Using Bold and Italic Font

Should you be using bold and italic font in your copy? Yeah! …and also, no.

Bold font! It’s easy to read. It stands out on the page. It draws the eye in. Why not use bold font?

Another cool thing about bold font is that Google likes it. So if you use it smartly, and put keywords in bold, you get extra SEO points. Not bad!

Visually, though, bold font can make either a positive or a negative impact. Scattering bold here and there throughout a blog post can just look cluttered and distracting. Your readers won’t like that. So for the most part, stick to using bold in headings or other places where it’s really important that your reader take away a particular phrase or idea. You might consider bolding keywords and key phrases too.

Italics are a little different. While they’re also good for SEO, you can also use italics just to emphasize a specific word, or to stress a particular point or idea. When I write for the web, I use italics the same way I would for offline writing. Also, in book titles, italics look nicer than underlining when viewed on a screen (I think so, anyway).

Try not to mix up a lot of bold and italic font in the same blog post; it looks messy. Take a look at your post in preview mode to see how it looks visually before you post. That’s just common sense, but it’s especially important if you’re using these visual elements in your writing.

Do you strategically use bold or italic font in your web writing?