noob question: 200-400 words or 500+ word articles. Which is better?

[racso316]

I want to know if I should write certain amount of words for articles for different purposes. And how many words is best or if it actually matters at all?

For instance, if I'm writing an article for ezinearticles, what's better to rank in google and get traffic to my site, a 500 word article or 250 word article is fine?

And for content on my site, should I aim for 500+ word articles or it doesn't really matter and just write what I have to write without putting attention to the amount of words.

If there is a difference and one amount is better than the other, can you explain me why? Is it for seo? Or something else?

Thanks for your help and time, all help is appreciated.

[SFranklin]

I've writen several PLR articles and they were all over 500 words, that seems to be the expectation for people that want content for their site and high SEO.

[kanwarjot]

I always prefer articles less than 400 words. But this is not a rule. In some cases when I have to provide detailed analysis, I even write upto 1000 words.
So the word limit should be chosen depending on the article topic and how much in depth analysis you want to do

[JJOrana]

You're missing the point.

Think about your readers first. Your article is for human and not for robots. Give value to readers and only then you should consider optimizing it for Google.

[Zeus66]

If you are determined to use a word length benchmark, here are a couple of things to consider...

If you have a long list of keywords you need to write articles for in your article marketing plan, shoot for about 400 words. That's enough to cover one or at most two topics related to that keyword. A shorter length helps you keep a tight focus, and that helps with SEO. Google likes content for which its bot can easily discern the theme.

If you want a lot of people to pick up your articles and publish them on their blogs/sites, go longer. I've been using EzineArticles for several years across many topics, and I've noticed a definite pattern. The longer articles (600-1000 words) always get published more often, which of course spreads your link around more effectively.

Given both of those points, I shoot for 500-600 words more often than not. If I can stretch to 600 without diluting the keyword SEO too much and writing with too broad a brush, I consider that the best length.

John

[Lindsay Brynn]

around 300 or so words for article marketing and 500+ for blog posts

[AfteraDream]

Look at Steve Pavlina. They guy writes long as.s posts and they are great. Seth Godin is writing quite short posts and they are great. Choose what works for you. Forget Google, you write for PEOPLE. Don't count words, it's most important to get your message across clearly and with good detail.

[sachibhat]

250 Word article is fine and takes less time to write

[WinsonYeung]

I always write 500 words articles in the past but it seem that the click through rate is not as high compare to a articles that is 300 to 400 words. Maybe the resource box will be more obvious if the article length is shorter

[racso316]

I know I should write the articles (or outsource them) with poeple in mind, not google. But I read that 500+ word articles are better for seo. So I wasn't sure. Maybe I would write a 300 word article and wouldn't help my rankings or whatever. Nut it looks like people have different opinions.

Thanks for the answers

[tommygadget]

You should try to sound as natural as possible. If your style is short and to the point, don't force it just for the sake of broader keywords.

TomG.

[Do-My-Research]

On most subjects, I personally prefer reading shorter articles, so I also keep the articles I write short. Never really considered to optimize the word count for SEO as it seems to be the wrong thing to do SEO on.

[jmidas]

To keep things simple: you are safe is you keep them all to the 400-500 range with some a little over or under depending on how much you need to convey your thoughts clearly. But, that 400-500 range is a good one to stay within.

[esericsu]

I think 400-500 words articles are the best to submit to article directories.
1)Most people hate to read long articles
2)You can crank out more articles quicker with more clicks
3)The more articles you have the more keywords you have

[Chris Kent]

When I am in super fast "crank the articles out" mode, I seem to end up reaching a natural word count of around 320.

Certainly I would never write 500 words for someone else's site. Save those longer articles for your own site. Give your shorter ones to EZA.

[racso316]

got it. appreciate the feedback guys. thanks so much

[AndyBlackSEO]

I think you shouldn't really focus on the amount of words but rather get the required content down that you need. Anything from 350 words upwards should be fine, but if you write an article an it's 600 words but written naturally and easy to read, then that is the right amount.

[billaaa777]

As the #2 rated author in a highly lucrative category of 2,000 writers or so, whose articles are usually approved and put on the front page within a few days I feel I have a little expertise I could add here.

I get a ton of traffic from Ezine and have found 300 to 400 word articles work best. Sometimes I will get carried away with an article and when I look down after I finish I will find it is 500 to 600 words.

Then, I just say, Damm to myself, why are you wasting your time doing that, you're not going to get anymore traffic from it.

I still remember when I first started one of the best E-Books I ever downloaded on Bum Marketing and his comment on this subject. He said; keep you articles short, and then but in caps and bold print the reason why,

"BECAUSE IF THEY ARE READING YOUR ARTICLES AT OTHER PEOPLES SITE, YOUR NOT MAKING ANY MONEY."

[tssen]

I have read heaps of people say between 300 and 400. More than 500 then your article better be pretty good.

[A8ch]

I don't believe that word count by itself necessarily influences an article's click through rate.
Readers are primarily interested in useful content. That's where they determine value. If you
can make your point and deliver that value in 250 words or 500 words, you would've reached
the goal. Of course, testing and then analyzing your stats will give you the best clues as to
which article length returns the best results for you.

Hermas

[7figurehelper]

Readers attention spans are not long at all. I wouldn't suggest worrying about the word count per se but you don't want it to be extremely long. What has worked best for me is keeping it in the 400-530 range.

Just make sure it is interesting, has personality, and full of great content. You want to hold the readers attention. Also make sure you tell them what you want them to do next (your call to action). This is usually done in the last sentence.

Although it may be obvious some people just don't get it.

[Mr McDonald]

First and foremost there is a basic rule we all need to follow when submitting to any article directory. You must create quality content and properly discuss the article topic. There is nothing worse than reading a obvious sales pitch.
As long as you hit on the article topic instead of filling pages full of irrelivent content , just discuss the topic in question and create a 1 page article around 500 words keeping it interesting to your readers.

[dave147]

I think they should be at least 500 words:

1. to be accepted into all directories
2. to provide a better quality article/info for the reader
3. looks more professional than a 250 word article