Unlike traditional print media, your site’s content needs to catch the eye of both readers and search engines. When formulating a title, concise is better. For example, HelpScout, a helpdesk software company uses short, impactful phrases to peak interest in their blog posts. It is best practice to have your entire title show up in search engine results, so try to stay under 60 characters. That way, anyone accessing your page through a Google search result will be able to see the whole title without clicking on it. Doing this will help your readers gain a better idea of what your content is about and encourage them to click through to learn more.

Attention spans seem to be shrinking as time goes on with the new average attention span being 8 seconds, shorter than a goldfish’s. When presented with a wealth of information, readers tend to take a quick look to see if anything piques their interest before actually reading the entire piece. Take for instance in the image below how Slack brings user attention to their call-to-actions, using large but brief text, complemented by a short description of the value they aim to provide, to get users to try their product for free or demo it, within the first few seconds of viewing the homepage.

When you break up posts into short, easily digestible sections, you are helping readers to quickly determine how much time they want to spend looking at your content. Your goal is to have your readers hooked immediately. Then, you can get your message across. Break up your writing with short paragraphs and subtitles. Bold important sentences or keywords to highlight the most significant parts of your work. Just be careful to not go overboard and bold half your blog.

It’s estimated that 2 million blog posts are written every day, so if you want to stand out you’re going to have to think outside the box. You may be able to fill an underserved niche with your posts, but in all reality, you may still be competing with hundreds of other sites for readers’ attention. Find a style that suits your brand, and make it appeal to your audience by analyzing their behaviors, lifestyle trends, and affinity for different types of media.

Gauge your audience to see what types of posts they typically engage with. You may find they are most interested in personal stories or funny anecdotes. Maybe they are drawn to posts filled with facts and figures. By trying a few different approaches, you will be able to see which type of content gets the most traffic. When you find a style that works, stick to it. The key to your success may be found through trial and error. Hubspot has championed a dynamic strategy of providing content that marketers need the most, in a succinct, easy-to-digest way, when they need it the most, has been super effective in creating market awareness and user trust of their brand’s educative abilities. They target multiple audiences using this approach but at the same time, provide a sense of personalization and audience relevance in the brevity and clarity of the content presented.

Regular updates ensure that you are staying on top of the current trends. Compelling content that is relevant to the here and now will keep your readers interested. Check older pages for outdated topics. You may want to update your site to include new information on subjects you covered in the past.

Including links in your articles can prove to be beneficial to your readers, especially when you are defining terms they may not be familiar with. Provide links to relevant pages on your website to provide your readers with useful information you have already covered. This presents your site as a valuable resource and also drives increased page views. Internal links help to build your authority with search engines. Always make sure you are directing people to relevant content and not spamming them with unnecessary links as seen in the image below.

If you are creating stellar content, your readers are naturally going to want to share it. Make it easier on your customers by including share buttons in all of your newsletters, email marketing campaigns, and at the end of every piece you write especially when promoting product-specific pages like the Walmart example shown below. Making the process of sharing your content simple will increase the number of eyes on your site.

No matter what industry you are in, there are plenty of interesting subjects to cover. If you want to get noticed, you need to stand out. Make sure your content is both useful and accessible so people can find your site and keep coming back for more.