I always see people quoting how many words are in an article, or when they are selling a site, they say, "All articles are 400 words" Do people really just count the number of words in an article? I write until it is done, and all the information is disseminated. I know that there are certain rules about how long an article should be, but why are so many just going, "OK, 399....400, and I'm done. There's the standard 400". Is it just me, or are there more people making content just to have the necessary text for SEO, than there are because they have something to say , or some knowledge to share? It looks so stupid when you get to a blog or website, and all the articles are the exact same length, with no style of expression. It looks so cookie cutter. Is it just me , or am I too critical, and I should shut up because no one cares about quality, Page Rank is the only consideration anymore. Like to hear some opinions as to why has the can that the beverage is in, become more important the the drink inside? And does anyone have a successful blog or site, just doing what is required?
No its not just you. Many people are under the spell of content is king so feel its essential that a specific amount of words are within a post. The text for SEO purposes can really spoil the content within a page. When compiling content its important to think bout the readers first and the search engines last. I personally write until I have nothing else to say on the subject or when I know I've written more than enough for the readers.
Yeah me too! I just write what needs to be said. I never count, or stay in a certain range. Unfortunately PR and SEO seems to come first and content, functionality, relevance, and entertainment is like 4th or 5th on most "webmasters" agenda.
Counts are meaningless. Say what needs to be said in the space it needs to be said in. If you look at ANY upper-level Web site (CNBC, The Street, Yahoo, AP, etc), you will find articles that are hundreds to thousands of words and many that are 100 or less. It's funny, but when you build on quality, SEO needs tend to naturally be met.
i write my posts as long as they need to be to cover the topic i am posting on. i NEVER count words. i write until what i need to say has been said...
I guest google bots will more crawl in articles with more than 200 words. That is why many paid post has this requirement to accept task/job.
The ONLY time I count the words is when I'm writing for a paid post and the number of words is a requirement. Otherwise I just write until I feel it is done. You can write for SEO in any size post...the thing to think about is the percentage of your keywords within the post. 3-5% is good and it doesn't matter if it is 3-5% of 100 words or 400 words (and I'm sure there will be some people who will disagree with me)