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How Many Words Should Your Webpage Have?

Guest post by: Paul Tobey

Article Overview: One of the most pervasive myths is that you should write short copy, because people won’t read long copy. In test after test this has been proven wrong and yet the myth prevails.

How Many Words Should Your Webpage Have?

How long should your copy be? You are writing copy for your website, brochure or a print ad, and you are not sure how long is too long? One of the most pervasive myths is that you should write short copy, because people won’t read long copy. In test after test this has been proven wrong and yet the myth prevails.

The truth is that it's not what you write, but how you write it that matters.

What type of reader are you? Do you scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the deal then read by scrolling up? Are you a scanner that will read headlines or bullets? Are you a person that will read every word? Or are you a person that sees cost vs. value and you'll stop after reading the deal?

If you write copy to enroll and engage people, folks will read whatever interests them. For example, people read newspapers, they read long books, long articles and long letters. The more they're interested, the more they'll read. The key is attracting their attention with a powerful headline and keeping them engaged as they read.



Studies on how people read advertising and mail, show that readership of marketing materials quickly drops after the first 50 words, but stays high from 50 words to 500 words. That means people who are not interested and engaged will discard your letter or advertisement in a hurry, but interested prospects will read every word, trying to learn as much about what you have to offer as they can.



In my 3-Day internet marketing intensives, people always bring up the subject of how long is too long. I simply show them my web stats to prove to them that long copy could convert, and in fact, sometimes converts better than my shorter conversion pages.

With that said, as an internet marketer I write for both the end-user and the search engine, making sure each of my pages are well optimized. Therefore, good solid content is king when it comes to google, therefore, I usually recommend between 300-500 words for my internet students.

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Article Tags: convert, copy, engage, how, long, many, short, words



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