The evolution of the papyrus reading materials that were unrolled in the book, the reading from left to right, or from right to left, from top to bottom, have been significantly influenced by the screen reading that has imposed itself on the planet. Companies, whether they have a showcase site or an e-commerce site, seek to capture the attention of the Internet user. What is the way to read on screen?
How does the Internet user read?
The Internet user’s reading depends on his or her behaviour and objective or area of interest.
– The Internet user is looking for precise information such as the company’s mission, its values….. In this case, he reads slowly, reads the texts to find the information he is looking for.
– The Internet user looks for information such as a product, its price, etc. He first reads the main menus and titles, then looks at the content of the texts without delay.
– The Internet user reads the information above in the upper part of the page and is ready to escape with a click. If he doesn’t get what he wants, he leaves.
What is the role of search engines?
Unlike paper reading, web reading is not linear. Most of the time, and especially on search engines, the user quickly scans the page and the movement of his eyes follows a “F” shape. On search engines, this is called the “golden triangle”.
Paid ads first?
In this triangle are the first paid ads of the search engine, but also the results naturally highlighted by the search engine for the quality of their content.
Two possibilities:
– the Internet user is interested in the ad and reads the information.
– the Internet user goes looking for more relevant content to solve his problem, so he was not satisfied by the first answers given.
To know!
Only 22% of Internet users go down to the bottom of the first page of the search engine.
Tip for the user to read your content
Reading must be taken into account at the international level: Westerners read from left to right and most Orientals read from right to left and sometimes from top to bottom like Japanese and Chinese reading.
Put the essential content on the left of your page when your target is Western, on the right when your target is Eastern and reads from right to left
Put your logo on the top left of your website when your target is Western, on the right when your target is Eastern and reads from right to left to draw your visitor’s attention to your logo and visual identity.
Put all the essential ideas and especially those that are your added value. In your first paragraph, immediately positions your added value. To identify essential information, use the questions (Who, What, Where, Where, When, How/How much, Why).
Keep sentences short: do not exceed 16 words to attract the attention of all readers regardless of their level of comprehension.