This is a subjective matter that is still being tossed about among content builders. However, the easy answer is that anything less than 250 is vapid and shallow, while anything over 500 may cause loss of interest with a few exceptions. The ideal size is 350 to 500, as long as the article is packed with helpful information and not filled with “fluff”.

For Short and Sweet Articles

Okay, so tiny 200 word write ups aren’t really articles—they’re blurbs, and that’s not usually a problem. Anything less than roughly 200 words (say 50 to 200) should be relegated to product descriptions and minor pages like the “contact us” page. With the exception of bio-blurbs, picture descriptions, and social media blasts, anything less than 300 isn’t really saying much. Relegate this word count to quoted content if you have to do it at all.

The Ideal Article

This article grabs the attention of readers and gets to the point quickly. For this purpose it is generally 350 to 450 words. It has something to say and finishes off with a call to action. It is ideal for most forms of SEO content, most product descriptions, most blog posts, and nearly all press releases and articles used for marketing. You need just enough words to make a point before losing reader interest and preventing them from performing some action—namely backing out of your site.

The Extended Article

Very little content needs to be drawn out to this size. In-fact, most how-to’s and other forms of SEO content that gives a reader quality will fall under the second subheading. However, the 450 to 800 word size range is great for explaining complicated subject matter, longer, in-detail posts that are packed with information a reader needs, and for research reports. Sometimes press releases for SEO purposes are okay at this size, as long as these stories provide the reader with genuine value and are not going on and on just for the sake of filling out a page.

The Research Report

Anything from 850 to 2,500 words is best left for a research report, white paper, PDF file, mini-eBook, or some other form of major reporting. This is especially true when it comes to SEO articles. For most topics, it would be better if they were broken up into a series with clear introductions and conclusions that also referenced the preceding and following articles along with links to the series.

The Mini-Novel

Certainly, anything worth saying in more than 5,000 words of intense information packed content should be published into a report, eBook, or manual. In fact, while you are at it, extend the information you provide and create yourself a book to use for both income and site marketing purposes.

SEO content that is directed at garnering readership from a real live audience should be short, sweet, and to the point, but still long enough to say something meaningful and provide value to the reader. It should not be keyword stuffed or contain fluff. So, start with something that grabs reader attention, provide them something of substance in the middle, and end with something that makes them want to take action!

It seems like the loneliest place in the world—a new blog that has no followers, no established audience and barely a website domain. However, that doesn’t mean that your goal of building a site, and traffic, and eventually profit is impossible. It’s just a matter of forming a plan, finding your target audience and maintaining quality.

First off, when creating a new blog, it’s important to prepare your site for search engines. This means creating a sitemap and installing (or inserting HTML for) a plugin for “pinging” (specifically a XML-RPC-based push mechanism). In addition, you can also join blogging directories and local city directories for their targeted markets.

Next, it’s a matter of creating excellent content. Write high quality blogs about topics that people in your market are searching for. Aim for a 1% or at least 0.05% keyword density after researching popular broad and longtail keywords. After developing content and naming each page something keyword friendly, it’s time to check your linking structure and make sure all of your pages are connected and can be easily found by a search robot.

If you want to start spreading the word there is an easy way to do this—begin commenting on other blogs and piquing the curiosity of readers within your market. Choose blogs that cover similar material to your own blog. This “connects you” to the network.

However, don’t simply praise the blog owner and come across as an intelligent Spammer. The best thing to do is to be polite and to either ask a question or comment on an item that hasn’t been mentioned yet. Remember, every time you comment on another person’s comments or posts you get a linkback. Sometimes a happy blog owner may even highlight you or request a guest blog exchange. You could also build your reputation by becoming part of a blog network and connecting with other blogs in your niche. You can link to them first and get their attention and perhaps they will link to you next.

Don’t underestimate the importance of social media and integrating your website with your store and your social media pages. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and the like are well known quality links, and recent algorithm updates actually favor social media pages and blogs over article directories and cheap advertising sites.

One easy way to get big traffic is to create a “resource” page, or something viral-friendly if you have the creative power. Resource content is bigger than company copy or SEO tips. These are very helpful pages to webmasters, marketers, companies and web viewers. Make sure you have plugins or links on your page allowing people to easily share these resource pages.

