Okay, so you’re an article marketer. You’re writing for the soul purpose of getting people to your web page. The question is simple. What works better, long articles or short articles? Which do you write? Well, the answer, unfortunately, is not a simple one for several reasons. This article is going to explain. Hopefully, by the time you’re done reading it, you’ll understand why this isn’t a black and white solution.

At the top of the list of reasons is the article directories themselves. Some have very strict standards as far as article length. For example, directory A may allow articles that are 250 words while directory B might require your articles to be at least 400 words or more. I have seen some directories with 500 to 700 word minimums. So, if you’re writing articles for those directories, you are pretty much locked into writing long articles. There is just no way around it.

Aside from the article directory requirements, there is your target market. Each market is unique. Some people don’t have the patience to wade through a long article. But what if you’re writing articles for people who are doctors looking for some heavy duty technical information? These people are highly educated, used to reading long journals and thus, would have no problem reading even a 3,000 word article. Article length for them is not an issue as long as the article is well written and gives them the info they’re looking for. Conversely, a poorly written article is going to put these people to sleep after 200 words…if they even get that far.

And then of course there is the purpose of the article itself. Even though the article is written for the purpose of getting people to your site, what kind of site is it? If it’s just a squeeze page where you’re simply giving away some free information, a long article probably isn’t necessary. But what if you’re sending prospects to a sales page with a high priced item? In that case, you probably want to give the person a little more information in order to “pre sell” them. For that purpose, a longer article is probably in order. The point is, you have to look at your market and what it is you’re specifically trying to get them to do.

So as you can see, article length is not something that is written in stone. You have the article directory requirements, your target market and the site that you’re sending people to. All of these things have to be taken into consideration in determining how long or short to write YOUR article.

To YOUR Success, Steven Wagenheim

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