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Article Word Count

by Brekat23
43 replies
Can someone please offer their suggestion as to what a decent sized range word count you should shoot for when writing your articles to the article directories?

Like a minimum to maximum number??

Thanks!

Bre
#article #count #word
  • Profile picture of the author JAAffiliates
    400 - 600 words is pretty much standard.
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    • Profile picture of the author Ellen Violette
      They only have to be 250 words to get on Ezine Articles and that's the best one.
      So why write 1,000 words when you can write 4 articles at 250? As long as the content's good, don't make them too long. I generally write 250-400 words max.
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      • Profile picture of the author All Night Cafe
        400 to 600 has always been a good suggestion. I have
        many articles written and thry almost always end of
        in that range.

        Hope this helps.
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      • Profile picture of the author Kay King
        They only have to be 250 words to get on Ezine Articles and that's the best one. So why write 1,000 words when you can write 4 articles at 250?
        To me, 250 words is a short blog post. I know many people write that length but not everyone does. I cover the topic I've chosen - and quit when I'm finished. I seldom look at word count until the article is completed.

        Different strokes.

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  • Profile picture of the author x3xsolxdierx3x
    Originally Posted by Brekat23 View Post

    Can someone please offer their suggestion as to what a decent sized range word count you should shoot for when writing your articles to the article directories?

    Like a minimum to maximum number??

    Thanks!

    Bre
    Oh boy....this topic has been covered MANY times here, and serious debate has been had.

    Personally...personally....a majority of my articles (80% or greater), are in excess of 1,000 words.
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    • Profile picture of the author Brekat23
      Originally Posted by x3xsolxdierx3x View Post

      Oh boy....this topic has been covered MANY times here, and serious debate has been had.

      Personally...personally....a majority of my articles (80% or greater), are in excess of 1,000 words.
      Wow thats alot of words...I thought some directories had some sort of restirction on the words. Don't some only allow articles with a certain minimum and/or maximum amount of words?
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      • Profile picture of the author x3xsolxdierx3x
        Originally Posted by Brekat23 View Post

        Wow thats alot of words...I thought some directories had some sort of restirction on the words. Don't some only allow articles with a certain minimum and/or maximum amount of words?
        The funny thing is, some platforms actually incentivize longer articles, based on a point scale. (For example: 1,000 Word articles get 5 points, 800 articles get 3 points, etc...)....

        I've watched the growth trends of site(s) who's management openly engages and motivates their writers to write longer articles, and their growth has been nothing short of staggering.

        Of course, arguments can be made for both long and short articles. Ideally, and optimal approach 'may' be to use a combination of both....I do personally err towards 1,000+ word articles, though
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    • Profile picture of the author tpw
      Originally Posted by x3xsolxdierx3x View Post

      Personally...personally....a majority of my articles (80% or greater), are in excess of 1,000 words.
      I am in agreement... Most of my articles are also in excess of 1,000 words.

      Newsletter publishers tend to require 700 to 1200 words.

      Webmasters tend to favor quality content over word counts.

      I have never seen an article directory with a maximum word count, only minimum word counts. Most article directories have a minimum word count of 300 words. But I do know of a lot of article directories with a minimum word count of 600, 700 and 800 words.
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      • Profile picture of the author x3xsolxdierx3x
        Originally Posted by tpw View Post

        I am in agreement... Most of my articles are also in excess of 1,000 words.

        Newsletter publishers tend to require 700 to 1200 words.

        Webmasters tend to favor quality content over word counts.

        I have never seen an article directory with a maximum word count, only minimum word counts. Most article directories have a minimum word count of 300 words. But I do know of a lot of article directories with a minimum word count of 600, 700 and 800 words.
        Didn't want to scare the OP off with this....but, not only are around 80% of my articles 1,000+ words, but, probably around 40%-50% of that 80% are in excess of 1,200+ words....a small handful are in excess of 1,500+ words....
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        • Profile picture of the author tpw
          Originally Posted by x3xsolxdierx3x View Post

          Didn't want to scare the OP off with this....but, not only are around 80% of my articles 1,000+ words, but, probably around 40%-50% of that 80% are in excess of 1,200+ words....a small handful are in excess of 1,500+ words....
          Agree, agree, agree...

