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Long Web Pages

Tuesday, April 26th, 2005 at 7:52 PM Category: Meryl's Notes Blog 1 comment

You’ve seen them. It’s hard to miss at some point while you’re surfing the Web. Long Web pages promoting a product or service. Mainly text and maybe with an image here and there along with some bolding and yellow highlights. Why long web pages are better than short ones. Now, I don’t mind scrolling and reading something that’s long when it’s useful.

I understand these “ads” are trying to erase every doubt and question you might have about making the buy. These pages also strategically place a closer at the end and in obvious places in the middle for those who scan the page. Seriously. When I arrive at such a Web page, my eyes glaze over. Most of the time, they’re not good reading. Yet some of these folks pull big bucks.

I asked an expert copywriter about this. He claims they would make bigger bucks if the writing improved and captured our attention longer. Roy Williams shares a few words on the topic. I agree that the higher the price, the more information provided. I’ve been taking a course on this kind of writing, but so far it hasn’t clicked with me. I do not have the ability to sell like my dad and brother. But I thought it would come naturally in writing. So far, nada.