SEO Article Tips - Should You Dodge Bullets, Or Fire Them Into Your SEO Articles?
Should you use bullet lists in SEO articles, or are they something to avoid? Opinion is reasonably divided on the subject, and if you've either never given it much thought in the past, or have stuck rigidly to a specific belief, then it is worthwhile considering the arguments for and against the use of bullets in search engine optimised articles.
The usual reason for including a bullet list of any kind is to break down the content for readers so that they can see at a glance what you're describing.
A bullet list is a quick reference guide, a way of speeding up the process of communicating information and of structuring that information in a more efficient manner.
But is that really beneficial in the world of SEO articles and online article marketing? Perhaps it's hard to see what could possibly be said against such a clear benefit, but there is definitely a downside to the bullet list for the online marketer.
Because a bullet list is more likely to draw the attention of the reader than the main bulk of the text.
The eye is naturally drawn to a bullet list because we've all learned that a bullet list can help us to summarise the rest of the text more quickly, and this in turn helps us to make a judgement as to whether or not we spend the time reading the rest of the article properly, or moving on to content elsewhere.
It is for this reason that bullets can backfire, because if you include a fairly weak bullet list, with either very little focus, poorly thought out or simply dull and included only for the sake of appearance, your readers will immediately jump to the conclusion that the rest of your article is just as dull and uninteresting, and leave.
This may be unfair, because you might just have the most astonishing article ever written.
But a bulleted list draws the eye, and if it doesn't serve as a focus that works in attracting even more attention than the title did, then it could easily shoot your marketing ploy down in flames.
But this isn't the only way in which including a list in your SEO articles can be a mistake, because whilst inserting a bulleted list that's deadly dull is unwise, including a list that's too helpful can be just as dangerous.
How so? If your article title suggested that you would be discussing five keywords that must be included in SEO article titles wherever possible, and if the reader then noticed that you helpfully included a bulleted list containing those five words, they may well simply ignore the rest of your article, including the resource links at the bottom.
Your bullet list gave them all they were really interested in, thank you very much, goodbye.
Click.
So if including bullets that are too dull and uninteresting is risky, and if including bullets that are too informative and helpful is risky, should you ever consider including bulleted lists, and if so, how should you use them? Of course you should consider using them occasionally, but just be aware of the fact that you're going to be walking a tightrope.
If you're crafty, your bullet lists can contain words, questions or suggestions which actually act to intrigue the reader more.
Imagine if in the example above your bullet list seemed to suggest that the five keywords you should try to include in your SEO article titles included 'quagmire', 'hypodermic', scintillate', murmuring' and 'mauve'.
You may find that many readers read a little more of your article just to find out what on earth you're on about.
But again, don't try to be too clever with your bullet lists, unless you really are that clever and can justify them.
If you're in any doubt about the use of bullet lists, or the many dozens of other unseen pitfalls waiting for the unwary article writer, play safe and let your website benefit from a professional SEO article service, before you find that your bullet list marketing gets you fired.
The usual reason for including a bullet list of any kind is to break down the content for readers so that they can see at a glance what you're describing.
A bullet list is a quick reference guide, a way of speeding up the process of communicating information and of structuring that information in a more efficient manner.
But is that really beneficial in the world of SEO articles and online article marketing? Perhaps it's hard to see what could possibly be said against such a clear benefit, but there is definitely a downside to the bullet list for the online marketer.
Because a bullet list is more likely to draw the attention of the reader than the main bulk of the text.
The eye is naturally drawn to a bullet list because we've all learned that a bullet list can help us to summarise the rest of the text more quickly, and this in turn helps us to make a judgement as to whether or not we spend the time reading the rest of the article properly, or moving on to content elsewhere.
It is for this reason that bullets can backfire, because if you include a fairly weak bullet list, with either very little focus, poorly thought out or simply dull and included only for the sake of appearance, your readers will immediately jump to the conclusion that the rest of your article is just as dull and uninteresting, and leave.
This may be unfair, because you might just have the most astonishing article ever written.
But a bulleted list draws the eye, and if it doesn't serve as a focus that works in attracting even more attention than the title did, then it could easily shoot your marketing ploy down in flames.
But this isn't the only way in which including a list in your SEO articles can be a mistake, because whilst inserting a bulleted list that's deadly dull is unwise, including a list that's too helpful can be just as dangerous.
How so? If your article title suggested that you would be discussing five keywords that must be included in SEO article titles wherever possible, and if the reader then noticed that you helpfully included a bulleted list containing those five words, they may well simply ignore the rest of your article, including the resource links at the bottom.
Your bullet list gave them all they were really interested in, thank you very much, goodbye.
Click.
So if including bullets that are too dull and uninteresting is risky, and if including bullets that are too informative and helpful is risky, should you ever consider including bulleted lists, and if so, how should you use them? Of course you should consider using them occasionally, but just be aware of the fact that you're going to be walking a tightrope.
If you're crafty, your bullet lists can contain words, questions or suggestions which actually act to intrigue the reader more.
Imagine if in the example above your bullet list seemed to suggest that the five keywords you should try to include in your SEO article titles included 'quagmire', 'hypodermic', scintillate', murmuring' and 'mauve'.
You may find that many readers read a little more of your article just to find out what on earth you're on about.
But again, don't try to be too clever with your bullet lists, unless you really are that clever and can justify them.
If you're in any doubt about the use of bullet lists, or the many dozens of other unseen pitfalls waiting for the unwary article writer, play safe and let your website benefit from a professional SEO article service, before you find that your bullet list marketing gets you fired.
