Size of HubPage Matter

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   EpicTreeHouseposted 15 years ago

   I am wondering if the size of a hub page matters and what is the best way to deal with a long hub page.
   
   Let's say I want to write on the Gizoo.  I can have a section on tips for using a Gizoo, the history of the Gizoo, the economics of the Gizoo, Types of Gizoos, Gizoo in Art, etc, etc.  I have a few options.  Make one big long definitive article.  The other option is break them up and put them all in a group and then do a capstone.  Which is better for generating traffic?  Can a hub be too long?  Is 3000-5000 words too long of a hub?  What about 10,000?

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   1. 73

      Maddie Ruudposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      It sounds like breaking the different subtopics up into different hubs would be the best way to approach this particular project.  If a hub gets too long, it starts to discourage people from reading it.  Breaking it up into shorter hubs that each address a particular topic within the subject will also help attract search engine traffic, since people are probably searching for these more specific topics.

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   2. 73

      William F. Torpeyposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I have no knowledge of search engines or generating traffic, but I can tell you, yes, a hub can be too long. In terms of attracting readership, I would recommend your second option: Break it up with an introductory hub with links to each of the related secondary hubs.
      
      Overall, in my opinion, the length of a hub should be determined by the topic and the author's purpose in writing the hub. People, generally, have short attention spans. They will read only as long and as far as their interest takes them.
      If you are writing a hub designed to be the authoritative reference on the topic, the reader will expect the hub to be detailed and lengthy. The hub may not be read at one sitting, but may be used as a resource on that topic.
      If, however, you are writing a hub intended to give instructions on how to build your own boat, the length would be dictated by the need to provide a step-by-step procedure. Obviously, it would be impossible to omit any necessary steps to reduce the length. Anyone who wants to build a boat will be willing to read the instructions from beginning to end.
      On the other hand, if you are writing a piece designed to entertain the reader, or to tell a story, the length will necessarily depend on the subject matter and the skill of the author in keeping the reader's interest throughout. Few readers are willing to spend time reading the ramblings of an author who fails to be concise or considerate enough to avoid basic errors of spelling, sentence structure, redundancies and other faults that can be corrected by editing.
      In other words, the length of a hub is predetermined when the author decides the purpose of writing the hub and the targeted audience.
      No hub should contain a single unnecessary word, nor should any essential factor be omitted.

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      1. 87

         Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         That's true, and even more so on the internet.  The problem with a long Hub is that (unless you can master the clickable Table of Contents), there is no way to navigate except by scrolling up and down.  People looking for specific information on a topic will lose patience.
         
         Personally I like the "Capstone Hub" concept more than the "Flagship Hub" one - many Flagship Hubs seem uncomfortably long to me.  Whereas the Capstone Hub enables you to write a suite of Hubs about a single topic.  It means that someone looking for specific information can easily jump to the section they need, while someone wanting an overview can easily navigate too.

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   3. 62

      sukkranposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      i recommend break the article in to separate topics and make separate hubs. a long hub is make me tired to scrolllllll.
      sukkran

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2. 87

   Marisa Wrightposted 15 years ago

   I've heard it said that an article on the internet shouldn't exceed 1,500 words.  Don't know how true that is, but it's one of those statistics you'll see repeated everywhere.
   
   I know myself, if an article is really long, I get tired of scrolling down and down and down and down....

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3. 63

   Lisa HWposted 15 years ago

   I just wrote a "longie" yesterday; and I don't know if what I did was ok or not, but I put an introduction-type-of-thing in one text box, outlined the main "categories", and then put each "sub-subject" in its own text box.  I figured people can the basic idea of what the Hub was aiming at in the intro section, and then they could either opt to read each separate text box or just scroll to the one in which they may be interested.  It's the first time I've done such a thing, so I guess I'll see....   Just because of the subject/aim of the Hub, I wanted to keep things all in one place.

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   1. 87

      Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Do you mean you've provided a way for them to jump to the start of each text box or do they just have to scroll down anyway?

