Hedir Review : about long descp.

Jackie · Joined: 30 Sep 2005 Posts: 357 23604 Hedir Points

Hi guys,

I went through the free submissions and reviewed few sites over there. I found an acute problem with the submitter i.e. they find difficulties in writing a 500 words long description. What they do is just copy and paste sentences either from their site or by repeating the short description again and again. Can we lessen their difficulty by making a long description reduced to 250-300? This is just my thought. What do you say guys?

Jackie

Edmond Dantès · Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 11:26 am Post subject:

I understand what you said, but, I think that the problem is: in which way can submitter participate ??

nozzmoking · Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:59 pm Post subject:

This problem cropped up some time ago but can't remember how it was left. I'll see if I can dig it out.

AlphaWebDesigns · Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 10:48 pm Post subject:

My 2c on the subject:

For those who are motivated to make an effort, we should provide a short guide to writing good descriptions. Some people will ignore it, but some will try to follow it. Currently I see nothing at the beginning of the submittal process to help someone do it correctly. Even 1 example would be helpful.

Just telling them to write 250 or 500 words isn't enough - we should tell them how to do it, at least in general terms. And state what they should not do, like don't just copy promotional text from the site.

If the submitter knows the purpose of the long description (it is the "business card" part of the listing that is found in the directory) then some submitters may make more effort to write a better one. Right now, they have no way of knowing (other than by observation after the fact) that the long description serves a purpose. Few people will make a good effort to do something tedious with no obvious purpose.

I'd be happy to write a short "how & why to write a good description" bit if you want it. I think it would help those who read directions Smile

It will not help everyone. Some basic instructions should be provided at the point of submittal.

I don't see a valid reason to keep the minimum words at 500 - 2 to 4 good sentences describing a site is more than adequate for a directory user to read and decide if the site is worth a visit.

Want change for your 2c? Smile

nozzmoking · Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 9:52 am Post subject:

Jackie · Joined: 30 Sep 2005 Posts: 357 23604 Hedir Points

There is a submission guideline for submitters' made by Google Junky. I can see there are few lines for writing proper description.

• Do not use many words/phrases separated by commas.
• Do not repeat the same description more than once within the short or long description.
• Do not use your url/domain as part of your description.

But I don't think that a submitter has time to follow those and really care about it.

As you have seen that creating guidelines in separate page is of no use. So, I too believe that if we put that suggested guidelines (by Writergrrrl) in submission form itself. Then it may effect submission a bit.

Jackie

AlphaWebDesigns · Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2007 3:14 am Post subject:

Perhaps this short bit could be added to the submission form? Feel free to edit as you think makes sense:

- Long description should describe the contents of the site and the benefits of the product or the service, using standard sentence structure. Do not just list keywords. Do not repeat sentences or phrases. Avoid writing promotional or marketing language.

Do you think that captures the basics OK?

Thanks, I hope this will help a little Smile

Hedir Developer · Joined: 18 Jan 2006 Posts: 451 16369 Hedir Points

Hi,

I have added the content writen by writergrrrl, hope this will put some effect on submitters. Smile

regards,
Josh

Jackie · Joined: 30 Sep 2005 Posts: 357 23604 Hedir Points

That's nice. I guess submitters will follow this point to increase their chances of inclusion at Hedir. By doing so they will not only help themselves, but also reviewers for a better review.

AlphaWebDesigns · Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2007 8:23 pm Post subject:

Josh, thanks for adding this so quickly.

I really do appreciate how responsive "management" is to the needs of the users. This is something that really sets Hedir apart from many other directories.

Cruise Cat · Joined: 11 Jan 2007 Posts: 116 5550 Hedir Points

The info you recently added to the long description part of the submittal form made it much easier for me to understand what type of verbage you were looking for. Thank you.

AlphaWebDesigns · Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 10:14 pm Post subject:

baggeroli · Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 12:54 am Post subject:

Ah, another very old issue. Yes the the amount of characters should be cut in half. 250 Characters are more than enough to describe a site.

Btw: I also think the "Complete Business and Service information" should be removed. There are plenty of informational sites out there.

Jackie · Joined: 30 Sep 2005 Posts: 357 23604 Hedir Points

Baggeroli, welcome back, nice to see you again Very Happy

baggeroli · Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 2:30 pm Post subject:

Hi Jackie, martial artiste.

I'm sorry I wasn't clear. No, I meant the "Complete Business and Service information" next to the long description form when you want to submit a site.