Our clients look to us for professional recommendations when it comes to their websites. From strategy to execution, a common category of confusion lies in their website content. We understand why they seek to understand before drafting the content; digital content has never been more important for businesses.
One of the most common questions we get about website content is about the right content length.
How long should each page be?
How much content should they have?
How many words should they write?
The short (and honest) answer to this question is, there is not a one-size-fits-all answer for length. It depends on so many things about your business and audience. However, there are some best practices you can follow to determine the proper length for your website pages.
Why Does Length Vary?
Every industry and every business is unique; it’s that simple (and complicated) of an answer. The ultimate goal for website content is to inform your audience and search engines (for organic SEO) with the necessary information they’re looking for.
Some businesses such as WebMD or more information-driven websites will have longer website content than a business using their website to showcase an upcoming event. You can look at competitor websites or other businesses in your industry to get a sense of an appropriate length.
Rich Content > Amount of Content
High-quality content beats quantity every time. This applies to both search engines and readers. Focus on creating better content, rather than just more of it. Google focuses on content quality, so focus on meaningful content for your website instead of the length.
When you provide solid information through your website content, it shows you’re a subject matter expert within your field. Whether this can be completed in 100 or 500 words, substance, not fluff, should always be the driver.
If there’s one thing to take away from this section, it’s to make sure your main idea is clear to the reader. Your top priority should be providing value, rather than just trying to fill up a page with words and visuals.
Web Pages Are a Tease
No matter your reason for having a website, you probably want people to take action after viewing it. When creating content for your website pages, you should strive to give enough information to answer your readers’ questions, but leave enough room for them to either reach out to you or go to your blog for more information.
We’ll talk about what constitutes as a blog post next, but don’t saturate your content with words just to make it look long. When writing your website copy, make sure every word on your pages is there for a reason.
Your content can link to other pages within the copy rather than stating the same thing on two different pages. This also enhances your site’s SEO while also keeping your readers on your website for longer.
A Web Page or Blog Post?
There comes a point when writing website content that you need to ask yourself if what you’re writing needs its own web page. Take GreenMellen’s website as an example.
Our main website pages are dedicated to our services, our team, our work, our resources, and a way to contact us. When you look at our services page, you will see we give just enough information to explain what exactly we do, but not too thorough to the point where you’re sifting through content to find an answer.
If someone were to spend too much time on your website trying to find their answer, they could leave your website altogether. Don’t lose your reader with a bunch of words; hit the main point and end it with a call to action.
Page Structure
Last, but certainly not least, it’s good to remember that readers tend to scan websites for specific information, so structure your web page so they can find useful content to them. Break your content into paragraphs and bullet points, and add headlines throughout the content.
Bottom line: there is no “magic number” for a number of characters for content. As long as the web page content is clear, to the point and written for people, it will meet the mark for a strong web page.
For more information about website content, contact GreenMellen Media today!