          The last article I wrote finished at 1374.

          I would have to say my average is 1200-1400 words.
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          • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
            Banned
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            • Profile picture of the author x3xsolxdierx3x
              The data is just so clear cut for me....but, that's just me, of course....

              My longer articles suck traffic in like magnets....while my shorter articles...well...don't...

              Of course, there are other factors involved, like I had mentioned...but, even though it takes a bit more time and effort, I'm erring towards longer articles for now...
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              • Profile picture of the author Brekat23
                Thanks everyone that certainly helped in giving me some perspective so I appreciate all the responses. My niche is like a sub-sub-niche, if there is such a thing but it is so targeted to such a small and particular market that I find it difficult to write an article for it that is longer than 600 haha. So perhaps I'll start small for starters and see how it goes, of course if it doesn't work out for me I can perhaps change to a larger niche although I'd hate to have to bounce around.
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                • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
                  Articles do not have to be a bunch of facts and figures .

                  This is one of my articled that follows a story line . It has been syndicated over 1100 times .

                  101 Marketing Strategies Blog Presents Black Hat Zeke Versus Buber White - Blogs - ArticleProductions Internet Marketing Forums

                  I would never have believed it either but it worked lol.


                  Originally Posted by Brekat23 View Post

                  Thanks everyone that certainly helped in giving me some perspective so I appreciate all the responses. My niche is like a sub-sub-niche, if there is such a thing but it is so targeted to such a small and particular market that I find it difficult to write an article for it that is longer than 600 haha. So perhaps I'll start small for starters and see how it goes, of course if it doesn't work out for me I can perhaps change to a larger niche although I'd hate to have to bounce around.
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                  • Profile picture of the author tpw
                    Originally Posted by NY1 View Post

                    I know. I went against the herd, so bring on the flames.
                    I always douse myself with lighter fluid before a fire fight... That way I am less likely to fire the first shot... LOL

                    Here, have a glass of water... It will help you put out the flames if someone fires a shot your way...

                    It is not the word count that makes the article good or bad. I knew a lady one time who wrote the most awesome articles, and she never exceeded 250 words, ever...

                    I recommend 700-1200 words because that is usually the format that newsletter publishers need to fill their newsletter templates. And I would always prefer to be published in a newsletter with an audience, than in 500 websites with no audience. I am in article marketing to make money, not to pat myself on the back for saying something clever.

                    In my mind, there is only one reason why longer word counts work in article marketing... A buddy of mine operates an article directory. He explained to me that when he manually reviews articles, 90% of those articles are pure junk, but those junk articles are always between 300 and 500 words in length...

                    My buddy told me that if he increases the minimum word count to say 700 words, then although he is throwing out some good authors, he assured that he will get rid of 90% of the junk sent to him, and he will find that of those articles left standing, 90% of those are keepers.

                    From the standpoint of the gatekeepers -- the people who reject and approve articles for publication -- 300-500 word articles scream JUNK ARTICLE, and plus 700 words hints at a better quality article.

                    Longer does not make an article better, but longer does allow the cream to rise to the top more easily in the online world.

                    If I were writing for the offline market, then I would have no reservations about 300 word articles... But I write articles in the online marketplace...
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            • Profile picture of the author tpw
              Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

              Typically 900 - 1,200 words, here.

              Over the year that my articles went from 400 to 1,100-ish words, my CTR gradually declined and my sales gradually increased. And continue to, mostly because my longer articles (unlike my shorter ones) get taken from article directories and widely re-published. Other people are doing some of my off-page SEO for me, and in front of targeted audiences, too. This is where the real money is, in article marketing. In all my niches, apparently.
              Alexa, all my niches too.

