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Never buy 500 word articles

by Andy Money
37 replies
Honestly. I don't even write them for myself. Here's a great example why:

I bought a WSO pack that came with 10, 500 word articles. So far? 171 views, 2 clicks.

I opened a separate EZA account just for these articles. On my personal account, I have thousands of views and hundreds of clicks, not a single 500 word article either. I think people's attention spans are terrible these days and this is a huge reason why 500 words just don't work that well for funneling traffic. They're great for site content or getting organic traffic, but not for getting indirect traffic. Additionally, these 500 word articles are in a hot niche, where people SHOULD be clicking more than this.

This is just a warning! Go with 300 words if you are trying to get traffic through EZA.
#500 #articles #buy #word
  • Profile picture of the author Ben Roy
    Originally Posted by mrsleep99 View Post

    Honestly. I don't even write them for myself. Here's a great example why:

    I bought a WSO pack that came with 10, 500 word articles. So far? 171 views, 2 clicks.

    I opened a separate EZA account just for these articles. On my personal account, I have thousands of views and hundreds of clicks, not a single 500 word article either. I think people's attention spans are terrible these days and this is a huge reason why 500 words just don't work that well for funneling traffic. They're great for site content or getting organic traffic, but not for getting indirect traffic. Additionally, these 500 word articles are in a hot niche, where people SHOULD be clicking more than this.

    This is just a warning! Go with 300 words if you are trying to get traffic through EZA.
    This doesn't jive very well with my experience. I have articles ranging from 450-550 words that are doing just fine - 20-30% click through. Maybe it's a question of the quality of article?
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    • Profile picture of the author Andy Money
      I felt they were written really well actually, and I didn't write them myself even. They were almost too informative maybe? People had no reason to click through I'm guessing. Next time I get a pack of 10, 500 word articles I'm going to chop them all up into 20, 300 words I think. Watch it get me thousands of views and hundreds of CT's. :/
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      • Profile picture of the author Michael Shook
        Qualityhas been an issue for me with PLR articles. I like them, and I sell them, and I try to write them from a marketing point of view so that people rading them will really want to cllick through.
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      • Profile picture of the author WritingMadwoman
        I doubt the length alone was the problem. I am a notorious chatterbox when writing, and my articles don't suffer. I think formatting them right helps, like using bullet points, bolded headings, etc. And of course the article must actually be interesting to read, provide some good information, while also still encouraging them to click through and learn more.

        I still don't have it down to a science, but I'm learning new techniques every day so my stats are getting better.

        But I've never noticed the length being better or worse. Maybe others have ideas as to why else they didn't do well.

        Wendy
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        • Profile picture of the author zephyrwriting
          From my experience, 500 word articles can work if they have a good introduction and two decent subheadings. Any more than two at the content seems diluted, any less and it is too long to hold the attention span.

          -Vish.
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  • Profile picture of the author jaihyppo
    My articles are also ranging from 400 - 550 words and still works wonder.

    Even though the articles are long in words, usually, I just write 2 to 3 sentences in one paragraph so that my articles will not look like full of words.

    And yes, bullet points and numbers work pretty well too.

    Usually, people just skim through our articles. If we make it as I mentioned above, people will read it a bit and then quickly go through our Bio Box and hopefully click on it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike McBride
    Why why why why why do people insist on starting threads with "NEVER ***" or "ALWAYS *****"?

    Why not just share the results of YOUR TESTING, not grand pronouncements resulting from some limited experience? (Not aimed at you personally, mrsleep99, but all those who post such threads)?
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    • Profile picture of the author zephyrwriting
      Originally Posted by Mike McBride View Post

      Why why why why why do people insist on starting threads with "NEVER ***" or "ALWAYS *****"?

      Why not just share the results of YOUR TESTING, not grand pronouncements resulting from some limited experience? (Not aimed at you personally, mrsleep99, but all those who post such threads)?
      Idea for new thread: "Never Start Threads with "Never...""

      Sorry, couldn't resist.

      -Vish.
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    • Profile picture of the author Andy Money
      Originally Posted by Mike McBride View Post

      Why why why why why do people insist on starting threads with "NEVER ***" or "ALWAYS *****"?

