Is more content less... or more?

Is less on your website really more?

How much content should you have on your website? I saw a rather lengthy article on a social channel by a web developer who was very frustrated. Apparently, their clients had too much content! The article went on for a good while about how less is more and how, if only people would “slim things down” and get rid of so much content, that traversing their website would be so much better. But is that really true?

While too much is actually too much in any case, and I understand that no one wants to wade through “War and Peace” in a ten-pixel font on a cell phone screen, I have to say I completely disagree with this assessment. Yes, I understand that the web should be different. Yes, the UI or user interface should be intuitive, simple and all of the content should not be in one pile on one page. With that said, in this new digital age, it’s safe to apply the “content is king” mentality.

Even though many businesses have existed since before the web was even imagined, it seems the whole wide world has gone digital now. And that means everything. No one is going to search for information in a dictionary, a big yellow book of addresses, or a collection of hardback encyclopedias. They’ll grab their phone, tablet, or laptop and try Google. No matter what type of product or service you have to offer, you’ll be receiving visits from two kinds of potential customers… those who want a lot of detail, and those who like to keep it simple. So while lengthy sections of text and endlessly loading images are too much at once, we’re no longer saddled with the limitations of the printed page.

The best way to please everyone is to provide what everyone wants. Create a simple interface that features a few main options that lead to more detailed sections. There’s nothing wrong with having a lot of relevant content, as long as it isn’t covering the entire page all at one time. Even Google prefers topic sentences throughout large areas of text along with clear descriptive titles and subtitles. Keeping your data organized is the first step in offering an attractive user interface.

Keep top sellers and featured specials upfront along with buttons or links that lead to more information if required. Did you know that search engines prefer written content? Hiding too much text can be a detriment to a site’s search engine rankings. When search engine spiders crawl your site, the only way they have to organize your offerings is by the words on those pages. The words on your pages should be especially relevant to the exact product or service you’re providing. And the more the better! If someone asked you where to buy shoes, would you send them to the person with two shoes and a sign? Or would you choose the one with a catalog of shoe descriptions and categories of shoes to choose from? It’s absolutely true that the site with the most relevant content for the key phrase or keyword of choice is the one who will rank the highest.

So on the web, less is not more. Good organization is more. Content is king in the digital age so don’t be afraid to explore the possibilities! Add a blog about product manufacturing… run ads and contests on branding and packaging designs… offer a well-written history of your product’s contributions to the improvement of society. The things you can write about within your genre should be of interest to visitors to any of your pages. All of the website pages should work together in a common way to add valuable data regarding your one specific business genre.

If you offer products or services that are outside your website’s main genre, do not include them. It’s better to buy them their own domain then to cloud up your presentation. If Google’s spiders crawl your site and find too many conflicting key phrases, they won’t know how to effectively categorize your site, and therefore, your site’s ranking will be low or your site may not even be ranked at all. So try to stay on track with your decided theme, ensure that all of your content will comfortably combine within one genre, and don’t be afraid of content! Just keep it as organized as possible for a clean user interface, as well as quick availability for those who are looking to learn more.

There are so many great ways to organize content on the internet, including sections, bullets, links, pop-ups, accordions, and categorized pages and posts with site-wide navigation that there’s no excuse for lack of content. Ensure that your visitors are not disappointed and that your site is well ranked by providing all of the pertinent information that you can gather. It takes a bit more work and has to utilize a great UI to succeed, but it’s well worth the payoff.

If you need help with comprehensive content creation, pages, or posts, feel free to contact us today. We’ll research your product, service, or offering and provide keyphrase driven content that’s relevant to your visitors and rankable to ensure the highest return on investment.