Last but not least, don’t undervalue incentive. Contests and giveaways make the Internet world go round!

There are actually a massive number of social networking sites out there, though you only hear of the big two.  However, before you start killing hours of time adding friends and sharing content, it is wise to take a step back and think about your purposes in SEO and in social networking.  Most companies develop a list of goals and an agenda on why social networking matters, and what specifically each site can accomplish.

It serves no purpose to create an account on each site, besides building a few links and getting your name around.  When it comes to actively promoting and interacting with your social network account, however, you should only use the sites that you plan to be active on and that can help you in your marketing outreach.  For instance, consider these sites:

•  Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Google Plus
• Google Places
• Pinterest
• Yelp
• Yahoo Answers
• MySpace
• DeviantArt
• MeetUp
• Flickr
• Blogger
• StumbleUpon
• Del.icio.us
• Digg

All of these sites have their own committed fan base.  Some users that hate Facebook might love Pinterest and vice versa, while others might prefer the business-minded approach of LinkedIn.  So, there’s no use in signing up for all sites if you can’t manage them.

Remember the reason to use social networking lies in SEO purposes.  (Not just wasting time like the rest of the world)  You want to create profiles and share viral content, but you also want to direct attention towards the content you create on your company site and blog.  Ideally you want to link all of your Internet pages together, creating one easy navigational system for new leads.

Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, you have to be careful of simply advertising your new content on your social media pages, since this will not really do much to excite your audience.  You have to work your content into your social networking activity, so as to create a community of friends.  For example, contests that involve visiting your website or indirectly mentioning your blog if a specific topic of conversation comes up and that your blog addresses.  It’s not a big deal to run a solicitation on a social networking site once in a while…but if it’s all you ever do, your friends and acquaintances will eventually tune you out as a commercial, not a real social media presence.

In conclusion, try to determine in advance how social networking relates to your website and all of your SEO plans.  Social networking does wonders for SEO and SERPs, but if you don’t know how to connect them altogether, and how to keep your online acquaintances reading your content, then it’s not worth the time investment.

An SEO company can help you with social media pages, and help you devise a plan that will lead to a boost in sales, more connections and more leads.

Have you noticed your search rankings stalling as of late?  You may be utterly confused at this turn of events, especially if you continue to publish high quality content.  Of course, Google Panda was the algorithm update that struck back at low quality content sites.  The newest update, Google Penguin, still ongoing now, is actually more concerned with links than with content quality.  (Though a lack of quality may still lead to a penalty)

Remember that Google bases your popularity (and thus your higher rankings in SERPs) on the number of links that go back to your site.  Years ago, article directories helped tremendously; as they would help you create hundreds of backlinks to your site, since you could literally republish the same article at dozens of non-discriminating directories.

However, Penguin’s new practice of rewarding (or not rewarding) sites with low quality links has changed the game.  Now, websites have to be extra careful about including too many “low quality links” as well as “site wide links.”  The former is fairly easy to understand.  If you are creating dozens or hundreds of links at sites that have very little traffic, or that are associated with low caliber writing or content, then you can see why Google would have to reward another website rather than you.  It’s not a penalty per say, but it is a discriminating evaluative process.

Besides low quality links, the search engine will now investigate the quality of your site-wide internal-external links.  For instance, site wide links (often found on headers or footers of websites and on every single page) might count against you in total SERPs.  In essence, Google considers any untrustworthy links a cause for concern—perhaps even a drop in your rankings.  Not to worry, most of these bad link practices can be fixed in “live time” and Google will reevaluate your site in due time.

The answer to this dilemma is not in intensifying your efforts to create more poor to average links—Google will squash you.  The answer is in diversifying your links, namely by looking into blogging, guest blogging and magazine article writing, as opposed to just dumping articles off at popular directory sites.  Guest blogging allows you a quality link because the context is correct; you are writing an article of interest to a niche-targeted audience.

