Tips for writing articles: the optimal length for articles

Beginning article authors often ask about optimal article length as if there is an exact answer. Fortunately, there isn’t (so you can write without that limitation). But there are several guidelines that you should be aware of when writing articles.

If you still want a ballpark figure, I would say the best article that is suitable for article directories and syndication should be between 300 and 600 words. Some marketers suggest 400-600 words.

The variety in length means you don’t have to stick too strictly to one number, thus sacrificing the flow of your article.

I also find that the length of an article is more like a habit too. Beginning writers may find that they can barely fit enough words to produce a 300 word article. On the other hand, other writers may find it difficult to keep their article under 800 words.

First, why 300-600 words? For article directories, you need to focus on delivering the idea you have in the article quickly. People don’t have time to read a long article. If you can get your point across in fewer words, why shouldn’t you?

Longer, more comprehensive articles certainly have their place, but for article directories you should aim for shorter, more compact articles.

For people who worry about the low perceived value of short articles, I recommend not thinking too much about it. Just write the article conversationally, bullet it if necessary, get your message across. You should be able to add another 50 words or more, but there’s no point in wasting your and your reader’s time.

Readers should be able to tell that after reading your article. In some articles that had good clicks to URLs in the resource box, my article is very close to the minimum word count allowed by article directories. That can only mean one thing, readers don’t care about the length of the article, only their time and the information available in the article.