Mini-sites have long been a source of revenue for many marketers who have a simple product or service to offer. Many people are familiar with mini-sites, but may not understand what the name entails. Whenever you have been redirected to a website for a marketing pitch or e-book, a mini-site usually comes in the form of one or two simple pages – with all of the information you need to know listed on the landing or home page. This type of marketing has become increasingly common over the years and as a result, more people have found the traditional templates and common designs to convey a sense of mediocrity or impersonality; most sites such as these come across as blatant sales pitches. As a result, many marketers now are considering the expansion of their mini-sites’ content as a way to remove that stigma and provide more value to their visitors. Below, we will discuss whether or not this is a good idea.

The Advantages to Content Expansion

There are several key advantages to expanding your mini-site’s content offerings. First of all, pinging links to search engines not only can be a great benefit for your site’s exposure, but it can also help users find the information they need at a quicker rate when displayed on your mini-site. With metrics installed to monitor visitor and customer interaction, you can then determine which pages perform better and build a more concentrated marketing effort around that premise. When you incorporate elements of social media into the platform, you will suddenly enjoy a far more optimized micro-site that is capable of growing your influence on search engines and social media alike.

The Disadvantages to Content Expansion

A few disadvantages will also be present in any strategy to expand content. Prior visitors to the site may not recognize the new interface and that can cause confusion. The more content that is added to a mini-site, the more time will be required in the long-term to update said mini-site and keep its information relevant; some content will be evergreen, but occasional updates are always necessary. Another consideration is how these changes will affect your mini-site’s readability and performance on mobile devices. Mini-sites were utilized years ago for a reason: their simplicity was effective. If you deviate away from this formula too much, then you are in effect operating a traditional website (and will see conversions decrease as a result).

Conclusion

A mini-site is designed usually to serve as a marketing pitch for a product or service. It does not focus on pinging links so much as it does on persuading readers. Because of this, the addition of content can be a valuable and strategic investment in your mini-site. You will want to keep it simple for the most part, however: no more than two or three pages will be sufficient and can help prevent readers from skimming and bouncing sooner than is needed for reaching an ideal number of conversions. While there are downsides to this approach, a simple mini-site that provides users with a bit more information about the product and its purpose is worth the effort for many.