A simple enough question. Unfortunately, there isn’t a straightforward answer. There are loads of factors to take into account, such as:
- What is the purpose of your website?
- Are you showcasing a large range of products, or is your site full of information about the different services you offer?
- Are most people likely to be using your site to find some basic information and a phone number?
- Or are people probably going to spend a long time on your site learning about your services?
Different website and SEO experts will tell you that the optimal number of words on a webpage is 350, 500, 600 and a range of other numbers. And it’s certainly true that in terms of effective search engine optimisation, you need to have a few hundred words on the page in order to use your key words and phrases effectively.
However, in terms of usability, the answer is fairly simple: Use as many words as it takes to inform your customers and persuade them to take the next step – whether that’s buying online, giving you a call, or paying you a visit. Ultimately, it depends on the kind of products, services or information on your website. An image-heavy e-commerce site may need only a few words per page, while a blog site or news page could require over 1000 words.
Most importantly, don’t add extra words just for the sake of increasing the word count. Remember, Google is placing more and more importance on websites that are informative, useful and enjoyable to use (it’s the Panda update again; I’m going to be mentioning this an awful lot over the coming weeks and months…). With that in mind, it’s much better to have 100 words of relevant, engaging content on a webpage than 500 words of waffle.
