Posted by George in A recurring issue that I’ve run into recently when dealing with SEO Articles written by somebody other than myself, is length. The problem isn’t so much that the articles aren’t long enough, but that they’re too long. You wouldn’t think that having an article with lots of information that lead to it being longer would be a problem, but then you tend to forget that the websites that accept these articles typically only accept SEO Articles up to a certain length. Here’s a few pointers for those considering writing their own articles to consider.
Longer Doesn’t Mean Better
Hey, I have an English degree, and I can spin just about any topic into 30 pages worth of content, most of it actually relevant, but that doesn’t mean that I should. The average online reader isn’t going to make it through 10 pages, no matter how compelling and well written it might be. Keeping articles to around 3 pages is a good way to keep your audience captive without having to short them on information. Besides, your article should establish you as an expert, which will then in turn make them want to go to your website, not be a college lecture.
The Author’s Box
Most websites have a section to be filled in about the author. Whether the author is real or just a pen name, this should be a quick little blurb about the author and company with a link to their website included. Anything over 300 characters (read that characters not words) is pushing it. Keeping it around 250 characters is a good way to ensure that your information will make it onto the page without having somebody like me have to rewrite it and chop out information that you might think is highly valuable.
Graphics and Side Bars
Graphics and Side Bars might look great on your website, but most of the websites for SEO Articles don’t support them and they’re just going to eat up space that would be better served being used to make a point within the article. If you really want to have that graphic or side bar, put them on your website and include a link to your website within the article that points to them, that way you can get your information out there without going into the realm of 20,000 words. If you need a graphic or side bar to make your article work you should consider changing your topic or rewriting your article so that they aren’t required for it to make sense.
20,000 Words Over the Limit
I have had this happen and I’m not sure why. I received an article from a client that was in excess of 20,000 words. There is no excuse for this. As I stated above, make your point in the space you need, but when you’re pushing the 20,000 word mark, you’ve essentially removed my ability to find a home for your article. Most SEO Article websites have a 14,000 word maximum, and that’s not something you should shoot for. As soon as you’re reaching the tens of thousands of words mark, it’s time to consider whether your topic is appropriate for the article format. Again, keep in mind that you’ll be lucky to have somebody read 3 pages of your article, so putting together one that’s in excess of 10 pages is a waste of your time, and I’m sure that your time is far too valuable for it to be wasted.
Wrap It Up
While it’s important to keep your articles within a reasonable length, don’t let that stop you from finishing your thoughts. Just because you’re afraid that you might go on too long doesn’t mean you should avoid bringing up an important point or, even worse, forget to close a thought that you brought up earlier. Plan ahead, write a few drafts, and make sure that you make the points you need to without going way overboard. And if worse comes to worse, send it to somebody like me to edit for you. That’s what your SEO Copywriter is here for.
very interesting about the article lenght. I have a friend that writes no more than 500 words for a blog entry, even if it means he has to write a part 2 of subject one. 500 words takes about 2 minutes to read, so you see his expectations on peoples attentions spans.