Which is better? Writing more short hubs or writing few but long hubs.

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   seriousnutsposted 11 years ago

   Which of those two is more beneficial for a hubber in terms of hub traffic and earnings?

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      Garrett Mickleyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      This is a very debatable topic.  I have a few long hubs that have been moderately successful and a few shorter ones that have been, too.  I shoot for 400-500 words.
      
      I'm of the belief that if a good writer can get their point (or information) across in less words than that should be acceptable as long as it's quality, but the world doesn't think that way and so standards have been set.
      
      Also, I believe there is a minimum word count (could be wrong) but I'm not sure what it is.  I remember seeing it and thinking "I'll never write that little" and then forgot about it.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Some very high profile Hubbers did some experiments last year to find out the optimum length for attracting traffic and earning income.
      
      The results, basically, were:
      
      - If you have several ideas around a topic, then write several shorter Hubs (400 to 600 words each) and interlink them all (with links in the text or a RSS feed).
      
      - If you have just one idea around a topic, a single stand-alone Hub needs to be at least 800 words and preferably longer.  Maximum recommended is about 1,500 words.
      
      Obviously, there's no point in writing that number of words if all you're doing is padding, though!
      
      400 words is really the minimum acceptable length for a Hub.  It's a magazine-style article, not a blog post.

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         seriousnutsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         That's what I'd been thinking about. I have several ideas on a single topic and I was wondering whether to write several shorter hubs or a single stand-alone hub. Thanks for your advice, Garrett and Marisa. I'll try to aim at least 400 words on my hubs.

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      Dennis AuBuchonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I think it depends on the topic of the hub.  Some require a longer hub based on the subject while others require a shorter length.  The hubs I write vary in length.  The more broad the topic the more lengthy it will need to be to cover all the details.

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   klarawieckposted 11 years ago

   Long hubs can turn people off unless your writing is extremely appealing to readers. I guess it all depends on what you are writing. Just use the right length to convey what you want.

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      mskillsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with this. 
      
      While I don't have enough data on my own hubs yet to provide sufficient proof, my personal preference for reading online is biased towards shorter pieces unless the writing is particularly interesting or entertaining.
      
      Know your strengths.  If you are talented at providing information in a concise, simple-to-understand format, there is no need to pad the hub just because someone told you it needed a minimum amount of words. 
      
      In fact, I'd wager that readers are more likely to click on ads if the text is brief, as there is less information distracting the reader from noticing them.

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   techinfomatrixposted 11 years ago

   I think shorter hubs are more effective than  long hubs. Because every one's life is so busy so don't have much time to interact a long post.

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      seriousnutsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I see, that's the downside of long hubs. Short hubs are easier to read, and attracts more attention. Thank you for your responses, klarawieck and techinformatrix!

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         Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Short Hubs may be easier to read, but they don't attract more attention.
         
         One of the big things to understand about HubPages is that other Hubbers aren't your audience.  You will get most of your readers via the search engines.
         
         So it's Google's attention you have to attract.  Readers can't be "attracted" to your Hubs unless they can find them on search engines first, and Google is looking for quality and relevance.  A longer Hub gives Google enough material to really understand what your Hub is about, so it will feature higher.
         
         Sure, readers online don't have the patience to read through a whole 1500 word article, but why do you care about that?
         
         This Hub is relevant:
         
         http://hubpages.com/hub/How-I-got-my-hu … first-page

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   SunSevenposted 11 years ago

   One of my big earners had only 187 words and had steady organic traffic / 3 years old / 1st result on google.com for a very common search phrase - even after Panda. (now moved to my own site to comply with changed policies here)
   
   Edit: There is no point in writing longer articles, only to get unpublished in future for some other reasons. Just go along the lines of minimum requirements.

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      Garrett Mickleyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      My dad always used to say something like: "When your maximum effort is the minimum required, your life becomes mediocrity."
      
      I hope you're making all the money you desire with your minimum requirement standard.

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         SunSevenposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         You are funny.
         
         My mediocrity makes me more money than you can imagine.
         
         I hope you higher standards do better than that.
         
         Best Regards
         
         Edit: My dad was a man of few words.

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      seriousnutsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Wow, that must be a high-quality hub you wrote back then. Congratulations! Thank you for clearing things up. Now I know it's still possible to get steady traffic even with shorter hubs. I will still try my best to aim at 400 words whenever I can. And if that's not possible, I'll just keep my fingers crossed and hope that my short hub would get more traffic just like what your hub did!

