Length of hub rule of thumb?

1. 81

   Don Wposted 14 years ago

   Hi, still new, still learning. Quick question.
   
   Is there a rule of thumb for an ideal hub length or for splitting a hub into two seperate parts?

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   1. 0

      Janettaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      The easiest way to get a good general idea for a good length for hubs would be to take a look at some of the more established hubbers. Especially any that have hubs split into two parts.
      
      If you are writing a ub with a lot of pics or videos, splitting them can be helpful so that you are not overwhelming the reader. if you have a story that involves a before and after-that is also a good opportunity for a pt one and pt two
      
      I wouldn't split a hub that didnt contain a lot of info. It isnt going to feel right to the reader. I still suggest taking a look at some experienced hubbers and see how they do it

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   2. 60

      onthewritesideposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      You answered your own question...the rule of "thumb".  In your first capsule, hold your thumb up to your screen...if the text is about the same length as your thumb, then you're good...create another capsule and repeat.
      
      Now for the last capsule though, (your bread and butter), it needs to be longer.  The first step is to unzip your fly and...
      
      Now if your anatomy doesn't afford you this luxury, then you need to find another source of reference.  I would suggest a banana.
      
      If you look at my Hubs, however, I usually just use one long capsule...only because I have freakishly large thumbs... 

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2. 66

   world of the wiseposted 14 years ago

   Hey, am new too but i hear the longer the hub, the more the score

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3. 57

   dwippyposted 14 years ago

   My highest scoring hub is 607 words.  Its score is 74.
   My lowest is a little over 300 words.  Its score is 56 but it keeps repeating the same word over and over so I'm not sure if hubpages considers that to be bad.

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4. 0

   Ghost32posted 14 years ago

   The longer Hub does not necessarily receive the higher score.  Embitca, for example, scores well with fairly brief and to the point Hubs--often higher than my own, which are generally lo-ong. 
   
   I've seen Hubs that did just fine with a word count ranging anywhere between 300 and 2500 (yeah, I come close on the latter sometimes, especially with my current novel-by-installment entries).  What counts the most is content.  In other words, it's more the quality than the quantity as long as you stay within reason (a two-word Hub, for example, would not do well).

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5. 58

   Pamda Manposted 14 years ago

   My first hub was 4000 words.

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6. 0

   Ghost32posted 14 years ago

   One additional point about Hubscores:  Unless the bottom is dropping out completely, I don't pay them much attention.  I've had some drop into the midthirties after publication and then gradually climb back up into the seventies or sometimes the eighties. 
   
   If you had one with a zero, I'd agree that might need rethinking!

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7. 0

   Ghost32posted 14 years ago

   Cool, Pamdaman!  I don't think I've done one at anything close to 4,000 yet.  Could be because I keep falling asleep on the keyboardddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

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   1. 58

      Pamda Manposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I just published a hub on forum spam.
      
      Edit: When I saw this post it sounded as if I was saying this thread is spam. Lol. It's not.

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      sabrebIadeposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      As long as you dont wake up with "QWERTY" imprinted on your forehead you're cool!

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      1. 58

         Pamda Manposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Correction there. "ʎʇɹǝʍb".

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8. 81

   Don Wposted 14 years ago

   Thanks for those points.
   
   So splitting a hub into seperate parts isn't necassarily about reducing the hub into some desirable shorter length e.g. two 2000 word hubs instead of a 4000 word hub?

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   1. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I've heard it said many times that readers on the internet have a limited attention span, and the limit seems to be about 1,500 words. 
      
      Most of my Hubs are much shorter than that, because I've always suspected it had more to do with the amount of scrolling down needed, rather than the number of words - and by the time I've illustrated a Hub properly, 1500 words is l-o-o-o-o-ng. 
      
      However, HubPages has a program called "Flagship Hubs" and it's notable that they specify the length of those as 1,500 words.
      
      I would certainly split a 4,000 word Hub into at least two, and maybe three, separate Hubs.  Link them in a Group and also with links within the Hub - either a highlighted text box or a links capsule.  Why create only one Hub for Google to find when you can make three?

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9. 81

   Don Wposted 14 years ago

   Thanks Marisa.
   
   I supspected there might be an 'optimal' length for hubs. Although that's not set in stone it helps to be aware of it.
   
