Are You Using the Passive Voice on Your Website? How to Fix It (and Why It Matters).
Having less writing can often make your site more engaging.
Having too much content makes your website:
1) Harder to navigate
2) Less visually appealing
3) Overwhelming
But how do you know what to trim?
One thing you can do is scan your pages for what is called “the passive voice.”
In this article I will demonstrate what the passive voice is, why it’s less effective, and what to about it.
The passive voice often uses more words to say the same thing. It’s confusing, less direct, and makes you sound less confident.
Examples of Passive vs. Active Voice
Passive Voice: The online therapy sessions are provided by me.
Active Voice: I provide therapy sessions online.
Passive Voice: Anxiety is treated by our specialists.
Active Voice: Our specialists treat anxiety.
Passive Voice: The initial consultation is provided at no cost by us.
Active Voice: We provide a free initial consultation.
A simple trick to spot the passive voice in your writing? Find “the doer.”
The “doer” is –you guessed it– the one doing the action in the sentence!
The doer should be at the beginning of the sentence.
If the doer is at the end of the sentence, you know you’re likely in the passive voice.
How to transform the passive voice into the active voice
Now that you’ve found the “doer”, move that to the beginning of the sentence and then adjust the verb so it makes sense (see the examples above).
A word about word counts for SEO
While opinions vary on the actual number (I often hear a minimum word count of 300), we do know that Google does not like “thin content.”
But more than counting words Google is going to amplify your pages when they are:
In-depth vs. skimming the surface
Original (aka, new ideas or not just repurposing what’s already out there or using AI to write content for you)
Tailored to your audience to keep them engaged (the longer people stay on your page and click through to new pages, the better for your SEO)
Demonstrating your authority and expertise on the subject you’re writing about
TL;DR: worry less about the exact number of words about more about making sure you are delivering on quality (and eliminating the passive voice is just one way to do that)!
What to do next
Take a single step towards making your website content more effective by scanning just a single page of your site and swap the passive for the active!
Don’t feel like you need to overhaul your whole site. Go one page–or heck, just one section–at a time and know you are on your way!
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