Latest posts made by Isla_McKetta
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RE: When Is It Okay To Use Bold, Underline & Italic Text? Should I Stay Away From My Keywords?
I'm going to echo a bit of what's been said here already. Italics, bold, and underlining are tools in the same way bullet points are tools. These formats are all useful for:
- Calling attention to specific portions of text
- Adding clarity
- Making text easier to scan
I do not have evidence to say exactly how (or if) use of these tools will affect your rankings, but I'm certain that a user who encounters content that's overly FORMATTED or OneBigBlockParagraphOfText is much more likely to bounce.
So I recommend using those tools to your advantage and writing, always, for a human reader.
posted in Algorithm Updates
Best posts made by Isla_McKetta
-
RE: When Is It Okay To Use Bold, Underline & Italic Text? Should I Stay Away From My Keywords?
I'm going to echo a bit of what's been said here already. Italics, bold, and underlining are tools in the same way bullet points are tools. These formats are all useful for:
- Calling attention to specific portions of text
- Adding clarity
- Making text easier to scan
I do not have evidence to say exactly how (or if) use of these tools will affect your rankings, but I'm certain that a user who encounters content that's overly FORMATTED or OneBigBlockParagraphOfText is much more likely to bounce.
So I recommend using those tools to your advantage and writing, always, for a human reader.
posted in Algorithm Updates
Blog Posts
7/14/2016
"Storytelling" can be more than just jargon. This post will show you six types of stories you can inject into your site content to develop a compelling, powerful brand story.
5/25/2016
Chunking, word recognition, and universal design are the cornerstones of readable copy. Are you writing in a way your audience can easily understand? In this post, Isla McKetta doles out the top insights from her research into readability and its utter importance.
3/2/2016
Ever taken a closer look at your email to see what companies are actually getting your attention? And how? Isla McKetta offers a peek inside her inbox. Learn about the types of email subject lines and analyze what works and what doesn't.
1/27/2016
Learn how to turn empathy, surprise, delight, and information into the kind of content your audience will connect with and remember.
7/27/2015
"How can I learn SEO?" is a deceptively simple question. The standard approach is to attempt to appeal to anyone who's interested in SEO without any idea of your previous experience or the actual reasons you want to learn SEO. That's fun. Especially the part about weeding through tons of information that might not even apply to what you want to learn.
So let's fix that. This guide is...
5/12/2015
The hardest part about success is replicating it. Learn what to look for when auditing content that's gone viral so you can earn even more shares next time.
3/17/2015
Learn how to write fewer words while making a stronger impact on your readers, customers, and decision makers.
2/11/2015
This is a post about how anyone can write a clearer, more persuasive report. And the lessons contained herein can help you with any form of corporate communication, whether you're writing for a client or your boss. Get ready to sound smarter.
1/27/2015
If you aren't thinking about imagery as you're writing, you're missing a huge opportunity to engage readers. Learn how to capture all the magic that word pictures can offer.
12/31/2014
We've curated the very best digital marketing content from 2014. Find out who tops this year-end edition of the Moz Top 10 and how you can be a part of the fun.
12/9/2014
Data and insights can be incredibly valuable, but should never be treated as gospel, and the only logic worse than "because that's how we've always done it" might just be "because everyone else is doing it." Content is no exception. When was the last time you broke a few rules?
11/6/2014
Experts agree: you blogging is the answer to winning content marketing. But is it really right for you? Learn about a few times blogging isn't necessary and what you're missing out on if you don't have a blog.
9/3/2014
You already have the skills to recognize good content and optimize a site for Hummingbird. You just may not know it yet. Here's a quick list of what to look for.
8/14/2014
What if I told you I could teach you to write the perfect headline? One that is so irresistible every person who sees it will click on it. But what if I then told you not one single person out of all the millions who will click on that headline will convert? And that you might lose all your credibility in the process.
7/15/2014
Ever feel like you've optimized the life right out of your site? Learn how semiotics can help you engage with your customers on a human level.
4/29/2014
As copywriters and designers, we all know we’re supposed to Steal Like an Artist. Austin Kleon said so. Picasso said something similar with his “Good artists copy, but great artists steal” line. It makes sense, since there’s “nothing new under the sun...
With an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College and BAs in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Washington, Isla is fascinated by the interactions of language and systems (both on- and offline). She's lived in Poland and Chile and speaks enough Polish, Spanish, French, and Italian to get into a fair amount of trouble on three continents. Isla is the author of Polska, 1994 and co-author of Clear Out the Static in Your Attic: A Writer's Guide for Turning Artifacts into Art.
