Comments on: Make Your Blog Easy to Read: Heck, even a Ph.D can.

By: Russell Davison

Russell Davison — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:25:06 +0000

Hello Big Bucks Blogger,

I was interested in this post and followed your link to “Debt Settlement , Auto & Home Warranty Leads” which, I guess, used to be an online readability tool. Do you have the new URL for the online readability tool or an equivalent tool?

By: Gaje Master

Gaje Master — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 08:08:40 +0000

We should all be proud that we write like grade schoolers. I am going to have to modify my blog so that my four year old can understand it. I would rather read a blog that I can understand than one that I have to concentrate into the weeeeeeee hours on.

By: CyberCelt

CyberCelt — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 02:39:56 +0000

Genius on all my blogs. Does that mean they are hard to read? AUUUGGGGGHHHHH.

By: Stephan Miller

Stephan Miller — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:01:51 +0000

I in Elementary School, just where I wanted to be. I guess the thing only checks the front page. Mine really should be all over the map, at least up to high school.

By: Lucia

Lucia — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 15:39:43 +0000

@Matt– I think it’s hilarious that formulas still come out Elementary!

@5ubliminal — Google’s search page is PostGrad?! Heh!

@Kristen — Do reserve judgment about “post grad” being a bad thing. Later on, I found some “post grad” blogs that were easy to read. I don’t know what the algorithm checks. They may check sentence length, they may look for multi-syllable words. Depending on content, you might need to use multi-syllable words.

By: Lord Matt

Lord Matt — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 07:42:16 +0000

The style of writing and the clarity of expression within a given “reading level” have as much a part to play in the readers that you attract as the complexity or lack thereof.

For example if my blog said things like “colourless ideas sleep furiously” on any regular basis it is easy enough to read but comprehension would be another issue.

All my efforts came out as Elementary even where I used complex formula…

By: Kristen

Kristen — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 20:03:25 +0000

Dang it, I really have to think about this when I am blogging. I was thinking it was pretty easy, but I got post-grad on the site. Yikes!

By: 5ubliminal

5ubliminal — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 10:32:37 +0000

Why would Google.com be rated Genius unless this is precoded in the app. They hardly have any text on site. But Genius??? (smells like a ki$$ a$$ to me)

By: Lucia

Lucia — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 18:49:10 +0000

I think Mu’s advice is wise in general. That said, I’m always a bit suspicious of these tools which should never be used blindly. The difficulty is that clear communication sometimes requires longer words or more complex sentences and even equations. It may also require the use of “terms of art” which are often called “jargon” by those outside a particular field.

At other times, entirely jargon-free short sentences with smaller words are better. It all depends on what you are communicating and the interest of your audience.

That said, blogs are rarely platforms to discuss high-level research with specialists in the field. So, generally speaking high-school or below will be the appropriate reading level for our content.

By: Caroline Middlebrook

Caroline Middlebrook — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 16:10:11 +0000

Lol I am writing a junior high level. Apparently ProBlogger is a genius lol!