   And spreading a long hub over two or three parts, thus increasing exposure is also a good tip.

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10. 67

    WeddingConsultantposted 14 years ago

    Personally, I would aim for a minimum of 6-7000 words to keep you high in the search engines with tons of information.
    
    Kidding.
    
    Honestly it depends on your strategy, amongst other things. Some hubs are good when they're short, sweet and to the point. (If you ever feel like you're drawing something out longer and longer, stop!)
    
    IMO, writing around 3-500 is a minimum, 8-1200 is a maximum. There are always exceptions to the rules, though- one of my hubs is over 2K words and it's doing nicely. Again, it depends on your strategy. If you want to focus 3-5 hubs on a specific niche, make them shorter, rather than making one uber-hub.

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11. 68

    mystixspringsposted 14 years ago

    I my hubs are short stories and ones about bead work. My short stories seem to do better than the beading articles so far.  I wrote one article which was about a short trip that I took. It had a score of 49 when I first started now it has gone up into the high sixties.  I just watch the progress. If you watch the progress of your hubs regularly then you can see the trends and judge your writing style accordingly.

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12. 68

    aidenofthetowerposted 14 years ago

    Most of my hubs are about 700-1100 words each. The length doesn't effect the score. The score is based on a lot of different things, but has a whole lot more to do with traffic and such. After two days of publishing I aim for a hub to have a score of 50 or higher. I only get concerned if they fall below that. For the most part they change a lot. A hub might have a score of 70 today and 90 tomorrow.
    
    I should mention that often your goals have a lot to do with how long your hubs are. I try and give a well rounded hub on the subject. I feel good when it gives the reader the information that they need. However, I have been told that this is counterproductive to earning since your reader doesn't have as large of a need to click on your ads. While this may or may not be true, I can't do anything less then my best. It is true that compared to others I make less per hub then many others do. It is also true that I write what I want and have never done keyword searches to find out what I should write to make money.
    
    So, length is really up to you.

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13. 67

    Silver Roseposted 14 years ago

    It depends what the purpose of the hub is. For Amazon sales/product review hubs, the shorter ones work better (under 400 words). For Adsense, the longer hubs (700-2000) work better. All in my experience only of course. Others may have different experiences.

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14. 0

    Sidney Rayneposted 14 years ago

    Well...I most likely have not been around here long enough to provide a clear and concise answer...but here is what I know.
    
    My writing in general can go off into tangents....may start off on one topic and segue into another...yet somehow staying with the context of the initial topic in some way.
    
    This creates a rather long read for anybody that may wish to view it...some people may be entertained by some of the tangents while others may be become annoyed. I received some feedback that prompted me to break apart some of the hubs as each internal chapter could thrive on it's own and / or possibly group them together. (Thanks Marisa for the information about groups in this forum!!!!)
    
    In any event I have received feedback that the articles are a much better read after breaking things apart to minimize the length ...so perhaps you have to watch the line that exists within having a hub that is too short (wavering on not sustaining the reader) and hub that is too long (wavering on turning the reader off) and see what works best for you.
    
    To be honest I have the attention span of ferret on crystal meth at a carnival...so when an article is too long I am immediately turned off in some regard. I have read a hub around 500 words that was just as informative if not more informative than a hub under the same topic that is 2,000 words long. Add a few pictures, bullet points and breakdowns into a shorter hub and the content can be just as rich as an article 3 times the length.

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15. 81

    Don Wposted 14 years ago

    So from what I’ve read (thanks to all) I think the answer is yes there is a rule of thumb depending on what the kind of hubs you write, which in turn depends on what your goals are.
    
    For affiliate sales, shorter more concise hubs seem better. If that’s not your focus then lengthier hubs are okay, but the conventions of the medium still apply, i.e. keeping the hub length ‘web-friendly’.
    
    I must admit I like to get into the depth of a subject when I’m reading, and I think it will be the same with the hubs I write. Most subjects are interrelated with others, and I’d like to capture some of that richness. 
    
    I love the idea of reading about one subject then being drawn into another through some connection. I like being taken off on an unexpected tangent that is relevant and interesting. That kind of ‘surfing’ is for me the main advantage of reading on the web.
    
    So I think the lesson for me here is to find the balance between my writing goals and the conventions and restrictions inherent in the medium I’m choosing to write in. Finding that balance will be interesting and hopefully fun

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