Yes, guest blogging does require some research.  You (or the SEO firm you hire) must find relevant guest blogs for your subject matter and then write a request letter, and or follow submission guidelines.  However, these quality links will go a long way in establishing your mainstream popularity.  It will be a real success story, given your new followers, and not just a manufactured success made that way thanks to hundreds of easy links.  Talk to an SEO firm for more details!

If you are creating a new website, no doubt you are looking for the best domain name possible to help express who your company is and what they offer. One question that often comes up at this stage is “does it hurt a website to have an .info, .biz, .cc or other extension?” There is really no simple answer to this.

Many people don’t even know what the extensions mean, they have just simply heard .com so often that they are used to it. The extension .com means commercial, .net means network, .info means informational, .biz means business, and a fairly new one is .mobi as in mobile phone.

Some might call the fear of any extension outside of a .com a self-fulfilling prophecy. One could point to the fact that there are few successful businesses with other extensions, but is that due to big companies only choosing the .com extension to begin with? People tend to believe that they don’t rank well, and thus do not choose to use them, but that doesn’t mean it is the reality of the matter. There have been a lot of scare tactics done, especially by the sellers of domain names, as a .com extension will usually cost you much more than the .biz or .info.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, many people believe that .gov and .edu sites automatically rank higher because of this extension. There is also no evidence to suggest that this is true, it is simply that large already established businesses, and authorities on their subjects, often use them.

The good news is that there is no evidence that any of these extensions will affect your SEO work and rankings with search engines. This fact has even been confirmed by those working for some of the larger search engines. The only exception to that might be that of country codes. A country specific extension such as .us or .co.uk can be effective for search engine listings in other countries. They may not rank as high, and this can be a problem if you are targeting the widest possible audience.

So what is the bottom line? People have gotten used to the .com extensions, and nothing more. Your average surfer may not even know what the .info or .biz extensions mean. And simply put, people like the .com extensions that they are used to. So will it affect your traffic? Maybe yes, maybe no, but the point is you must observe the traffic patterns.

The .com extensions may be easier to remember, or it may not matter much at all. Don’t base your choice solely on the myth that .coms rank higher with SEO. Having your choice of keywords, at a more affordable rate may just be the wise move for you after all.

There is an all-new system of computer generated writing being used today. Not only do we see it in screenplay programs (auto creates formulaic plots), but we also have what we call “spin software,” which is an application that automatically creates “new content” from old content using a thesaurus.

These “inventions” are not really a step forward, are they? They tend to completely undermine the moral integrity of writers—of writing—an art and communication that dates back for thousands of years. Now, every day, SEO firms and website owners are using computer software to create their writing in the hopes of improving their traffic while saving a buck.

However, as opportunistic as this thinking is, it’s not going to work. Google is already penalizing websites that “keyword stuff” and use articles that sound inhuman and repetitive. Here’s the issue: commercial websites need to bring the people back into writing. The human voice.

Sure, it takes work and possibly a moderate budget, but it is the personal aspect behind all of it that drives the Internet. If website owners continue to try to use computer programs to write for them then they will never keep readers’ attention. Even after all we’ve learned about Google’s new algorithm updates, you might be surprised at how prevalent spinning software is today.

You also have a large percentage of hack writers who write poorly, so much so that they resemble robots. Oftentimes, website owners outsource their SEO content to overseas firms, thinking they’re getting a great deal on a low price. Unfortunately, when the articles do come back they are in barely comprehensible English, with plenty of errors and strange robotic statements.

What readers really want to see is content with the human touch, with personality and character instead of cold and impersonal writing or keyword stuffed sentences. As search engines become more advanced, and more people use the Internet for reading as well as shopping and fun, we see an even greater need to improve the quality of writing. We are very quickly approaching an age where substandard writing doesn’t “cut it”, not only in publication, but in daily web traffic. The more people reading high quality magazines, blogs and news articles, the less likely they will be inclined to visit sites that feature grade school-level, peripheral writing.

Webmasters, believe this: real writing is worth it. Your readers want to understand the content they read and they want to relate to it—just as if they were having a one-on-one conversation. So in conclusion, remember this: just because the whole world is “going computers” doesn’t mean honest writing is being replaced by spinning software. The human mind remains the most amazing invention of them all.