              In every niche where I have written longer articles, I have gotten publication in more respectable locations, in front of larger numbers of people in my target audience.

              I have done this successfully in B2B and B2c markets.

              The money in article marketing, in my mind is the result of publication in websites that are not article directories. Article Directories are fine for finding publishers to reprint your articles, but publishers don't buy my stuff, consumers do.

              And for me, if I am not making sales as a result of my article marketing, I should quit doing it. ;-) I want my articles to generate sales within the first 30 days after syndication of the article. And longer articles allow me to do that.

              If I had to wait 3-, 6- or 9-months to see my benefit from article marketing to arrive in the form of better search rankings, then I might have to go get a job to support my family... Working from home rocks... So quick rewards is the name of the game...

              Longer articles do provide more paying customers for me than the search engines, but like you said, other people are doing my SEO for me by publishing my articles on their websites and presenting my articles to a REAL audience.

              I still make money as a result of good rankings in the search engines, but that is harder to measure what is working and what is not, since it may take time for the search rankings to come, and you are never sure what set of articles did the trick for you...

              At the end of the day, I am interested in making money today... And article marketing is what does that for me... And longer articles give me a better chance of reaching my goals of getting published by respectable publishers with large targeted audiences of people willing to buy what I am selling.

              Originally Posted by erinwrites View Post

              Instead of focusing on a desired word length, just tell your story (inform your reader, however you want to think about it). Let the article be as long as it needs to be on your first draft. Then go back and check to make sure that you are repeating yourself over and over again and delete the superfluous stuff that doesn't actually need to be there. Do the same things you would do for any other article.
              Erin: Often my first draft is 200-300 words more than my final word count.

              The first draft is done in natural flow. Then I spend time editing and cutting the waste.

              My goal for word count is always +800. After my first and second draft is completed, then I work hard with the editor's pen to get an article below 1200 words. Sometimes I just have to say 1374 words is close enough.
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  • Profile picture of the author NicoleBeckett
    Originally Posted by Brekat23 View Post

    Can someone please offer their suggestion as to what a decent sized range word count you should shoot for when writing your articles to the article directories?

    Like a minimum to maximum number??

    Thanks!

    Bre
    My company does not even write articles for less than 400 words. The reasoning is simple -- quality content is supposed to inform readers and provide them with new information. You can't do that in 250 or 300 words. You don't want someone to read a short article of yours and think "that's it?" If they come away with that impression, they'll never take you seriously and buy from you.

    As for a maximum, it depends on the topic. Some stuff just doesn't lend itself well to more than 700 words. Other topics can be compelling for 1,000 words. It's something you have to handle on an article-by-article basis. The last thing you want is someone zoning out before they get to your resource box.
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  • Profile picture of the author ArticlePrince
    It depends completely on the topic, but for quality articles (that get republished) you'd want at least 500.
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    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      600-800 is most common for me but 900-1000 is not unusual.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Oksa
    You may have to read each directory's terms of service if you're concerned. However, 500 words should be accepted just about everywhere.

    Other than that, take as many words as you need to make the article serve its purpose; no more, no less.

    If you can only come up with 200 words, then please...do not pad it with 300 more to make it 500 words. Not that it will be rejected, but it is a pet peeve of mine.

    If, for whatever reason, you should find that you are only able to come up with 200 words or so on a given topic, then please, please, please, I am begging you. Avoid the temptation to do so. Do not think you will be able to get away with adding another 300 extra words just so you will be able to get the word count up from 200 to 500. (See what I mean?)

    All the best,
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  • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
    I do a lot of content syndication as of late . The better directories are going to a 450 minimum format .

    The articles that get republished a lot are 500 or better .

    When I first started offering syndication I would submit articles that were like 450 words and maybe a few less.

