32 replies to this topic

[Shep]

I have a sister that is a talented writer. I am attempting to train her as a web copywriter. This morning we had a discussion on the amount of text on a page. I was trying to explain to her that normally it is best to have a two or three hundred words on a page so that you have more content. Her goal was to say as much as possible with as few words as possible.

Can someone give us some guidance or advise on how to strike a proper balance between the two.

[websage]

http://www.highranki...seo-writing.htm

"The Nitty-gritty of Writing for the Search Engines" by Jill Whalen has all the answers...

[mcanerin]

You are right in that usually 2-400 words is a good number to aim for, but it's not a hard rule.

There are a great many pages that rank very well that are basically news stories or How-to's that are thousands of words in length.

Your can also find pages that have little text (or no) in them that rank well due to incoming links or highly specific phrases.

One thing I saw that seemed to work well was a single page with a fair amount of text on it, but only very short and sweet bits of it were visible at any one time - a DHTML variation of the old frames+bookmark trick.

This gives the illusion of short, pithy statements, but they are all coming from one page with a good amount of content on it (Google ignores the spaces for the most part)

Other options are of course PPC and so forth.

Oh, and welcome, Shep!

Ian

[copywriter]

That's really not a question for the copywriter... it's a question for the target audience

Several factors go into making the decision about copy length including:communication style of customer
how familiar the product/service is in the marketplace
the price of the product/service
and several other factors.

For example, if you're dealing with CEOs and corporate heads, chances are they won't tolerate copy longer than about 300 words or so on a page whether the product is old, new or anything in between. They make decisions fast and want the bottom line only.

On the other hand, if you're dealing with the average Joe who is a blue collar worker, they make decisions very slowly and require a lot of information on anything slightly new.

All copy should not automatically be the same length, imo. It should be tailored to the customer.

Karon

[TopDog]

Hi Shep

There is some good advice on this page. Your sister is right in that you need to effectively communicate to a user who might be quickly scanning a web page. You also need to keep the audience in mind and write for them first, but don't forget about the search engines while you are communicating. Keywords and content length need to be considered if you are going to give the search engines what they are looking for.

My philosophy is to put the most effective text and tareted keywords up front, and the elaboration second. Build on your keyword theme, but don't add unecessary text just for the sake of adding length, or you will bore your audience.

[copywriter]

Welcome TopDog!

[Maria]

I like the newspaper idea of "above the fold" -- if you are targeting humans then you need to make sure the things you want them to see do not require them scroll down!

While hunting for information people will often go to a page, "scan" it quickly, then if they can't find what they want will hit Back as a preference to scrolling down...

Maria

[copywriter]

Welcome Maria!

Have to disagree with you on the scrolling thing, though. As long as your copy is relevant and gives the reader what he/she wants scrolling is not a problem.

99% of the copy I write goes below the fold and requires scrolling... but it sells

Karon

[orchid]

Hi
I agree with you karon.....I dont think scrolling down should be a problem if what you've written is well targetted and is making sense for the visitor.....
I think it's always best to be concise and bang on target.....I don't really think one can decide the ideal number of words for a page...it all depends on what you want to say....and how you are going to say it......

[Scottie]

Welcome Orchid!

I totally agree- say what needs saying! No more, no less.

[Jill]

Welcome, orchid!

Jill

[copywriter]

Welcome Orchid!

You're absolutely right!

[anthonyparsons.com]

Shep,

I have a simple theory to this. Go with your sister's advice. Quality is far better than quantity.

That I can substantiate with a simple search. If you search for "bombonieres" within Google Australia .au search, you will find a client of mine ranked #7 for a page with no descriptive text as yet, just well optimized and a page header. The proof is in the pudding.

That single word has a decent search value applied to it. This also demonstrates the power of a regional code for regional specific businesses. Two fold.

Another is my recent website that I launched for my SEO business. "Search Engine Copywriting", popular keyword phrase. My page has only been advertised for 6 weeks now and ranks directly under Karons, about 5 or 6 for that term. The page has no great quantity of words, just quality to the point information. This does contain more than 200 words though. Two examples for you to look at.

[Scottie]

If you search for "bombonieres" within Google Australia .au search, you will find a client of mine ranked #7 for a page with no descriptive text as yet, just well optimized and a page header.

I've got to ask... what are bombonieres?

[anthonyparsons.com]

They are those things you put on your table at weddings, ie. the little sugar lollies and decorations for each guest. Your a girl, what tha....