Ideal Amount of Body Copy for SEO
A question I get asked a lot is how much body copy do I need for SEO? In the early days I used to say from 250 to 500 words. Now I prefer a more custom approach that I learned from Bruce Clay.
It starts with understanding that different queries will call for different amounts of copy. A searcher performing an informational query “how to use an slr camera” wants more copy than someone performing a transactional query “cheap sony slr camera 398.”
Consequently, Google will try to match the results to searcher intent. So if you want your page to rank for a transactional query, make your page look like a product details page, and pare back the copy. If you want to rank for an informational query, bulk up the copy.
So how do you figure out how much copy you need? Figure out which pages are ranking for the keyword you’re targeting, then look at how much body copy they’re sporting. Clearly Google has decided this is roughly the amount of body copy a page targeting this query needs, so write your page to fit within those parameters.
This just a guide. If all the other pages have 1000 words but you only have 250-words worth of stuff to say about the topic, either re-evaluate the topic or leave it at 250. Don’t sacrifice user experience in the name of SEO.
At the same time, don’t let designers or other marketers tell you “no one wants to read that much copy.” Tell that to Wikipedia. People go online for information, generally in the form of words or pictures. Give people the information they want, no more, no less.
So, the amount of body copy on a page will depend on searcher intent, who’s ranking for the query you’re targeting, and how much you really have to say about the topic.
Cathy Reisenwitz is a Birmingham, Alabama-based SEO. She blogs at Birmingham SEO Blog.
