The Left-side Rule

Why It's Critical to Let Your Web Visitors Know They've Come to the Right Place

People don't look at Web pages the same way they look at print pages. If I pick up People magazine, I look at the photos first and then the captions. That's not what happens on the Web. On the Web, people don't look at photos first unless it's a glamour-related site. On a regular site, they read the headline first. Why? Because they're driven by a purpose and they want to know if they've come to the right place. So they read the headline and they will either think, "Oh, okay, this isn't what I thought it was going to be," and they'll leave. Or the headline will say to them, "Yes, you're in the right place," and they'll keep reading.

That brings me to this …

Improve Your Copywriting Skills


Use the "Left-Side" Rule to Make Your Web Copy Easy to Scan

One of the biggest challenges for an online copywriter is to create a page of copy that can be scanned easily. More specifically, you need to write and design Web pages that enable people to find the information they want – and the information YOU want them to find – with a quick glance.

What's the big deal?

The big deal is that people don't view and read Web pages the same way that they scan printed materials.First of all, their attitude is different. Web users are goal-oriented. They know what they are looking for. They know what they want. And it's your job to let people know that they came to the right place.

Also, Web readers are a lot more impatient than print readers. They are in a hurry. They are unforgiving. Visualize yourself as a typical website visitor – someone interested in, say, kayaking. Picture yourself picking up a kayaking magazine. You kick back and start flipping through the pages. You are relaxed. You take your time. Some articles will really interest you. Others won't. That's okay. The magazine has your complete attention. There's no urgency. If you put the magazine down on a side table while you answer the door or walk the dog, it will be there waiting for you when you get back.

Now let's say you read an article about some cool kayak storage racks. Your kayak is taking up way too much room on the floor in the garage, so you want to hang it on the wall. Suddenly, you have a very specific interest. You want to find out where you can buy a "kayak storage rack." You also want to check out the different racks available and their prices. So you head over to your computer and open Google or some other search engine. You type in the phrase "kayak storage racks."

Now let's stop for a moment. You may wonder whether I'm painting an accurate picture here. The short answer is yes. While people don't always look for stuff online after reading a magazine, they very frequently use the major search engines to find and research things they are interested in buying. The fact that people use search engines changes everything. Because to use a search engine, you have to enter a search phrase. You have to think about what you are looking for and think of a phrase that will (you hope) take you to a relevant page on a website. As soon as someone types in the phrase "kayak storage racks," they have framed the boundaries of their interest and attention.

It is essential that you understand this.

As soon as someone types in a search phrase, that person becomes tightly focused in the way they scan the search results and then scan the pages on the sites they arrive at. Remember, when you were picking up that magazine about kayaks, your mind was open. You were a passive recipient of information about kayaking. You were in the hands of the magazine's editors. As a passive observer, you opened the magazine to find out what was inside. When you go to the Web, the experience is utterly different. As a site visitor, you are not passive, you are active. You are in control. You are the boss. You know exactly what you are looking for. You are task-oriented. And in this case, your self-assigned task is to find some kayak storage racks. You read through the titles to the listings on the Google search results page and click on a link that looks promising. In this case, that link will probably include the phrase "kayak storage racks."

You then arrive at a page within a website. Probably not the home page. Probably some internal page. And your brain is now programmed for one task only – to find kayak storage racks. You scan the page for text and images that will confirm you are in the right place. This will take you about 2 seconds. If you don't see an immediate match for "kayak storage racks," you will hit the back button. That may sound brutal. But this is what happens. Now that you understand that, let's say you've been hired to write a page about kayak storage racks.

But you're a print copywriter, and you have no experience writing for the Web. So you might write the first draft of the page headline something like: "Free up your floor space by hanging your kayak from the walls or ceiling." You're stating the benefit of the racks right at the beginning. Just they way I was taught – and the way you're learning now. But that isn't how I would write the headline for the Web.

I'd write it more like this: "Kayak Storage Racks – for wall or ceiling. Save 22% + free shipping." Why? Because I know that my reader's brain is tightly focused on a very specific task and phrase. In fact, I have probably written 20 different pages about storage racks, each of them with its headline optimized for a particular search term. Whatever the term, get it at the beginning of the headline. Because the first three or four words of your headline will get a lot more attention than the last three.