This is a common question in online marketing, as companies are understandably nervous when it comes to writing huge checks for Search Engine Optimization services, without getting something tangible in return—and fast. The good news is that if the SEO company or writer knows how the business works, the major search engines can actually start looking for your content right away.

When you type in a search, you aren’t actually searching the “internet”; you are searching the site’s index. The spidering process (searching for new content) is a continuous operation and the search site’s “spiders” follow links all over the web from page to page, with the intent to find new content. The information they collect regarding these new sites and new pages is stored in the index.

However, here is where things get tricky. Just because you create a website doesn’t necessarily mean that it will appear “live” on a Google or Yahoo search. Search engines cannot find new pages by “magic”—it must come from a link that comes from a link from a link. In other words, your site must be connected to the rest of the Internet.

Therefore, after creating a website your first goal is to establish strong links from your various efforts in article marketing, guest blogging, and even social media page links. However, you can help grab the search sites’ attention by creating a sitemap page for your site, or auto-installing a plugin that creates a sitemap and “pings” search sites whenever new content is created.

However, just because that’s how it should work doesn’t mean that’s what happens. Some website owners might be disturbed when they search their own content but nothing seems to come up. This happens either because there is no sufficient linking system in place (the page is “invisible” and can’t be found through page to page linking) or because the page is so rarely updated that search bots only occasionally search and index the information. This can also happen in the event that the page’s content was penalized due to plagiarism or unoriginal, formulaic or incoherent content.

Search engine sites should automatically find your content if you are well connected. However, as a last resort you can request these search engines crawl your site by setting a webmaster account and making use of the tools they provide you with; Google, Yahoo and Bing all offer these services. This is not necessarily the same thing as search engine directory listings, which can range from unnecessary to just plain expensive (such as a paid Yahoo business listing).

For more assistance with creating a site and increasing your traffic, talk to an experienced SEO consultant. He or she can help you plan a successful launch campaign.

Guest blogging is the most popular venue for marketing online at the moment, and that’s largely thanks to Google’s upsetting the balance by penalizing popular “dump” article directory sites. It’s easy to see why Google, and online viewers, enjoy blogs more than article directories. Article directories are created solely for search engine traffic, usually picking up on popular to obscure keyword phrases. Guest blogs earn their traffic by appealing to human beings, and readers who have a vested interest in the blog site. A lot of article directory traffic comes and goes without any incline of revisiting.

No wonder everyone is jumping on the bandwagon of guest blogging. The question is, how does it work? The old fashioned way is to contact the blog site owner directly and ask to post a guest blog (or perhaps to follow the posted submission guidelines). Another way to do it would be to add other bloggers to your favorite users, and give them permission to post their blogs on your site—or perhaps even edit your site. Lastly, you can join a guest blogging network and be matched up with someone who has the content or the blog you’re looking for.

You also have to give some time to determine which bloggers you want to exchange content with, and what topics are worth fighting for. When it comes to asking for exchanges, be upfront and be prepared for a yes or no answer. Understand that some guest bloggers may not want to work with you because of your blog theme, or perhaps because of a lack of pay. Sometimes it’s only a matter of scheduling.

Of course, the blog network is a way to surpass this trouble, though you face just as many obstacles when joining a blog network. For instance, how well do you really know the other bloggers on the site where you will exchange contact? If you treat a guest blog network like an article directory, the results could be unpredictable.

On the other hand, it’s best to not “cold call” popular bloggers in this day and age, since all of the top dogs are being hounded by second-level websites hoping to earn publicity. In the end, whether you use a network or go fishing for blogs of relevance, it is best to take the time to get to know these people you are working with. Comment on their blogs, support their business, if you really want to get a solid connection back.

After finding a network of people you like working with, the next step is to invite bloggers to post on your site (and find blogs to support your content), set up a user profile and create access and permissions, and then determine dates and a schedule for publishing. You will also need to abide by, and create your own, guidelines for acceptable publishing.

Guest blogging is the way of the future as it focuses on original, conversational content—the type of online writing people want!