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         Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         SunSeven's experience is the exception.  I'm betting it's a Hub about a subject that doesn't have much competition, and/or is extremely popular.   
         
         It's very hard to find subjects like that, which will naturally get big traffic even though you haven't written much content. For the average topic, you need to write more words to ensure you have enough keywords to attract Google.

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   PaulGoodman67posted 11 years ago

   The general opinion is that longer is better, because Google is more likely to treat it as "quality".  Some of the top earners swear by 1000 words plus.
   
   However, there are a lot of factors as to how Google rates a post, so it is perfectly possible to get rated with a short one if the other factors are working well for you.

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   brakel2posted 11 years ago

   My hubs are quite long-800 to 1000 words, and I might break them up and connect them together to see if I get more traffic. It is sure worth a try.

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   AEvansposted 11 years ago

   Depends on what you are writing about.

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      Lisa HWposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I'd agree with this view.  Some subjects lend themselves better to 400-word Hubs.  Others can't really be dealt with effectively without more length.  I think subjects that require more words are ones readers aren't going to be very interested in reading if they have far more words than should be required.  On the other hand, if a subject is one that's "serious" and requires more words, readers aren't going to be satisfied if they get a quickie, 400-word, thing when they search.
      
      No Hub is ever going to be what "everybody" wants, so I think you just have to use your good sense, decide what you think will offer a reader the best you can offer, and go with your instincts (not anyone elses's version of what he prefers).
      
      Oddly enough, since I see my time as limited/valuable just like others do; if I'm searching I want to find substance (not waste my time going through click after click away from 400-word stuff that says what every other 400-word thing on the subject says).  If I've found time to be "just reading" - same.  I want to find real reading - not quickie stuff.  So, it depends on individuals.  Everyone's preference is different.  Every subject is different.  Every potential audience is different.

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         brakel2posted 11 years agoin reply to this

         My longer hubs appear on the first page of Google. but the traffic is not great. So I don't know what the answer can be. If I split some of my 19 hubs, I can then experiment with the effect of the shorter hubs. On some, I have done a lot of research and get caught up in all that material. It all seems pertinent.

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            Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            If your Hubs are appearing on the front page of Google but you're not getting many readers, it simply means that not many people are searching for that subject.  So splitting your Hubs isn't likely to help, I'm afraid.
            
            However, are you sure they're on the front page of Google?  How are you finding that out?  What are you typing in?

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   Astra Nomikposted 11 years ago

   Group the shorter ones around a niche and even try getting the longer ones around a niche or theme...it can make a difference. It is a balance, and good quality writing will always gather a willing audience.

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   Urbane Chaosposted 11 years ago

   Generally, I think most people stay between 300 to 1,500 words.  It really depends on your market niche.
   
   For me, I usually keep my hubs around 1,000 to 1,500 words, but I have a very specific market niche that I write for.  Most of the people who read my articles are looking for specific information, and it's generally information not readily available elsewhere.
   
   By doing it this way, I keep a regular following through Facebook and other places that constantly refer back to my articles.  By doing it this way, I haven't been affected by Panda, and have gotten a lot of RL work through HP and my other sites.
   
   It varies from niche to niche.. A topic that I used to write about a lot, virtual reality, has been hit hard by Panda.  Most of my articles there were around 500 words, and since the Panda thing, the rankings on them have dropped off considerably.
   
   My suggestion, vary your articles a bit and see what works best for you.

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    ctbrown7posted 11 years ago

    Thank you for posting this questions and for all of the insightful responses.  I am new to hubpages and look forward to reading all of your wonderful hubs.

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    OpinionDuckposted 11 years ago

    I am sorry but my opinion is that slavery is alive and strong in google.
    
    People complain about the little kids in foreign countries working for pennies a day, but no one sees the same thing with google.
    
    Sure there is always someone that can make money out of any scheme, but let's focus on the average hubber and how much they really earn.
    
    Start your own poll and see how many hubbers make more than a ten dollars a day, or even a dollar a day.
    
    If I thought that there was some real folding money in Google ADD CEnts then I would be on it.

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    brakel2posted 11 years ago

    I type my keywords to see if my hub comes up on first page.

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