Don't believe me? Well, thousands of heatmap studies, which track a Web user's eye movements, have confirmed this time and time again. In fact, whatever your key message is, make sure you place the words and phrases you use to describe it as close to the left margin of the main column as possible. When people scan a Web page, their eye movement and the vast majority of their attention is very tightly tied to that left side. And the further people look down a page, the less they will look at anything that is not close to the left side.

What does this mean?

It means that my key phrases and benefits will be written at the beginning of every heading, subhead, and link. Don't assume people will read the whole subhead. They will probably just scan the first three or four words. Don't waste space with generic terms. That is to say, if you want to highlight your free shipping offer, don't write a subhead like this: "Order your space-saving kayak rack today and get free shipping." Write it more like this: "Free shipping with your kayak rack if you order today."
Everything that matters should come at the beginning of all your scannable textyou're your headline, subheads, links, and captions.

(BTW – why did I add the discount and free shipping offer to my headline? Because online shoppers are comparison shoppers. They'll find what they want on your site, and then see if they can find the same thing cheaper elsewhere. So you want to do all you can to keep them on your page … and get them to buy from your page.)

There is a lot more to say about creating scannable Web copy, but the "left-side" rule should be enough to get you started.

– Nick Usborne

This article appears courtesy of The Golden Thread, an e-letter form AWAI that delivers original, no-nonsense advice on how to build your freelance copywriting business. For a free subscription, visit http://www.awaionline.com/thegoldenthread

Culture Wise INDIA

My book, "Culture Wise India: The Essential Guide to Culture, Customs & Business Etiquette" is now listed on Amazon.com

Culture Wise India is essential reading for anyone planning to visit or live in India, whether for business or pleasure, for a few days holiday or a lifetime. It is guaranteed to help newcomers avoid cultural and social gaffes; make friends and influence people; and enhance their understanding of India and the Indian people. Printed in full color.

Product Details
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Survival Books, Ltd. (July 25, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1905303475
ISBN-13: 978-1905303472

Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Culture-Wise-India-Essential-Etiquette/dp/1905303475

More on blogging...

I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

• The best blogging techniques.
• How to get traffic to your blog.
• How to turn your blog into money.

I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.

And now... "Ghost Blogs!"

The Internet’s fastest growing graveyard has an estimated 200 tombstones – dead blogs, called “Ghost Blogs!”

Blogging, having peaked in October 2006, when 100,000 new blogs were being created each day, is now on a precipitous slide, predicted by Gartner research to level out at 100 million. Other analysts predict a low of 30 million.

What started as perhaps the best tool for self-expression and publishing on the Internet, may be dying for the simple reason that their authors have run out of things to say. Others may neither have the time nor the inclination to write anymore. And as usual, the trendy crowd may have moved on to posting home videos on YouTube or to social networking on sites like MySpace where the response from other users is way faster.

But here lies the opportunity for serious bloggers who can post good content. It will be easier to be ‘heard’ over the now diminishing ‘noise.’

Remember the hit song, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going?”

Long live the Blog!

HR Blogs

Less than 2 weeks ago, I had posted a topic on the B-blog, inviting comments from group members on the possibility of using it as an HR tool.

Interestingly, all the 3 groups viz., HRI, GiveFactsHR and HR Meet, did not publish my post for whatever reasons.

However, The Economic Times carried exactly such an article in its Corporate Dossier section of 16th March '07. The article shows how, 'Indian corporates are now taking the plunge and launching blogs where employees can express their views on just about anything. The result in most cases, has been a torrent of great ideas...'

I have again posted on all three groups, inviting comments from members, if the post gets published this time!

The Business of Business-blogging

B-blogging, or Business-blogging, is a recent development and is fast growing.
A B-blog (short for Business Web Log) is in essence, a website but unlike a website which is a one-way static display of promotional content, a B-blog is a dynamic and highly interactive dissemination of informational content directed at a targeted audience. It is this fact alone that makes blogging a potent MarComm (Marketing Communication) tool.

Why B-blog?

• B-blogging promotes the products or services of a business by providing expert information to potential customers.

• Over a period of time, it can establish the company as the leader in the industry or a consultant as an expert in his field.

• It is an excellent platform for the CEO of a company to convey the vision of the organization.

• It has a very personal touch. Written in the first person, like any diary entry (unlike a website which is usually written in the third person and may not even be written by the owner of the site) it gives the company a human face – a big advantage in this era of giant corporations.