      Why not just share the results of YOUR TESTING, not grand pronouncements resulting from some limited experience? (Not aimed at you personally, mrsleep99, but all those who post such threads)?
      To get people to open it! !
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      • Profile picture of the author Dean Shainin
        For several months I've been outsourcing 300 word articles for my EzineArticles marketing. They usually end up about 325 to 350 or so.

        If you are using A.I.D.A i think it does not matter much about the length from what I've seen with my stats at EA. I've noticed articles that are at least 500 words get picked up by webmasters more often for some reason or another. Maybe because these webmasters are looking for more detailed content for their lists and their own sites as well.

        Cheers,
        Dean

        PS. Never is a long time
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      • Profile picture of the author Mike McBride
        Originally Posted by mrsleep99 View Post

        To get people to open it! !
        Touche!
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        • Profile picture of the author Ephrils
          Word count is kind of weird in PLR. People want a lot of words, but what you can usually say in 500 words you can easily say in 350. The topic would need to have a lot of fine detailed information, depending on the niche of course, to say something different in those extra 150 words.

          I've found long 500+ articles that are list based do really well. I think that's because there's little filler involved. Top 10 articles usually get a nice amount of clicks and can take well over 500 words to write.
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  • Profile picture of the author Takuya Hikichi
    I often write articles with over 1000 words (against conventional wisdom) and have no problem keeping people reading and clicking through to websites through EzineArticles.com (I use my name as the author there if anyone wants to look it up).

    The length isn't the issue.
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    News for you!!!!!! 500*6(standard wordsize+1 space)=3000+2%(overhead)=3060/2000(approx 1 small page(40*50)=1.5small pages! My last book(That was fiction) was almost 800 good sized pages. MAYBE you should try 20 characters! I GUARANTEE people will get through it FAST! But forget about telling people to keep things short. Just remove the fluff.

    And to THINK, I am thinking about reading MORE!

    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author Greg Cooksley
      Originally Posted by seasoned View Post

      News for you!!!!!! 500*6(standard wordsize+1
      space)=3000+2%(overhead)=3060/2000(approx 1 small page(40*50)=1.5small
      pages! My last book(That was fiction) was almost 800 good sized
      pages. MAYBE you should try 20 characters! I GUARANTEE people
      will get through it FAST! But forget about telling people to
      keep things short. Just remove the fluff.

      And to THINK, I am thinking about reading MORE!

      Steve

      Hey Steve,

      Please explain further.....I can't make head or tail of what
      you are trying to say here...

      Regards

      Greg
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      • Profile picture of the author mmurtha
        Lance,

        Now that's a great point ti illustrate!

        Greg,

        Originally Posted by Greg Cooksley View Post

        Hey Steve,

        Please explain further.....I can't make head or tail of what
        you are trying to say here...

        Regards

        Greg

        Lol i was thinking the same thing, but I did manage to get the jist of it at the end!

        It reminded me of that hillbilly bear on the cartoons that sort of mumbled, but you always managed to hear that very last phrase lol.

        Just kidding Steve!


        Mary
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      • Profile picture of the author Ricter
        1) Mutatis mutandis.
        2) All other things being equal.

        Which "article" did you prefer, the two word article, or the five word article?

        If word count doesn't matter, only quality, then there would never be a need for synopses or abstracts, only encyclopedias.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Montgomery
    Most of the articles that I submit are around 400 words but I wouldn't not buy 500 word articles.

    I really think it depends on the quality of the article.

    I've submitted many 500 word articles that have a ton of views and clicks.

    mx
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    • Profile picture of the author Andy
      Gee Mr. Sleep,

      My heart sank when I saw your title! Then I thought maybe controversy is good.

      If I may add my own biased opinion - I see nothing wrong with 500 word articles. I don't think the word count matters as much as the content itself and other factors including the resource box and the title. A good title gets more views and a good resource box gets more clicks. My own most viewed article thus far is 622 words.

      Jimmy D. Brown always suggests giving good, but incomplete information and I think that concept works well for articles.

      I also think there's something to be said for submitting good quality information. Sure, maybe some articles don't generate the traffic others do but if you offer decent information, clearly written, doesn't that raise your credibility in the eye of the reader? I think so.

      God bless,

      Andy
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      • Profile picture of the author JayXtreme
        I honestly can't see how word count can have that much of an effect on your efforts..

