The best length for an article is...

[DonDare]

Agree dotcomsecretsuk some people simply want to write 1000+ articles. But the fluff is a NO NO NO. I think today useful information article is more worth than 1000 page fluff. People are tired of so much useless articles.

[Lynn Terry]

Two resources to add to the discussion:

Content Marketing: How To Write For The Web

The Secret To Writing Really Great Content

[alexc]

I like articles that are short and to the point. I really don't need a ton of text to get the point across for simple subjects. I really only need more lengthy articles for complex subjects and high intellect topics. So for my input, short and simple is the way to go.

[tess47]

It's really funny - I write TONS of articles (usually 4 to 6 per day) and I never try to count the words as I'm writing. But 99% of the time they end up being between 350 and 400 words, usually around the 380 mark.

I get more traffic from articles than any other method of promotion that I use. I also like to use numbered tips in my articles - it seems that people love to read when the article is interesting and broken down into very specific tips.

I use Ezine Articles, and occasionally a few others. LOVE Ezine Articles!

[kirkward]

My journalism professors used to always say 400 to 600

Your journalism professor should have said "as long as it needs to be to get the message across. No more, no less."

Ezine Articles guidelines are:
Must be a minimum of 250 words and no more than 5,000 words. An ideal article size is 400-750 words.

Ezine Articles is looking for size that will read well when spidered by the Googlebot. They are in the advertising delivery business, not in the article business. They have created guidelines that push promoters (article authors) into a size that fits their needs. It still doesn't obviate the need to "make it as long as is needs to be to get the message across. No more, no less."

You'll find this appropriate for sales pages, books, articles, reports, anything written or spoken. No more, no less.

[alexc]

You are right with your very first line there. Make the article as short as you can and still get your point across concisely. For some reason so many writers feel the need to pack their articles with duplicate information and useless fluff that it really detracts from the core subject you are trying to deliver.

[tg]

I agree that for the purposes of article directories, 400 to 700 words are optimum.

What I tend to do is write longer, more descriptive articles for my newsletters - this is for the people who expect more content from me. Then, I break this content down into smaller fragments for the sake of the directories.
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