What is the latest news on the Penguin update?  Google Penguin continues to make changes, and those changes create shockwaves in the SEO and online marketing industry.  While the first rounds of Penguin were drastic (many well known article directories and blog spaces fell in a huge way) we continue to feel the effects of new or minor updates.

Why just consider some of the latest news concerning the algorithm “jolts” coming from Google’s staff.  The company announced that they are now going to start taking into account the number of valid copyright removal notices it finds for a given site.  This is no doubt in response to Penguin/Panda criticism that suggested scraper (plagiarist) websites were getting more traffic than original content sites.  Google stated that this new update will help users find legitimate sources of content more easily, since pirate sites will be penalized and their links will be pushed down lower in the rankings.

Google now offers its copyright owners the capacity to report potential copyright infringement.  An estimated 4.3 million URLs have been reported to Google.  So it’s safe to say that Google’s new algorithm updates are a sign of definite progress.  It’s not really fair for small press and publishing sites to be penalized just because a more popular website is stealing content.  Maybe things aren’t perfect at the moment (and there are plenty who criticize Penguin’s performance) but with 2012 and 2013 updates coming, we are sure to see some vast improvements in the way websites are penalized and rewarded.

It should be noted that Google also has an option for “counter notices”, just in case there is an error reported in evaluating and indexing copyright violation URLs.  Now mind you, Google does not have the authority to delete copyright infringing sites; only users and ISPs can arrange for this.  However, it can remove questioned URLs from its search results upon receiving a valid copyright removal notice from the rights owner.

What does this mean for you, the small or medium sized business trying to improve your search rankings?  Obviously, the days of copying and pasting content just as a means to cheaply fill space are over.  The days of recycling cheap content are also over, as content mills and even article directories (with no editorial process) are also showing signs of waning.

It’s time for you to invest in the content quality of your site.  You can start writing for your own blog or start building links on your own or you can contact an SEO firm to help you with this campaign.  Either way, the latest news on Google Penguin is actually a bit encouraging.  Maybe 2012 will be the year you escape from low SERP prison!

There is nothing quite like face to face, real human interaction—and that’s true whether you’re talking about a meeting with friends, an in-person business call or even a romantic date. The personal factor counts.

And nowadays with technology all around us, we are in danger of losing the personal connection. Therefore, perhaps it is a blessing that we have the likes of Twitter and Facebook to remind us of just how personal our lives need to be. Yes, the personal connection is what makes these social networking sites so immensely popular and a dynamic boost for increasing sales.

Of course, if you follow SEO news then you also realize that extremely popular social networking sites can actually help you build links. For the latest Google Penguin updates, social media pages grew while article directory and “content mills” fell. This is rather easy to figure out; millions upon millions of people are using Facebook and interacting on a daily basis, causing huge Internet traffic. Now compare that to an article directory…not as much happening.

Another site to discuss in your SEO marketing plans is that of Twitter. Twitter is a social interaction website that puts emphasis on short messages as well as links. Because of the worldwide popularity of Twitter, not to mention the hash tags that get the mainstream attention, Twitter pages are also commonly listed SERPs for broad searches.

In essence, by creating Twitter and Facebook accounts, (as well as other rising sites like LinkedIn and Pinterest), you are creating content on already-popular webpages and not fighting for respectability as you would, say, from opening a free website with a .hostzi extension.

Now just imagine if you were an entertainer or a local company trying to reach out and find new customers…but on a very limited budget. You have an ideal opportunity to advertise on Facebook and Twitter, investing only your time and creativity. (You can also outsource this job to an SEO marketing expert who has experiencing in driving Twitter and Facebook to website sales)

Here’s another aspect to consider. This “new generation” in marketing doesn’t necessarily put great importance on “sales” pages. Sometimes a social media page, in which a businessperson is NOT trying to sell, works much better at branding and showing the audience who he/she really is. As mobile marketing also becomes more important with the proliferation of iPads, Droids and Kindles, it is time to jump on the social networking bandwagon.

In 2012, the Internet, and in particular, social media, is where the party is. As a small business owner, you are wise to follow the latest trends in social media and SEO, and if necessary to enlist the help of a qualified SEO firm.