    I now realize that my reputation with the directories , blogs, newsletters and groups are more important than the money ( and that makes even more money).

    I will not syndicate an article any less than 550 words anymore .

    For my personal writing .. I have been known to write 1500 word blog post :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author jennypitts
    As you have already noticed, you will get a WIDE range of opinions. Reason being, each topic or niche will lend itself for longer articles, whereas others will allow you to fully explain everything in 500 words.

    Remember, an article is supposed to be informative and help establish you as an authority in your particular niche. This said, you should not limit yourself. BUT also keep in mind that your article is supposed to drive people to your site for additional information. So, your article should be long enough that it is informative, but short enough that it will let the person begging for more.

    On the contrary, there are some niches that simply do NOT provide enough information for you to pull a 1,000 article and continue on your site. You also do not want to be redundant and say the same thing over and over again. Just start writing and let ideas flow until they automatically stop. Then go back and check for word count and information, typos, and grammar.
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  • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
    This is only one fraction of article marketing . Some use articles just to get their sites and blogs to rank.

    I use pen names because I could care less if people view me as an authority in many niches . I establish authority on my own sites ( if I choose to let people know this is a niche I am in).

    If you have a headache do you want the authority that made Tylenol or just the closest person that has a bottle open ?

    Remember, an article is supposed to be informative and help establish you as an authority in your particular niche. This said, you should not limit yourself. BUT also keep in mind that your article is supposed to drive people to your site for additional information. So, your article should be long enough that it is informative, but short enough that it will let the person begging for more.
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  • Profile picture of the author erinwrites
    As a famous caterpillar once said: "Start at the beginning. And when you come to the end, stop."

    Instead of focusing on a desired word length, just tell your story (inform your reader, however you want to think about it). Let the article be as long as it needs to be on your first draft. Then go back and check to make sure that you are repeating yourself over and over again and delete the superfluous stuff that doesn't actually need to be there. Do the same things you would do for any other article.

    So many people get caught up in "ooh, don't make it this much because web readers have short attention spans" or "ooh, you need at least this much because you have to really really explain it." What we all tend to forget from time to time is that if the writing is good, the reader will keep reading and will be moved by the article, however long or short it is.

    Of course, if you have a client who is demanding a certain word count then you'll want to stick to that. And if you have someone who wants to pay by the word, you'll have to start figuring out for yourself how long it takes you to tell different types of stories and use that as a base point.

    When the work is just for you, though, forget what you'll read on boards like this. You know how long your article needs to be, so write for that.

    Half of us are just trying to advertise our signatures anyway
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  • Profile picture of the author mlord10
    Back in the good ole days when you could just slap a 250 word article up on ezinearticles.com and get 100 visitors instantly the short articles worked fine. However, I have recently been writing both short articles (250-500 words) and longer articles (700-1000 words) and my results show that the longer articles rank higher in the search engines, thus getting more long term traffic.

    Interestingly enough I was expecting to see a decrease in CTR with my longer articles, but this did not happen
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  • Profile picture of the author MassiveMarketer
    I would suggest to start with a standard article of about 400 - 500 words. Lesser than that would be too short. More words provide more information to readers. When you get the hang of it, put together more ideas and be able to come up with as much as 1000 words of quality article.
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  • Profile picture of the author shaggard
    I have found that most articles directories will except 400 words although 500 words are better. However, some article directories require a minimum of 600 words.

    I tend to write around 500 words because with lots of subheaders so my readers can scan for important information and go on with their lives.
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  • Profile picture of the author JonAlfredsson
    As for me, 400-600 words per article. Here's my opinion. There are readers that does not like really long articles, some would find it boring Maybe unless you really have an interesting article. But wouldn't it be nice just to give them just enough information. Then just put your resource box where to redirect them to your page where all the information could be found.
    400-600 words - prepare an article that could give them a hook about your niche or product. Make it a little teasing but not spammy of course. =)
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  • Profile picture of the author abednego
    Originally Posted by Brekat23 View Post

    Can someone please offer their suggestion as to what a decent sized range word count you should shoot for when writing your articles to the article directories?

