Internet surfers are looking for access to fast, easy-to-find information. They don’t want to spend any extra time searching for information. They want to find what they’re looking for so that they can move on and get back to whatever else they have to do as quickly as possible.

When a reader lands on one of our articles, most aren’t going to take the time to read the entire thing. I know that I rarely do. I seldom take the time to read an entire article. I peruse the article for concepts that can help me the most and I read only those paragraphs that interest me the most.

How to Create Content for Casual Readers

Here’s some ways to make your articles easier for your readers to skim.

• Use headlines: Making use of headlines like the one above allows readers to know exactly where one concept ends and another begins. If they’re not interested in your first point, this allows them to skip immediately to the next.
• Use lists: If you have a list of concepts like the ones in this article, then using organized lists are a perfect way to allow people a quick overview of each point.
• Emphasize important information: Don’t be afraid to make text bold, italic, or underlined. If something is important, make it stand out to your readers eyes.
• Break up your paragraphs: On my site, I try to make ever paragraph six lines or fewer. If one extends beyond that, I find a way to break it up into two paragraphs. People aren’t going to dig through a mile long block of text.

Community Reflection

Do you resent the fact that people don’t read your articles all the way through or do you embrace it and cater to it? Do you make it easy for your readers to find information quickly and efficitently?

Most people don’t want to spend 20 minutes at your website. They want to get in, get their information, and get out.

What are you doing to make that easier for your readers? What other ideas are you implementing on your blog?