        It is ludicrous to think so... if an article appeals to a reader then they'll read thousands of words... it's the quality of the content here, not the numbers in question.

        Peace

        Jay
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  • Profile picture of the author mmurtha
    mrsleep99,

    Lol that's hogwash!

    Iknow people who write 750 words per article and up, and do very well with EZA and other AD sites.

    The truth is, results have nothing to do with the amount of content, but rather subject material and readbility 9quality).

    Steven's right:

    Just remove the fluff.
    If you are getting bad results from those articles, I would redo them, or start writing some quality content.


    Mary
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    • Profile picture of the author Lance K
      What good do views and click throughs do you if you aren't tracking your conversion rate on those clicks?

      Maybe someone clicked the first link they found because your article was too damn long and they wanted to see if the link offered what they are looking for without being long winded. Congratulations, you got a click through! But from there did that person take the action that you desire? If not, who cares that you got a click through. That's only one example. It could easily happen if the article is too short too.

      Just write quality content and follow the A.I.D.A. formula as Dean mentioned. Worry more about impact than length.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rachel Goodchild
    My 500 words articles have the highest click through rates
    unfortunately I realised last night they are now clicking through to a defunct page
    Oops
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Carl Kelly
    Everything I write can be no longer than thirteen words, because if they
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Lockwood
    This explains why those 1000-page Harry Potter books flopped so badly.
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  • Profile picture of the author moodykitty
    I doubt it's the length of the articles. Probably more likely all the GOOGLE ADS that surround the article distracting the reader. Maybe they're really good ads....
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    • Profile picture of the author Christie Love
      I must disagree with you. If the content of the articles are written in a way that lures a visitor to read the article in the first place then they can't - not read the entire article and click on your link.

      When writing articles, you want to write in a way that sparks emotion in the reader, followed by fulfilling a desired need. If you can do this part well, then you have the reader hooked. Why wouldn't they read the entire article?

      I am a skimmer too. But when I find an article about a subject I am extremely interested about or am in need of valuable information, you bet I'm going to read the page to completion. I may even print it out, take notes, carry it with me for weeks, and study it as if it was part of the State Board test.

      To end... being successful on Ezine Articles is all about content and value. Simple as that.
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  • Profile picture of the author zuberr
    I would say it depends on the quality of the article and how you present it. If it's more like a boring essay-like article with only paragraphs, it might not work and you'll lose the attention of the reader. You can used unordered or ordered lists on EZA, so make use of them to grab attention, like on a salespage.

    I have two 1000 words articles on EZA for the same niche, under different pen names. One works great, the other does "not bad". The one that works great has lists!!
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    • Profile picture of the author marcanthony
      Go to Ezinearticles.com and type in Clayton Makepeace in the search bar.

      All of his articles are way over 500 words... My eyes stay completely glued.

      Word count doesn't matter more than copy. Think of sales pages...


      Maybe you should consider paying a better writer to write your articles
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      • Profile picture of the author KenJ
        There are so many other things that are more important than word count.
        I write what needs to be said to cover a subject.
        But I always leave the readers hanging for the final piece of information. This is where the resource box will show the reader where to find further information.

        When I have written what I wanted the word count is - whatever it is. This could be 270 words or 700.

        I would say that writing style and good keyword use are far more important than word count.

        My clickthrough rate is between 25 - 55% for most articles at present so I think it works for me
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  • Profile picture of the author PRandContent
    Okay so I couldn't help but open this thread - I sell article packs with 500-word articles! Eep
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  • Profile picture of the author Gunter Eibl
    I would not submit PLR to EZA as they don't like it.

    EZA has published statistics about article length and traffic on their blog, take a look. The conclusion is that longer articles tend to have less views than short ones.

    I also submit more 300+ than 500+ and have not much of a problem yet. However, the disadvantage of short articles probably lies somewhere else, in the syndication success. Other publishers prefer to re-publish a longer article than a shorter one.

    Gunter
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  • Profile picture of the author moodyresources
    As a former reporter, quick hitting intro line or two that gives just a little information. A teaser. Then drip the rest of your information out through the rest of the article.

    You should just write the number of words necessary to tell your story[article information]. The number of words is usually irrelevent if your articles are concise and interesting. Verbose never wins.
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