Is it Possible to Write 2,700 Words in an Article?
When Sue and I started with Walthy Affiliate in June 2015, the idea of writing 300 words in an article either to our website or Wealthy Affiliate was a major effort. To write 1,000 was just a dream.
But slowly as I studied the training lessons, I became more confident and proficient and my word count increased. This didn't happen overnight, it took awhile. Pretty soon with the help of Wikipedia research I was able to put that research (in my own words) material into articles for the website.
1,000 words became an easy standard. Soon I was pushing 1,500 words. But 2,500 words were a little too far around the next bend.
Then I found some stories that I put in my own words into an article on my website. That took me up to 2,300 words and impossibility a year or two ago.
Yesterday I finished an article for my website with about 2,750 words. What does all this mean, am I just bragging, not in the slightest. Google wants a minimum of 1,000 words to rank you at all and more words the better to receive the highest possible ranking.
So I am writing this article to you newbies and those struggling to get 500, 750 or even 1,000 words. It may take time for some of us (there many who could breeze to 3K, 4K or 5K words in an afternoon) but as you work on it, the numbers will increase.
After all if I did it, you can do it, so write on!
Bill
Recent Comments
130
Well Bill, write for traffic. So if above 1000 is acceptable to Google it is sufficient. Well done.
Hi George,
Thanks for your remarks. My intention is always to supply the public with a good article.
Bill
Thanks for sharing, Bill.
The biggest post I ever wrote was about 3700 words. I have to get back writing those sports posts. They average around 1500 words on my one website.
Hi Roger,
Thanks for your comments. It was kind of funny, I wasn't paying much attention to the numbers and when I finished I was a little surprised.
Bill
Yes, Bill. It is possible but I wouldn't recommend it!
I have several longer blogs, up to 2700 words and they are slower than others and if you have Adsense, they are full of ads. I counted 8 ads.
I would split them and make nice second blog you post right away or next day.
Sending much Love to both of you!
Aloha, Jenna
Hi Jenna,
Thanks for your remarks. I will look into your suggestion. I appreciate your sharing your experience.
Bill
I found this article about dictating your blogs interesting.: How to Write 5000 Words Per Hour! . Hoping to try it soon!
Hi June,
Thanks for your comments and the article on Dragon.
My computer is rather ancient (Windows 7), I would probably have to upgrade to use Dragon. I will check with the local computer guru and see what he says to do.
Thanks again.
Bill
Thanks. I'm sure you can also use your phone to dictate into and not just into your computer. I did a quick search and there seem to be a variety of apps that we can try on our mobile phones. Some seem to allow us to dictate, convert to text and then send the text an email or message. Hoping to explore this and I may blog about this later!
Thank you for the encouragement, I still struggle with 1,000 words. It's like pulling a wagon full of stones up a steep hill. It feels like I'll never get there.
Hi David,
Thanks for your response. I was feeling the same way back while ago. Just keep working at, practice may not be perfect, but it helps.
Bill
Yes, I am seeing some improvement, the quality is ok, but yes, practice is helping, thanks Bill for your reply and article.
Hey Bill,
Thanks for sharing! I was like you when I first started writing. 300 words seemed like a lot.
I agree, the more we write, the easier it gets. I just published a review a couple of hours ago... 2,655 words.
You're right, we can all do it.
Good work Bill. You're doing extremely well! You're an awesome motivator!!
Monica
Hi Monica,
Thanks so much for your encouraging comments. I may not have great technical knowledge of computers internet, even affiliate marketing, but I am learning.
Bill
Yes, I have found the more I do this the easier it is to write longer posts on my site.
I had many years of college with long essays and research papers, so the concept of writing 1,000 words in itself is not daunting to me at all. I wrote many 5 or even 10 page papers in college and some were over 20 pages with the cover page, references etc. That would be something on the order of 5,000 words but in a science field that takes a great deal of time! You need to make sure every word is accurate. My last long paper was on ocean acidification in the Bering Sea.
Even with a college writing background covering anthropology, history, literature and oceanography the thought of writing the volumes needed for a website still sounded daunting! That is because it was outside of my comfort zone of science and academia. I didn't want to ramble on and on and sound like a salesman talking about how great a product was.
In any case, it is becoming easier and easier now. I just stick to products I can get excited about myself so I am not stuck talking about something that doesn't interest me. I also frame most of my reviews around more of a "how to" angle. So instead of writing about X cat supplement, behavior aid or cleaning product as a review, I will title the post "How to ..." and offer the product as a solution. This helps add length and answers people's long tail keyword search questions.
There are other ways to add length of course but that is one example.
Practice really does help!
I don't have any posts as long as yours yet! One of my goals is a more comprehensive Best Of type post that will be longer and cover multiple products as Dylan recommends.
Thanks!
Jessica
Hi Jessica,
Thanks for your comments. You are so right when you are interested in something it is a lot easier to write about it then some vitamins or something of little interest.
Bill
i am a newbie at this web development idea... And, am wondering why articles need to be so long. Most websites I have seen have short, pithy articles with lots of pictures. Is the number of words related to ranking?
HI Chris, yes, search engines do take word counts into consideration when calculating ranking. The more words, the more likely it is that you are providing value.
More words also give you the opportunity to rank for more keywords as well.
Longer articles simply show much more authority. Your readers will only read around 14% of the copy on your post, but what they are looking for is thoroughness. Keeping a reader on your page longer tells Google there must be something important there. It wouldn't be taught here if it wasn't tried and true :)
Hi Chris,
I am with you on the long-winded posts, isn't better to get to the point an have a short one?
But it is Mr. Google that wants to read on and on (being facetious of course.) So that is the reason for the long-winded articles.
If you look at Wikipedia, most of their articles are usually several thousand words long.
So I try to keep it interesting and not be concerned about the number of words, just let it flow.
Thanks for your remarks and question.
Bill
Thanks for the answers... makes sense. So the top portion of the articles is probably the most important as people don't read the whole article.
Hi Chris,
If you see anything from me that is not in line with Wealthy Affiliate's training, just ignore my remarks.
Thanks for your comments.
Bill
No worries... I am new to WA but believe.that this kind of interaction is part of the strength of the program. Appreciate information from you and others.
Thanks Bill, sounds like you have the writing thing down. My post so far seem to be between 1100 and 2100 words, with the average around 1500.
Hi Calvin,
Thanks for your response. Of course, it depends a lot on what you are writing about.
I can see where the niche thing comes in. Every time I start to write an article, usually a big blank is the starting point, then finally something pops into my head and off we go.
Have a great weekend.
Bill
See more comments
Hi Bill,
Indeed, where there is a will there is always a way. Congratulations on your writing achievement!
Much success to you!
Kind regards,
Nichola
Hi Nichola,
Thanks for your kind comments.
I didn't set out to set any "records", I just got carried away with trying to explain something and the word count was there.
Bill
You are welcome! Hi Bill, when it flows it flows! There are days when you could only write a few words and then there are days when you can not stop writing. Have an awesome weekend!
Hi Nichola,
Thanks for your response. Then there are days when it is time to go take a walk and forget about writing for a while.
Bill
Exactly, there are those days too!