Write for scanners without lying

People scan. Fighting that fact with walls of prose loses. Serving it with lying headings (“You won’t believe…”) also loses — trust decays faster than bounce rate.

Headings as a table of contents

If someone only reads H2s, they should still walk away with accurate takeaways. That constraint alone kills fluffy section titles.

Short paragraphs are not a style; they are courtesy

Three to five lines on desktop is enough for most ideas. When a paragraph crosses a screen, split it at the pivot of the argument, not mid-breath.

Lists for sequences, prose for judgment

Steps and inventories belong in lists. Nuance, tradeoffs, and voice belong in sentences. Mixing those up is how you get 14-bullet “essays” that never argue anything.

SEO as naming, not decoration

Use the words your reader uses in titles and headings when they match the content. Do not bend the page around a phrase it cannot honestly cover. Ranking for the wrong query is a tax you pay forever in confused visitors.