobile users can only view three or four lines of the blog.
To make the most of that limited space always try to write captivating and the most powerful content to attract the attention of the users. Keep it short but maintain an aura of curiosity and mystery so that the readers read your complete article out of curiosity.
Whatever you do, just never be boring in the opening sentences!
Use Shorter Paragraphs
With so many things to pay attention to, mobile users have developed a very short attention span.
Everybody knows that the paragraphs represent a whole thought, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can play with the length of passage as much as you want.. Instead, break down the passage and opt for a single to two lines of the paragraph because you don’t want to bore the readers with lengthy ones.
Break down the paragraphs and keep the attention of the readers going on for a longer period than usual and forget longer paragraphs because they break the normal and smooth flow of the readers.
By now, you must have realized how different mobile copywriting is from the normal copywriting. To leave an impact on the readers and to grab their attention for a longer span, it is better to produce shorter but stronger content.