    Like a minimum to maximum number??

    Thanks!

    Bre
    I usually keep my articles ~ 350 - 450 words... I don't like going above that since most readers have a short attention span.

    But I also keep my articles short and to the point - with no fluff.
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    • Profile picture of the author tpw
      Originally Posted by abednego View Post

      I usually keep my articles ~ 350 - 450 words... I don't like going above that since most readers have a short attention span.

      But I also keep my articles short and to the point - with no fluff.
      The attention span is only short when the article does not reach out and grab someone's attention. ;-) If your article is not grabbing people by the shirt collar and telling them to pay attention, then your content is surely weak.
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  • Profile picture of the author MarkAse
    I've tried both shorter and longer articles then the 400-600 word suggestion you often see on this forum. Nothing too crazy as far as numbers go, but I'm at least 200 articles on it this point (yes, I've written them all myself so quality isn't a problem) but I have found that those articles in the 400-600 range do look like they convert the best.
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    • Profile picture of the author ajbarnes777
      For me, whatever it takes to get my point(s) across and more importantly, provide value to the reader. This could mean that the article is 300 words or it could be 500+ words.

      Bottom line, I don't get too obsessive over word count... just the quality and usefulness of my articles. That being said, majority of my articles recently have ranged anywhere from 400-550 words and my earnings from them haven't been too shabby either.
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      • Profile picture of the author yongjj
        Originally Posted by ajbarnes777 View Post

        For me, whatever it takes to get my point(s) across and more importantly, provide value to the reader. This could mean that the article is 300 words or it could be 500+ words.

        Bottom line, I don't get too obsessive over word count... just the quality and usefulness of my articles. That being said, majority of my articles recently have ranged anywhere from 400-550 words and my earnings from them haven't been too shabby either.
        I agree with you. The most important thing is to provide valuable contents to readers regardless how many words you write - it can be 300 or 500 words per article.

        If you're submitting articles to EzineArticles, it's preferable that you submit 400-word articles so that you're able to include 5-word anchor text link.
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  • Profile picture of the author chooch
    Some article directories have a min. amount of words.

    What I have found, is that my articles that have been picked up by Ezine Publishers range in the area of 325 words to 510 words.

    I think a page on most ezines is 500 words.
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  • Profile picture of the author SEOFocused
    if you are submitting to article directories, then you submit by the directory requirement. ezinearticle for example accepts 250 words articles, goarticles accepts 300 words, but most of the article directories accept 450 - 500 words articles.
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  • Profile picture of the author WinsonYeung
    300 words is too short to me and I prefer 400 article length.

    500 article seem kinda wordy instead
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  • Profile picture of the author Dr Livingston
    I would say 300-500 words max. If you have more than this, break it down into 2 different articles
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  • Profile picture of the author alunmax
    Hi Brekat,

    Boy, you could never complain about the amount of advice you're getting on this - and yes it's all different! Never mind. I tend to veer towards the 400-600 mark, to get articles out there on the keyword terms I want. But it is true to say that when the articles are longer I have had a few more publishers lift them off EZA etc. I am therefore about to put a few more longer ones out there.

    Word count can be a red herring though - as you can see many people succeeding with different tactics. I like to pick an article topic that serves a specific need, has a catchy title with the keyword term embedded, targets one keyword term (not too overtly) and is broken up into short paras. The bio box needs to be good, with keywords in the anchor text and - if words allow - some closing words for the article - so the reader wants to read the bio rather than click off.

    Don't get bent out of shape re wordcount. As you can see there are almost as many opinions as there are articles out there!

    Keep on keepin' on,

    Alun from England
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  • Profile picture of the author tamilseo
    We normally use minimum 400 words and-maximum 600 words article for article directories.
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