This link has been bookmarked by 74 people . It was first bookmarked on 22 Oct 2007, by brent gg.
-
15 Apr 12
-
27 Feb 12
-
13 Sep 11
-
26 Jul 11
-
04 Oct 10
-
07 Aug 10
-
- Worst: The passive voice should be avoided.
- Bad: The passive voice should be avoided by writers.
- Better: Writers should avoid using passive voice.
- Best: Writers should use active voice.
- Usability increases when users need fewer mental transformations to convert a sentence into actionable understanding.
Summary:
Active voice is best for most Web content, but using passive voice can let you front-load important keywords in headings, blurbs, and lead sentences. This enhances scannability and thus SEO effectiveness.Traditional writing guidelines are clear on the use of passive voice:
For the same reason, it's usually better to write a positive statement ("do X") than a negative statement ("avoid Y"), and it's almost always horrible to use double negatives ("avoid not doing X"). Again, the simpler the translation between the text and the user's mental model, the easier the writing is to understand.
Typically, it's even harder for readers to understand passive sentences that don't explicitly state the actor. This style can also lead to additional usability problems if users misinterpret who's doing the action. For example, if you write "Social security taxes must be paid monthly" readers might think that employees have to pay the tax. In contrast, "Employers must pay social security taxes monthly" is clear and easy to read.
-
-
26 Jun 10
-
04 Oct 09
-
09 Aug 09
Thorsten ClausWhen Passive Voice = $$$ in web articles
writing usability seo web design language reference for:@twitter
-
10 Jul 09
-
29 Jun 09
-
08 Oct 08
-
19 Aug 08
-
06 May 08
-
26 Mar 08
-
21 Jan 08
-
18 Jan 08
-
25 Dec 07
-
Summary:
Active voice is best for most Web content, but using passive voice can let you front-load important keywords in headings, blurbs, and lead sentences. This enhances scannability and thus SEO effectiveness. -
When structuring a sentence, active voice ("Actor does X to Object") is usually better than passive voice ("Object has X done to it by Actor") because it more directly represents the action. As a result, readers don't have to jump through as many cognitive hoops when trying to understand what's going on.
For the same reason, it's usually better to write a positive statement ("do X") than a negative statement ("avoid Y"), and it's almost always horrible to use double negatives ("avoid not doing X"). Again, the simpler the translation between the text and the user's mental model, the easier the writing is to understand.
-
Usability increases when users need fewer mental transformations to convert a sentence into actionable understanding.
-
Users scan Web content in an F-pattern, and often read only the first 2 words of a paragraph. What are the first two words of my draft deck? "Yahoo Finance" — which has zero information scent for article's target audience.
-
- Don't use the same initial keywords in your headline and summary. You have 4 words to make your point, so use 4 different words.
Given that users often read only a couple of words from each text element, you should reduce duplication of salient keywords.
-
Avoid repeating any headline words in the summary, except for the most important one or two keywords. You can repeat these halfway through the summary to reinforce them for people who scanned past them in the headline.
-
Words are usually the main moneymakers on a website. Selecting the first 2 words for your page titles is probably the highest-impact ROI-boosting design decision you make in a Web project. Front-loading important keywords trumps most other design considerations.
-
-
21 Dec 07
-
13 Dec 07
-
07 Dec 07
-
29 Nov 07
-
Words are usually the main moneymakers on a website. Selecting the first 2 words for your page titles is probably the highest-impact ROI-boosting design decision you make in a Web project. Front-loading important keywords trumps most other design considerations.
-
-
21 Nov 07
-
11 Nov 07
-
07 Nov 07
-
06 Nov 07
-
04 Nov 07
Soledad CaballeroActive voice is best for most Web content, but using passive voice can let you front-load important keywords in headings, blurbs, and lead sentences. This enhances scannability and thus SEO effectiveness.
-
30 Oct 07
-
Pelle Sten"Active voice is best for most Web content, but using passive voice can let you front-load important keywords in headings, blurbs, and lead sentences. This enhances scannability and thus SEO effectiveness."
-
-
29 Oct 07
-
26 Oct 07
-
Are HallandPassivt språk kan være bra i søkeresultater (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox)
-
25 Oct 07
-
24 Oct 07
emcilveenJacob Nielsen's Newsletter on Web Usability
web usability language interaction_design interface design psychology the_lab accessibility
-
23 Oct 07
-
Michel Roland
Active voice is best for most Web content, but using passive voice can let you front-load important keywords in headings, blurbs, and lead sentences. This enhances scannability and thus SEO effectiveness.-
Active voice is best for most Web content, but using passive voice can let you front-load important keywords in headings, blurbs, and lead sentences. This enhances scannability and thus SEO effectiveness.
-
-
22 Oct 07
-
Gideon RosenblattSearch visibilty enhanced by some use of passive voice. Active voice still critical for body text.
Would you like to comment?
Join Diigo for a free account, or sign in if you are already a member.