When you hear short or long, you think of the length of something right?
These terms worked well in the old days of copywriting – a sales letter’s content could be easily described as either long or short.
But websites are much different since hyperlinks break the flow of web copy. People, and I’m no exception, rarely read entire web pages in a sequential fashion – they scan content for relevant information and move from one page to another through links that interest them.
So in the context of web copywriting, short vs. long means more like minimal or pared down vs. expansive and content rich.
More crucial than simply long or short is whether your copy/content answers potential customers’ questions and concerns. Studies show that well over one-half of potential customers do not convert because the site’s content fails to do just that.
That’s why “long” copy web pages have better sales conversions than minimal or “short” copy – they do a much better job of completely answering customers’ concerns.
And answering questions isn’t limited to just copy…they are also answerable through video, audio, customer reviews, blogs, forums, etc.
Think of it this way – sites who do not answer visitors’ questions through content and hyperlinks run the risk of falling into the “used-car salesman” trap and do nothing but frustrate prospects and force them to look elsewhere.
Focus more on putting yourself into your customer’s shoes – copy on a page can be short if it includes hyperlinks to more information and/or addresses their concerns. Each individual can learn as little or as much as they need or want before purchasing your product or subscribing to your service.
Learn more about short vs. long in the context of SEO copywriting in this informative article from GrokDotCom.
Tags: Online Marketing, search engine optimization, SEO copywriting
did you mean that long copy is better than short?
nice read
check me out at http://www.affiliatemarketingtipsblog.com
Thanks for the article. As you pointed out, copy needs to deal with objections and lots of other things.
I wrote an article on my blog recently about length of sales copy in which I used the analogy of a bridge.
A sales letter needs to be as long as a bridge. It needs to bridge the “gap” between where a customer is “at” when they first visit your site (i.e. skepticism, mild curiosity, and where you WANT them to be by the end.
There are lots of factors that determine the length (which I list in my post)… and that’s why many sales letters are long.
Paul Hancox