Article length for optimization

webmaster98 · 1 Article length for optimization on Thu Jun 16, 2011 4:08 pm

webmaster98

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Does posting long articles for a website helps in ranking well ? What should be the primary mesaures taken when optimizing a site?

Hunny · 2 Re: Article length for optimization on Tue Jun 21, 2011 6:58 pm

Hunny

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I'm not an expert at optimizing a site, so I hope someone else comes and answers more. But as to "ranking well", one thing that must matter is that the readers like the articles, so they'll come back and make more hits. So their length should be designed for that. Here's a little something i whipped up about length and readability.

_____________________________________

"What's the best length for an article, and why?"

_____________________________________

ANSWER:

Fairly brief, right to the point, and don't over-explain.
Start with three pages, then edit it down to one page, by
editing out excess language, to make every word count,
so it's easy to read, and mercifully short.

WHY:

People have "short attention spans" because their time is overburdened, so they need "just the point" so they can move onto the next thing. A publication near me does very well because its "articles" are all one paragraph. Their idea was to put a whole newspaper onto four small pages, by condensing it down to just summaries of what the articles originally said. People love this! It fits their ability. They may have a short time to fill, at some point, with some leisurely reading, but they can't get into a long thing. Their minds are already filled up with dealing with information all day, so when they read or take in news, they want it kept to just the point. Not to be facetious but honestly, they don't want their brain to have to get too involved. Reading should be a vacation, not a chore.

Brevity is also essential because people don't want anywhere near as much detail pointed out for them as the average writer loves to give a stream of. People LOVE when they get to imagine the details for themselves. It's surprising, and defeats the purpose of a writer, but it's true. They don't want much explained, just the point is good, so their mind can be free to "fill in" the details for itself, around it.

A beautiful example of putting this to work was Andy Rooney's radio editorials. He'd pause after every sentence, sometimes after each phrase, and this let us take the time to imagine each thing he said, one piece at a time. We LOVED it!

No one tells a better story than someone who lets us tell it to ourselves.

So as for length, the short answer here is a page is optimal usually. Two or three if it really needs it. (Sometimes, especially with a true "article", people really are looking for in depth analysis and exploration of the subject matter. In those cases, it would actually be bad to be short! But I think that's the less usual case. Usually a page is good. (You want to know how to strip it down? Take out the chat. And stick to the point, avoid tangents. Things you explain on the side might be interesting , but it it isn't what they asked about, cut it.)

_____________________________

When I write, I babble it out freely, then edit the whole thing repeatedly (repeatedly) XD. And it's all about removing excess language.

I'm not going to edit this, so it isn't a good example. But if I stayed here another two hours, I could cut the length in half, by removing words that just aren't needed to get the point across, and words that aren't needed at all (for instance, "that" can often be removed. example "I told him that he was going bald" VERSUS " I told him he was going bald.")
I also cut out a lot of instances where I've repeated myself, by saying the same thing twice(<-example)(It would have been enough to say just "I also cut out a lot of instances where I've repeated myself" -->to add "by saying the same thing twice" IS to say the same thing twice Smile

)

And then I don't even stop there. In my quest to shorten a piece down to the barest minimum of words one could use, I even change "I will" to "I'll" (use contractions).

And anything at all that will speed the reader through, or just make it even slightly less an EFFORT to read, is good! (So I remove commas sometimes, because they cause people to interrupt. I pay attention to details that small, to make the words flow effortlessly through the reader's mind..

So I'm saying you may have three pages you want to post, but you can edit them down to one. Even if you have to sleep on it, and look at it fresh tomorrow to see where the "extra language" still is(and the places where you've over-explained, or failed to let them explain it to themself (that's so important.

Oh, and i brought up Andy Rooney's pauses for a reason: it's during silences
that we get to digest information that comes in. So put pauses in your writing, by
-adding a picture occasionally
-or a quote is good because it adds shine
and edification to your point, while letting the
reader "rest" and let their mind wander for a moment
as it likes to do, to be able to take things in.
-leave "little pauses" even by small adjustments like using two spaces
between sentences, and after commas, instead of just one. (Tests show
people understand and remember the point better when a text is presented
that way). Little things make big differences.
-So make it look pleasant too.
-And make it look easy (to read).
(ie, pay attention to symmetry and font and color..
the presentation. Make an eye-pleasing page).
-And always always start off by getting immediately to the point.
(If you put a whole paragraph of introductory language, they'll get tired
and go away instead of getting immediately sucked in, like you want.
So get right to the meat.

Okay.
I apologize for telling you way more than you asked,
and also because I don't have time to edit this well.

_____________________________________________

TO SUM UP:

->make one page out of three

-->edit out the excess language,
then edit it out again,
then sleep on it, and edit it again!

-->THIS is what will make your "length" optimized.
When you've worked to make every word count!
______________________________________________

Happy writing! Smile

lailagwb · 3 Article lenth for optimization on Mon Mar 26, 2012 3:04 pm

lailagwb

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Not like this all articles are very important to get more back links to your website. But before writing articles you should follow these tips

1. write articles with your own words don't copy the content from another article or website.
2. Write the article with minimum of 350 words
3. Give the link in Author column only
4. Choose best 5 article directory websites to submit your article.

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-ankillien

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1 Article length for optimization on Thu Jun 16, 2011 4:08 pm

webmaster98

2 Re: Article length for optimization on Tue Jun 21, 2011 6:58 pm

Hunny

3 Article lenth for optimization on Mon Mar 26, 2012 3:04 pm

lailagwb