The Great Content Lie: Why Most Business Owners are Wasting Their Evenings
If you’ve spent any time looking at how to grow your business online, you’ve probably heard the same two pieces of conflicting advice.
One person tells you that "attention spans are shrinking," so you need to post short, snappy videos and tiny blurbs on Facebook. The next person tells you that Google only likes "long-form content," and if you aren't writing 3,000-word essays, you’re invisible.
Both of them are usually wrong.
Here is the reality for a Brisbane plumber, a law firm in the CBD, or a shop in Chermside: Your customers don't care how long your content is. They care if you can solve their problem, if you look like an expert, and if they can trust you with their money.
I’ve seen business owners spend ten hours a week writing blog posts that nobody reads, while their competitors are getting three phone calls a day from a single, well-written page.
In this guide, we are going to bust the myths about long vs. short content. I’m going to show you exactly what makes people pick up the phone and why most of what you’ve been told is a massive waste of your time and money.
Myth #1: "People Don't Read Anymore"
You’ve heard this one. "People have the attention span of a goldfish."
It’s rubbish. People have a very high threshold for boring stuff, but they have an infinite attention span for things that solve their problems.
If someone’s hot water system has exploded and is flooding their laundry at 10:00 PM on a Tuesday, they will read every single word on your page if it convinces them that you are the fastest, most reliable person to fix it. They aren't looking for a 'snappy' TikTok dance; they are looking for a solution.
Short content (like a quick Facebook post or a 30-second video) is great for staying top-of-mind. It’s like a digital business card. But long content—when done right—is what actually closes the sale.
However, there is a trap. Many business owners think "long" means "educational." They start writing guides on "How to maintain your PVC pipes." This is a mistake. You aren't a teacher; you're a service provider. If you spend your time writing how-to articles, you'll end up attracting DIY-ers who want to fix it themselves for free, rather than customers who want to pay you to do it right.
Myth #2: "Google Only Ranks Long Articles"
There is a grain of truth here, but it’s been twisted. Google likes "depth." They want to send their users to a page that answers a question completely.
If you write a 200-word page about "Kitchen Renovations Brisbane," Google probably won't show it to anyone. Why? Because there’s no way you’ve explained the process, the costs, the materials, and the timelines in 200 words.
But if you write 2,000 words of fluff and "marketing speak" just to hit a word count, Google will eventually figure out that people are leaving your site immediately because it’s boring.
What actually works is being thorough. If a customer typically asks you ten questions before they hire you, your website page should answer all ten of those questions. If that takes 500 words, fine. If it takes 2,000, that’s fine too.
Focus on the outcome: Does this page make me look like the best option in Brisbane?
Long-Form Content: The "Silent Salesman"
Think of long-form content as your best salesperson who never sleeps.
When we work with professional services—like accountants or mortgage brokers—we find that the "long" pages are the ones that do the heavy lifting. A customer looking for a mortgage is nervous. They are about to sign away thirty years of their life. They want detail. They want to know you understand the Brisbane property market.
If your website is just a couple of bullet points and a "Contact Us" button, you are forcing them to call you to get their questions answered. Most people are busy. They’d rather read your site at 9:00 PM while sitting on the couch than play phone tag with you during work hours.
By providing a deep-dive into how you work, you are pre-selling the customer. By the time they hit that "Enquire Now" button, they’ve already decided they want to work with you. This saves you hours of time on the phone repeating the same basic information.
Short-Form Content: The "Digital Tap on the Shoulder"
Short content has a different job. This is your Facebook updates, your Instagram photos of a finished job, or a quick Google Business Profile post.
Its job isn't to explain your entire business model. Its job is to say: "Hey, we’re still here, we’re doing great work, and we’re local."
For a tradie, a photo of a beautifully tiled bathroom in Paddington with a three-sentence caption is worth more than a 2,000-word essay on the history of ceramics. Why? Because it’s visual proof. It’s a quick win.
But here is where most people fail: They do only short content. They have a great social media presence, but when a customer clicks through to their website, there’s nothing there. The customer loses interest because there’s no substance.
The "One Good Post" Strategy
Most small business owners are exhausted by the idea of "content creation." You’ve got a business to run. You don't have time to be a full-time blogger.
The secret isn't writing more; it’s making what you write work harder. We always tell our clients to make one good post and then use it in ten different ways.
For example: 1. Write one deep, helpful page on your website about your main service (e.g., "Emergency Tree Removal in Brisbane Northside"). 2. Take three photos from that page and put them on Instagram. 3. Take one frequently asked question from that page and post it on Facebook with the answer. 4. Send a link to that page to your email list. 5. Post a link to it on your Google Business Profile.
You’ve done the hard work once, but you’re appearing everywhere. That is how you get a return on your time.
How Much Does This Cost?
Let’s talk brass tacks.
If you do it yourself, it costs you time. And as a business owner, your time is worth at least $100–$250 an hour. If you spend five hours writing a blog post that brings in zero leads, you’ve just wasted over $500 of your own time.
If you hire an agency, a high-quality, sales-focused long-form page might cost you anywhere from $500 to $1,500.
That sounds like a lot for "one page," right? But look at the math: If that page brings in just one new customer a month for the next three years, what is that worth to you? For a builder, that’s hundreds of thousands in revenue. For a pest controller, it’s thousands.
Contrast that with spending $50 a day on Facebook ads that stop working the second you stop paying. A good piece of content is an asset. It’s like buying the building instead of renting it.
What Should You Do First?
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, stop trying to do everything.
First, look at your website. Is it actually helping you, or is your website costing you time because you're constantly fixing it or explaining things it should already say?
Start with your most profitable service. Write everything a customer needs to know about it. Don't worry about being a "writer." Just talk to the page like you’re talking to a customer. - What does it cost? - How long does it take? - Why should they pick you over the guy down the road? - What happens if something goes wrong?
Get that right first. Once that page is acting as a 24/7 salesman, then you can worry about the short, snappy social media posts to drive people to it.
The Verdict
Short-form content gets you noticed. Long-form content gets you paid.
Stop listening to people who tell you that one is better than the other. They are different tools for different jobs. If you want more phone calls and more bookings, you need substance. You need to prove you know your stuff.
Don't write for the sake of writing. Write to solve problems, answer questions, and make it easy for a Brisbane local to say, "Yep, these are the people I’m calling."
Ready to stop wasting time on marketing that doesn't work?
At Local Marketing Group, we don't care about "likes" or "shares"—we care about your phone ringing. If you want a website that actually acts as a salesperson for your business, we can help.
Contact Local Marketing Group today and let’s get your business growing.