How Many Words Are Enough?
Hi folks and early holiday wishes to you. I oftentimes see members asking how long a post should be. The recommended # (not written in stone) is 400, which seems to please the search engine bots. And the response from some is often shock, and even "I could never write something that long".
Here's a little insight: as you continue writing and become more proficient with your posts your question will become, "How many words are too many?" Because now you're on a roll, have done your research, and have found your "voice". Now it feels like you're writing a novel.
So how many words are enough and when do you know you have enough?
- You've said what you needed to say.
- Even after editing you still have 1,000 words but you know that's what you need, then that's what you post.
- Every word and phrase moves your "story" forward and without them it falters.
- As you continue to write you will realize what is needed and what is "fill" or "fluff"...get rid of those.
If you need help remember this (and it will help you write a great post), create an outline first which needs to include:
- Title (with keyword)
- An introduction
- Body of article - at least 3 relevant points
- Conclusion...and what do you want your visitor to do?
And you wondered why we wrote all those essays in school...it's the same principle and you should be using something like this on your site. An outline will keep you focused, ordered, and delivering the information your visitors are searching for. If you want to see some other great article templates take a look at what Beverley has put together (which includes 4 article templates): 4 Easy Article Writing Templates
.Well that's 300 words...nuff said!
Recent Comments
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I have found that working out an outline after I've done my research has made it much easier to actually write the post. It also keeps me focused on what I need to say.
You're welcome. We sometimes think we cannot write that many words but once you start working from an outline it becomes easier.
As many as it takes to convey your message without too much drivel is a good rule of thumb...for me usually 4-5 hundred.
I shoot for the same and often get to 600. But like you say, do it without too much drivel because people recognize that for what it is.
400 isn;t all that bad :)
I wrote a post on my IM blog yesterday and I think it was my longest post ever - just over 2,000 words :o
Yeah, they get to be that length sometimes. I find when I write longer posts I make sure that my heading and sub-headings are clear and make sense. That way if someone is skimming they still get the essence of the post, maybe even stop to read one or two sections.
400-500 words take about the most amount of time an Internet Surfer will spend reading the standard article. I suggest when you're above 500 words consider writing 2 articles. We're in the era of short time spans.
Excellent point, Skip. I just wrote a 1200 word post and I looked at it to see if I could make it two posts. But the flow just worked for me and what I thought I needed to say. It was my website post that was the inspiration for this WA post. I was in the middle of pondering and thought I would type out my thoughts.
And I think you're ranking great with those, right? This might be a more realistic target for some folks so thanks for sharing.
I'm goin to give the 250 to 300 words a shot, could save me time plus I could write more articles if all I need is 300 words..
I always shoot for 400, It seems to come easy enough still and I have enough keywords to last me the next year if i was easily satisfied. Thanks for the info, I needed something to look at to better structure my posts
Great post.
I tend to find mine all run at between 550 to 1000.
A look at it with fresh eyes can always cut out a lot of irrelevant stuff
Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to cut out the irrelevancy. Only Mozart did it in one crack :)
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Thanks Rick. I always love to read your stuff.
You are too kind, but thank you.