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4. 88

   Dorsiposted 15 years ago

   My hubs are usually 700-1500 words. I think it's best to break a subject into many hubs if you have that many words, like Maddie said.
   I think it would be too much reading all at once.

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5. 78

   Lissieposted 15 years ago

   Darkside found a way to create a jumpable table of contents http://hubpages.com/hub/tableofcontents here - but I don't know if it still works - its been on my todo list for ever but I've never tried it!

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   1. 72

      moonbunposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I have (much needed) TOC on my wedding venue hubs, they seem to be working just fine.

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6. 93

   wannabwesternposted 15 years ago

   I've wanted to do TOC's for my hubs. I'm excited to know Darkside wrote this! Thanks for the post.
   
   Most of my hubs are over 500 words.

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7. 60

   EpicTreeHouseposted 15 years ago

   The only hub I've published so far ( http://hubpages.com/hub/how-to-pick-up- … llege-bars ) is right around 2200 words.  I tend to want to write the definitive guide/introduction to topics I'm interested in.  These I think should be longer, but maybe need a TOC at the top.

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8. 70

   aidenofthetowerposted 15 years ago

   I tend to write long hubs. I will be adding Darksides TOC to the longer ones. I try to keep it so that it isn't too long, but for the most part they can't be broken down into smaller topics without being too short.
   
   If they can be broken down into smaller topics and still be a fair sized hub then that's certainly a good option.

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9. 65

   hubby7posted 15 years ago

   I agree with everyone else that you should limit the amount of words you put into one hub. The reason is that no one has the time or will take the time to read an exceedingly long hub. We live in a busy society. We are all adults. Our time is precious and short. So the idea is to keep your hub short and to the point. I would say to keep your words under 1000 words.
   
             hubby7

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   1. 82

      SweetiePieposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Not necessarily because some hubs with 1500-2500 words help you rank higher in google search engine rankings.  Of course it depends on the quality of the hub, but often hubs with less words tend to rank lower in search rankings.

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   2. 60

      mheiposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I agree. It's better not to beat around the bush just to hit 2000 words above. I think the important thing is no matter how long or how short your hub is, as long as it makes sense and you have proven your point, then,people will read it.

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10. 66

    Julie-Ann Amosposted 15 years ago

    I do well with 1000-1700 words.

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11. 89

    Len Cannonposted 15 years ago

    I started writing some hubs about a subject recently and realized that if I covered it the way I wanted to, it would probably end up being over 8,000 words.  I decided to split them up, because it seemed like too much for one person to follow on one page, plus it didn't make a lot of sense to have so few ads.
    
    I wish there was an option to break up a single hub into pages, I think it would give writers a lot of leeway with their topics. But I'm pretty happy with using creative grouping and links between them right now.

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    1. 78

       Lissieposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       
       This hub is quite long 1700 words, informative, well-written - but gets no visitors
       NZ Property Investment
       
       Its not focussed enough.  I should do a series of more specific hubs about NZ property investment and link them all back to this one - that would get me up the stats a bit!
       
       
       the exact opposite is a series of iPod nano reviews I did recently - they are very focused and targetting on "long tails" because I know there is far too much info out there on iPod nanos so I went for cheap cases for iPod nano 4G or even Blue iPod nano 4G

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12. 73

    AEvansposted 15 years ago

    I second that motion. Keep the words in range as I have read some hubs including my own and I have said to myself ,  "My God this is way to long". So I am now making mine a little shorter.

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13. 60

    mheiposted 15 years ago

    and as long as your hub doesn't look vague then you're good to go

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    cataloniaposted 15 years ago

    I'm amazed at how many hubs some of you guys and girls have - gotta lot of catching up to do!

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15. 59

    guidebabaposted 15 years ago

    Most people (including me) don't like to read lengthy ones especially the ones that are with no pictures and videos and are made lengthy mainly for SEO Purpose.

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    webismineposted 15 years ago

    Also, we have to consider the time taken for loading such a really long page, especially when lot of capsules being used. It can be a trouble for low-speed dial-up users/visitors

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    1. 60

       mheiposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       i agree. and by the time your page finished loading, the person visiting your hub changed his mind and will just check other hubs

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