Being clear means being found.
1. Take advantage of metadata.
The Page Title
The page title shows up in Google searches. It is almost always the first thing that your readers will see. Make it an interesting hook that will convince readers to click on. Go as far as to also use SEO (Search Engine Optimization) words here.
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These are search engines’ favorite words. They are the words that you directly type into that Google search bar.
Even if you type “best ways to cook a turkey,” each word in that sentence is considered a SEO keyword, which Google will then use to search the Internet for what you’re looking for. The keywords “turkey” and “cook” being the core of the reader’s interest, and keywords like “best,” “ways,” “to,” and “a” being the less important keywords.
I guess it’s kind of like how certain employers’ run your resume through an ATS (applicant tracking system) which is a key-word “grabber” programmed with all the words the employer is looking for. The program then “dings” or “saves” resumes for the employer when it finds the keywords it’s looking for within them. This is also a bit like the way websites compete for ad placement.
Each popular keyword has a price. Not everyone can be number 1, 2, and 3 in line on Google’s search results. That’s why we need good SEO content writers and authors.
Your URLs
Search engines also use the words in URLs to find content for the user. Much will be shown according of relevance to the searched words.
For example (these aren’t real links), www.moderndayvoice.com/shop/female/shirts/ or www.moderndayvoice.com/trips-to-the-arctic/. Often times the end of a link will be your article’s title or subtitle to help the right readers find your article.
2. Article Design, Tone & Mood
The article layout should guide the reader’s eyes. It should tell them where to read and where to look.
Tone
A writer should know a few different writing tones: formal writing, academic writing, casual writing used between family and friends, and etc.
A writer should know how to convey energy into the text and lure a reader in. Does the tone the author is writing in sound happy, sad, or angry? Is the goal to be the reader’s best friend, teach, or sell them something?
Title
Traditionally, the title and subtitle should stand out. Perhaps in bold letters, large font or color changes.
The Hook
After the title and/or subtitle, you have the first sentence of your text. This first sentence should be the best sentence that works to hook onto the reader’s attention. Make them want to know more.
Your Main Body of Text
Don’t be afraid to experiment with the format of this. Font styles, font sizes, breaks in-between paragraphs, images, “shareable” pull quotes…
If you’re going for a more artsy-design feel you can do a lot with this, or you can keep it traditional with easy reading.
Don’t Forget Your Summary
Summarize your article in one paragraph. If the reader were to read only this one paragraph, what would you write to get your point across?
Your Ending Hook
And finally, leave them with a question. Another hook, but this time open-ended.