Do you think it is a good idea to turn in articles less than 500 words?

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   carol7777posted 11 years ago

   Do you think it is a good idea to turn in articles less than 500 words?
   
   I have read some really short hubs lately that must have gone up really fast. Do you think this is a bad idea?  Does it affect the views?

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   joanwzposted 11 years ago

   Yes, on occassion a short article is fine as long as the information is good, useable, or interesting. But for me, I wouldn't do to many of these shorts because, like you say, they look like you didn't spend much time or effort on them and were just in it to post SOMETHINg.

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      carol7777posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you and I appreciate your answer.

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   drpennypincherposted 11 years ago

   I think the ideal length of an article is like the ideal length of a piece of string- it depends on the situation.  There can be value in short articles, and readers appreciate it when authors get to the point.  However, longer articles may generate more traffic and may be more satisfying to read.  The right length for an article depends a lot on the scope of the article.

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      carol7777posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Good analogy.

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   JThomp42posted 11 years ago

   Hi Carol, I think it is fine as long as they are of good quality and keep the readers captivated. Sometimes a lot can be said in 500 words. I have also seen hubs that can be entirely too long and drawn out. Those type of hubs will lose my interest about half way through. So, to sum it up, just as long as it is good work.

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      carol7777posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Another great answer. Thank you.

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      JThomp42posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you Carol.

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      OldRosesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I totally agree.  If a hub has lots of filler just to achieve a certain word count, I lose interest.  I am also not likely to read anything else written by the same author.

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   nayaz1625posted 11 years ago

   Hello carol7777,
   We all must have heard of the famous expression: Keep it short and sweet.
   Just to tell you that sometimes some things can only be said nicely in fewer words. Beating about the bush simply to make the article longer may result in the readers to quit reading half-way.
   Yet, I agree that longer articles give the opportunities to use more keywords and to attract more traffic. As joanwz and yourself implied, short articles may give the impression that the intention was rather to have something published quickly than posting quality content.

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      carol7777posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Sometimes the hubs are way too long and wordy...

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   Diana Leeposted 11 years ago

   I think short hubs have a purpose.  If you can convince someone of what you want to say in fewer words, go for it, but be careful how you present it to them.  Perhaps you have many views on one subject that can have a separate hub for each view point.  You can then link all these hubs together with the hope of making traffic flow to all of them.

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      carol7777posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      My recipes are generally short but astrology ones take longer to write and I have to usually include 12 of everything.

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   hawaiianodysseusposted 11 years ago

   This is an interesting question, Carol, and I'm thankful that you asked it.
   
   You know, I've always considered HubPages, or Hubsville as I affectionately like to call it, as a community--a socially intimate neighborhood, if you will--where people from all walks of life contribute to the advancement of the global village by sharing their individual human experiences.
   
   As in real life, then, there isn't any quantifier I know of that shapes or defines what is to be considered as having meaningful value.
   
   So, by all means, have at it. Feel free to every now and then throw in a hub of brevity. I wrote a haiku once...because I wanted to...because I can...that has been on the verge of HP extinction several times. I tweak it, embellish it with a cell or two now and then, because I think its core integrity and aesthetic appeal speak volumes. I refuse to be a slave to Google's next algorithmic earthquake named after, of all things, a gentle and lovable animal.
   
   Publish your succinct hub, and I guarantee you will make instant connection with at least one other human being on this planet.
   
   In the long...or short...of it, our human connection is what life (and HubPages) is all about.

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      JThomp42posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Very well said!!

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      kidscraftsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Indeed very well said :-)

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      carol7777posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for your reply...It works.

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      OldRosesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I was a little taken aback by the assertion that short hubs are just "thrown up" to get something published.  All of my hubs, short and long, are the result of careful research.  I care about quality, not quantity.

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      carol7777posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Sometimes the hubs are too long and long paragraphs..hard to read.

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   torrilynnposted 11 years ago

   Yes I think that it is a good idea. As long as it is detailed and provides plenty of information about the topic at hand.Writing an article that is 500 words are left are really good for poems short stories, and recipes.

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      carol7777posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I appreciate your response.

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   kidscraftsposted 11 years ago

   I heard that it's better to have more than a certain number of words in and article for Hubpages but my experience is that I read all kind of length in the articles and that doesn't mean that they are not intersting.
   In my case I create projects for educators or parents to do with kids so I don't think that I always hit the quota of 500 words but I use a lot of pictures to explain the different steps.  I know that there is a saying that says "A picture is worth a thousand words" but for hubpages it doesn't count.  For me what is important is that I help someone through my work.

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      carol7777posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I have also heard longer hubs are better, so I guess it just depends on the subject.

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    GiblinGirlposted 11 years ago

    I actually think short articles are sometimes better.  Reading on the web is so much different than reading print.  I think people general like to see snippets of information that are short, sweet, and to the point.  That's why it's called "browsing" the web - people like to jump from topic to topic.

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       carol7777posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I like short ones especially recipes..I like them to be simple. Thanks for your answer.

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    Victoria Lynnposted 11 years ago

    I know that at least 500 words is recommended. I think it gets better traffic, if I understand correctly. I've also heard that 800 is even better. If you look at HubPages' Learning Center on stellar hubs, I think that 1200 words is recommended (it may be more, actually). I have very few that meet that many words. I personally get tired of reading articles that are that long, but perhaps they get picked up better in the search engines?
    
    I found the link to the Learning Center re: stellar hubs. The word count is actually 1150. Personally, I'm going back when I can to make sure all my hubs are at least 500 words, and I'm revising to make them even longer if I think that they are lacking in information.
    
    http://hubpages.com/learningcenter/Elem … tellar-Hub

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       DrMark1961posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I think it should be 800. If I pull up an article that is that long (1150) I usually just skim it, as do most of the readers on the internet. Am I being too honest?

