Readability for Marketers — Your Complete Guide

As marketers, our content is only effective if it attracts and engages our target audience. So, the success of content marketing starts with readability. 

The meaning of readability refers to how easily written content can be understood by readers, and it lays the foundation for whether your content marketing will generate a return on investment (ROI).

Get insight into readability from a marketing perspective in this comprehensive guide.

Short on Time? Here’s What’s in This Article:

• Readability marketing essentials: Consider readability scores in the context of your audience to engage readers. Then, easily review readability with the Originality.ai Readability Checker.
• Readability in web publishing: Optimizing web content for readability can boost website engagement metrics and help convert readers into customers.
• E-commerce content readability: Clear content from product descriptions to email newsletters can build brand awareness in e-commerce and improve conversion rates.
• How readability impacts SEO: Google values high-quality people-first content, which in turn, means that writing for readability can contribute to better SEO.
• Social media marketing and readability: Research has shown that better readability correlates to more social media engagement.

Readability Marketing Essentials

Addressing readability isn’t difficult once you understand what makes something readable. 

To begin, think about what makes a piece of writing difficult to read:

• Long, drawn-out sentences.
• Industry jargon.
• Complex vocabulary.
• Chunky walls of text.
• Disorganized formatting.

These are things that turn away readers — and potential customers. 

Low readability leads to low engagement (which can impact metrics like bounce rate and time on page), which leads to missed opportunities for increasing brand awareness, conversion, and, ultimately, sales. 

Readable marketing content strives to do the opposite of those things. 

Fortunately, you don’t need to guess how to make your content readable. There are some very specific actions content marketers can take to address readability. 

Considering readability scores in the context of your audience 

Creating content that is clear and easy to understand allows you to reach a wider audience — it’s one of the top benefits of readability.  

Addressing average reading level is critical to targeting your writing. Your content should be understandable and enjoyable to the average reader. 

Numerous studies in the U.S. estimate the average adult reading level to be equivalent to grade six or correspond with low literacy levels. 

The Center for Plain Language confirms this reading level recommendation to address accessibility concerns. 

But how do you know where your writing scores are on the reading scale? There is a lot of help out there, from the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Test to readability checkers that calculate reading level for you. 

Keep in mind that when writing for readability, the reading level should fit your audience. 

If you are writing for a highly technical audience, you may be aiming for college-level or higher reading skills. The level of your writing should fit what your readers expect to see, so you need to know your audience.

Readability on a sentence level and in paragraphs

Part of meeting your audience’s reading level and striving for readability in your content writing begins at the sentence level, starting with the words you use. 

• Vocabulary: Clear, simple language. No jargon. Use common words.
• Sentence length: 15 to 20 words maximum. Use varied lengths for rhythm.
• Paragraph length: 2 to 3 sentences per paragraph, focused on one idea.
• Active voice: Passive voice is usually wordier and more difficult to read.

If you are writing a multi-paragraph piece of content, such as a blog post, here are some additional areas to focus on:

• Headings are signposts: Use strong, clear headings to guide readers. 
• Avoid walls of text: Use lists and bullets to break up dense text. White space is good.

Follow these guidelines for readability throughout your text. Many of these criteria directly impact your reading level score, too. 

Brief Overview: How Readability Impacts 4 Types of Marketing 

Readability in web publishing

When visitors reach your website, you want them to linger a while and enjoy your content. To enjoy it, they must first understand it — which is where readability comes in.

Readability in web publishing directly impacts how well readers engage with your content and how easily they find answers there. For content marketers, this means thinking about your readers first. 

If you are writing a blog post, ensure it’s clearly organized, with helpful and direct headings, and addresses readability at the sentence and paragraph levels. 

Know your target reading level, and meet your readers where they are. Give readers a good experience when interacting with your web content, and you are more likely to connect with them and leave a lasting impression. Good, lasting impressions can lead to conversions. 

Readability in e-commerce

Improving readability in e-commerce helps your content reach a broader audience. When your copy is engaging and readable, readers spend more time with it and are more likely to share it. This increases brand awareness and grows the potential for converting more visitors into customers. 

Everything from your website copy and product descriptions to email copy and newsletters should address readability to increase ROI. 

Strong, direct headlines and people-first product descriptions make your content more accessible to customers and can lead to higher customer satisfaction, too. 

If customers clearly understand your product before buying it, they’ll be happier with their purchase. 

Readability and SEO in content marketing

As a content marketer, you know there isn’t just one approach to boosting your online presence. However, putting forth strong, well-researched original content that people can easily understand is one of the best ways to improve your SEO with readability. 

Further, Google prioritizes what it calls people-first content: helpful content that is created to benefit people, not just a search engine. Producing people-first content can boost your page’s reliability and authority, which improves your SEO.

Readability is a big part of people-first content. If people are to benefit from your high-quality, insightful and original content, they must first be able to understand it. 

Readability in social media marketing

Readability efforts help to drive customer engagement on social media, too, especially for mobile users. 

Easy-to-read posts can be scanned quickly and be consumed by readers. An article in the Journal of Consumer Psychology found that readable posts were liked, shared, and commented on more frequently than complex posts. 

Final Thoughts

Clear, helpful communication is at the heart of all readability efforts. Step one in communicating with an audience is being easily understood. 

The job and fun of content marketing and content creation is to get creative and be fresh and informative, all while ensuring that the widest audience will be able to receive it, engage with it, and benefit from the content. 

Check the readability of your content today with the Originality.ai Readability Checker! Then review grammar with our best-in-class Grammar and Spell Checker.

Learn more about how to improve content readability in these top guides:

• Best Readability Score To Rank in Google
• How to Improve Readability
• What Is Readability?
• 5 Yoast SEO Readability Tool Alternatives