How much copy do you need on the homepage?

[KevinBloom]

The general rule used to be around 300 words of copy on the homepage, but so many new websites now have very little copy, if any, on the homepage.

Has the best practice changed here? If you include keywords in the title and header tags, is that enough to support strong SEO on the homepage...or do you need a few hundred words of copy still? Would love to hear what others think.

[ChaseMG]

This echoes the sentiment behind EGOL and Ray-pp: as much you need. Don't throw text on the home page just for the sake of having more text on it for SEO. That's the very definition of spam and thin content. If you don't intend for anybody to read it, don't keep it.

[EGOL]

There are many opinions about this.

Photographer sites often have very little text on their homepage.  They think that is smart because it allows their work to be uncorrupted by text.  I don't agree, but they don't like it when I offer an opinion that more text will bring in more traffic.

Newspaper sites usually have enormous amounts of text on the homepage.  Today the New York Times has over 5000 words on their homepage.  The LA Times and CNN are also huge.

Today, my info site has about 2000 words on the homepage.  I know from experience (before google used "not provided") that when the site had very little text on the homepage my long tail traffic was a fraction of what it is now.  So, I have found a correlation with a lot of words on the homepage and a lot of traffic from search.

Today, one of my retail sites has about 700 words on the homepage.  That is the amount I need to tell people what they will find in the different parts of my website.   I don't worry about how many words are on the homepage and don't worry about what other people say is "best practice".   I bet on myself instead of being swayed by other people talkin'.

Now... I do listen to people like Ray-pp when he says... "I recommend adding enough content to your home page that clearly explains why someone would want to use your product and the benefits they will receive from using the product. If I can get that from your home page, then it is a successful user experience."

That makes a lot of sense.  Why would you try to sell someone half a pair of pants?

[Ray-pp]

As much as copy that is needed to add quality information to your readers and clearly communicate your value proposition.

The industry has moved away from 'a minimum of 300 words is needed' to focus on the quality of content provided to the readers. Branding also influences a home page - some brands prefer a clean, minimal interface and already have the traction (word of mouth, referrals) needed to keep themselves sustained.

I recommend adding enough content to your home page that clearly explains why someone would want to use your product and the benefits they will receive from using the product. If I can get that from your home page, then it is a successful user experience.

Of course, keep that content targeted to your main topic / terms, but don't think that optimizing only the major on-page components will keep you high in the rankings.