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       jansharesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Ditto, DrMark. Not too honest.

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       carol7777posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Even with recipes I try to stay at least 500 words.

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    OldRosesposted 11 years ago

    I keep reading that longer articles are better, but I find it difficult to write longer articles without a lot of filler.  I say everything I need to say without regard to word count.

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    EricDockettposted 11 years ago

    I guess I'm in the minority, but I would never publish a Hub with only 500 words. That was okay a few years ago, but as competition has become tighter and search engines are tougher about returning the best results, more in-depth content beats short content just about every time.
    
    I rarely publish anything under 1500 words.  There are few reasons why. 
    
    Firstly, any subject I pick to write about surely deserves at least 1500 words to fully explore it.
    
    Second, I want my article to the one-stop place to get info on whatever topic I'm addressing.  I don't want to gloss over anything. 
    
    Third, search engines like deep content that offers a lot of value to the reader.  In cases where I had short Hubs (on other accounts) and added more significant content almost every time they shot up in the SERPs. 
    
    This isn't to say we should fluff things up, but any topic worth writing about should merit at least a thousands words if not more.

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       carol7777posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Great answer and thank you.

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    spartucusjonesposted 11 years ago

    If you are part of the Hubpages Apprenticeship program, one of the minimum requirements is that you hubs should be at least 500 words (and based on recent goal recommendation even that is considered on the short side). At one time a large quantity of shorter articles could of done well with Google, but that is no longer the case. It is now better to publish fewer longer articles that focus on quality.
    
    Unless you are writing poetry or some other form of creative writing (which is also not allowed in the apprentice program and is not SEO friendly) as a general rule it would be good to exceed 500 words. That being said there is always exceptions to the rule.

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    Dannytaylor02posted 11 years ago

    Depends really, If you are explaining how to make something then 500 words would be fine if thats how many it took.
    
    If you are writing about a lengthy subject like world war 2 or something then 500 words would be laughable so really it just depends on what it is you are writing about.

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    peachpurpleposted 11 years ago

    i think poems and quotes with less than 500 words are okay. Written articles should be 500-800 words. Too short articles are not interesting to read, have a feeling as if something is missing somewhere or lost a link. Too long articles are bored too read. 500-800 words just fit well nicely.

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    Aakashaashishposted 11 years ago

    If u can think that u can explain everything then why not?. But i would recommend you to keep your article's length atlesat between 550-600 words

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    tillsontitanposted 11 years ago

    It seems the concensus is yes, occasionally.  There are times when a short hub is called for and people here will certainly read it.  If you stuff it full of keywords   people out there may read it too.  Longer hubs generate more traffic (according to the powers that be) and therefore we lean toward writing longer hubs. 
    Either way it is the writer's choice.  Considering the subject, and the reader interest would be the best way to decide.

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    jansharesposted 11 years ago

    I think quality is the key, along with the use of hubtools and capsules. A well-written, informative, original hub, whether it's a recipe or an article, will do well at 450 words. It all depends on the factors other have mentioned. I prefer to read a good hub with less words than a 1200 word hub that's not interesting.

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    cyoung35posted 11 years ago

    I know I like reading articles that are straight to the point and most of them are less than 500 words. If it's good content people will find your article and share it with others. This in turn will help your search engine rankings and traffic.

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    LoisRyan13903posted 11 years ago

    I think that would be fine as long as the Hub appears to be complete.  Some people may like shorter hubs, since they may have other obligations as well

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       carol7777posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I guess it does depend on the subject.  Some recipes that are one dish are less than 500 words.

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       LoisRyan13903posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       The only thing I noticed is if you are using the Amazon and Ebay capsules, you can not promote as many items.  For example you can promote 10 on Amazon and 6 on Ebay at the max.  HP will warn you if it is too many products

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    Lanzskieposted 11 years ago

    To be fair it is 'good' and 'bad', simply because it may seem one hasn't done a wide range of research about the topic, and therefore won't be able to provide as much as 'reliable' information that a writer should. On the other hand, it is 'good' in a sense that a large chunk of information are shrink together, and therefore the straight-forward manner is perhaps will prevent misleading and such. 
    
    So, the point is that it would depend on a specific variation of topic you are interested in. For example. related to academia, by all means it has to be critical in a broader sense whilst a topic such as 'How to...' can be relatively short and must be direct to the point. However, many writers/journalists have sensationalised the stories (it wouldn't be fair to mention them) to make it more engaging and more interesting in the public eye. To me, the role of a writer/journalist is not only to provide short articles but also to entertain the readers.
    
    I hope that helps!
    
    Roland

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       carol7777posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Thank you for responding.

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    moronkeeposted 11 years ago

    I think it all boils down to the topic or subject you are writing about.

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    seasonalreviewerposted 11 years ago

    Most SEO tools say anything above 300 is good. Normally this is just for news. It all depends on the type of content you are delivering. Sometimes it is best to capture the reader and other times it is best to take the reader on a journey. It all depends on how much content you can provide without becoming boring.

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    mcxniftycallsposted 11 years ago

    Yes, minimum length should start from 400 words. There are maximum articles of 400-500 words on top of Google and Google loves it.
    On the other hand, there are lots of small topics/question where you can't write 500+ words like "how much protein in an egg is?" . You have to write extra, where user want only a small answer and mostly quit to see a long/lengthy/boring article.
    I recommend minimum hub limit to 400 words.
    I don't think length is important but quality, relativity and originality is.

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