Is longer content always better?

You can certainly make the argument that long-form content is better in many ways. For instance, some reports claim that it gets higher rankings, which can help with your exposure and visibility. Others note that it tends to get more engagement from users, which may mean that it is more likely to get comments or shares on social media.

On top of that, there is clearly an advantage when it comes to dwell times. Users who are actually going to read your long content are going to spend far more time on the page. When you are looking at these metrics, you may believe that long-form content is clearly the superior option.

But the reality is that it really depends on what you are trying to accomplish. This is why it is important to carefully consider the goals of your content, rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach.

Are users willing to scroll?

For instance, there are those who argue that users do not like scrolling. They are looking for quick answers. They want immediate information.

In some cases, users may just find long-form information to be overwhelming or daunting. They do not feel like they have time to read everything on the page, so a large wall of text is too much for them and they look for another source. Short pages may connect better with users who are just looking for quick answers.

But even here, it really pays to know your target audience. Some users want in-depth information and are more than willing to scroll to get it. You can also take steps to encourage this behavior, such as breaking up your content with subheaders that make scanning easy. With correctly formatted content, even a large amount of information feels approachable.

Are you pushing them toward a call to action?

Another thing to consider is the goal of your content. In some cases, you are just trying to get to the call to action to encourage the user to sign up for a newsletter, make a purchase, submit their email address or take whatever other action the page was designed around.

This is often the case with landing pages, for example. You have set up a pay-per-click campaign that directs the user to a landing page. From there, your call to action tells them the next step to take. Short-form content may work well in this capacity, as it quickly gets them to the CTA before they lose interest in the page.

Specific content for your goals

As you can see, there are benefits to both short-form and long-form content. It depends on your target audience, your goals, the efforts you are putting into search engine optimization and much more. It is important to carefully think over all of these details when deciding what will work best for you.

Here at Content Customs, our team will be happy to work with you to address these factors and create the type of content that gets the results you are looking for. Just reach out to us today to get the process started.