Does Your Last Paragraph Even Matter? – Yes, it Does

Does Your Last Paragraph Even Matter? – Yes, it Does

So many times, blog posts, or even full-blown articles, will be written in such a way that the conclusion is lost in translation. Maybe that is by way of the writer simply trailing off, or maybe it is just that they have completed their thoughts. Whatever the case, the notion that the last paragraph in any kind of writing doesn’t matter, is wrong. Furthermore, it is ultra-important to make sure that the last paragraph is still done with SEO in mind.

The biggest reason to write a great conclusion is this…people bore easily. So, they may find your blog post or article and start to read it with great enthusiasm. But then they’ll start to feel bored or maybe rushed, and they’ll start to scan it. But, even scanning a document tends to have readers really paying attention to the first and last paragraphs. This is perhaps due to the initial enjoyment at a slower pace followed by the fact that they know the end is near, so the scanning slows.

Now, this doesn’t mean that you should only focus on the first and last paragraphs, but you should be sure both, especially the last, are written strongly with proper SEO. The last paragraph is just that…last. So, it is your last chance to catch the reader’s attention. A good rule of thumb is to try and almost summarize the blog post or article by inserting a few main facts into the last paragraph. Once you feel like you’ve summarized everything nicely, you’ll also want to cover two questions…so what? And what’s next? This will help you to neatly sum up the entire piece and possibly have you gently leading the reader to another piece or a call to action.

The moral of the story…conclude your blog posts and articles in an SEO-friendly way and in a way in which people will stop reading with a sense of wanting more. Don’t forget, your last paragraph will be one of the most read and will be your very last opportunity to convey to your reader what you want them to know…make it count.