• Conversely, small businesses, including consultancy, can seem bigger and less personal by partnering with business bloggers and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) firms.

• Since blogging is interactive, it can provide instant customer feedback, avoiding tedious market surveys and data crunching, a good example being that of Bajaj Auto – “The first review of Pulsar was on our table within three hours of its launch, thanks to bloggers.” – S Sridhar, VP – Marketing, Bajaj Auto, as quoted in the Economic Times of 3rd March, 07.

• Quality standards like ISO 9001 prescribe alignment of process improvement initiatives with customers’ needs and feedback. B-blogs can be a great receptacle for feedback from customers.

Advantages of B-blogging

• Unlike email marketing, which relies on ‘push’ technology i.e., to push content unasked for, B-blogging is not intrusive and with an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed, it utilizes ‘pull’ technology which means, users ask for content.

• Blogging software is free or very cheap. WordPress is the most popular and can be downloaded at http://wordpress.org/download/. Another favourite is Blogger, which can be downloaded at http://www.blogger.com for free.

• You don’t have to buy web space – its free too

• No knowledge of writing HTML code is required – only good copy!

• You can even hire professional copywriters to write content for your posts.

• It enhances SEO, as it does not require complex HTML code which is the bane of search engines.

• B-blogging is not only far cheaper than advertising in traditional media like print and television but the material has a much longer life – theoretically, forever!

What’s in it for the customer?

• A B-blog simplifies the process of browsing in search of articles and any other relevant information on the products and services of the company
• Customers – potential share holders – can have a better insight into growth potentials and future plans of the organization much before the AGM
• Prospective employees can have a better ‘feel’ of the organization even before they join the company
• Readers have the option to leave comments, spurring lively discussions
• Readers have the option of signing up to receive new content via email or RSS (or Atom) feeds through syndication services

Things to do before launching your B-blog

• Define your B-blog’s mission
• Get corporate support from the start
• Research how customers want to read your blog i.e., RSS v/s email
• Test an internal blog first
Things to do after launching your B-blog
• Make sure you have got a great subject line, and get to the point in the first few sentences
• Blog what’s important to customers/readers
• Use visual elements if possible
• To get consistent traffic, be original. Don’t just echo what everybody else is saying.
• Write crisp, neat and natural – not structured like a newspaper article or advertorial, for that matter.
• Update or post at fixed intervals e.g., weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Better still, post on specific dates.
• Use keywords extensively, to entice search engine robots
• Syndicate your blog with RSS service
• Cross-promote the blog and the company’s eNewsletter

Other innovative uses of blogs

Blog to book projects – Personal blogs that attract a huge readership have been spotted by publishers and converted into books. There is even an annual Blooger Award for the best blogbook!


Crisis-situation blogs – Blogs to help people keep in touch with the latest developments, rescue operations and information about injured or missing people e.g., Tsunami blogs.

Education blogs could play a great role in distance education where students are spread over large geographical areas

Fiction-blogs (no, they are not called F-blogs) – As the name suggests, these are fiction novels in-the-making, where a number of authors and/or readers collaborate on a project.

It is surprising why politicians have yet not capitalized on blogs – they could call them P-Blogs!

Copyright © 2007 Noël Gama

About the author

Noël Gama is an AWAI (American Writers & Artists Institute, USA) trained B2B Web copywriter and consultant with more than 20 years experience in the manufacturing industry.

He is the winner of "Writer of the Year 2007" award of The Writers Bureau (UK), the world's largest writing school.

His innovative Blog2Book project was launched by the Consul General of Portugal in June 2006.

His book on writing the obsolescence-free Personnel manual titled, “The Evergreen Redbook” is due for release as the first in the Red2Green series of How-To HRM books.

He writes brochures, articles, press releases, newsletters, white papers, catalogs, and content for landing pages and web sites. 



And, he writes copy himself – he doesn’t hire junior copywriters. The 'Noël Gama' tag on your copy is a guarantee that each and every word was written by him – an advantage not available from other sources.

He has been offered a 2-book deal by Survival Books Ltd., UK for their best-selling series. He has signed the contract for the first book, "Culture Wise India" to be released in the last quarter of 2007. The 2nd book is titled, "Living & Working in India" and is due in spring 2008.

His website: http:// www.noelgama.com