Content Length Long Verses Short

Content Length Long Verses Short

For many years the deep secret of blogging was the 500-word blog post. It was the winning formula. These posts worked every time. Until it didn't.

Then in August 2013, Google updated their algorithm for showing search results for in-depth articles. Google explained this by saying that "up to 10% of users' daily information needs revolve around learning about a broad topic." And so we saw an influx of brands publishing upward of 2,000 words per post!
So, going forward, which form of content should you focus your content creation energy on: short or long, or perhaps a mix? If you go for a mix, then at what ratio? Let's look at some factors you need to consider that will help you make this decision.

A caveat before we proceed: I think we can all agree that content length for the sake of length is not just a dumb strategy, but it will backfire all of the advantages discussed below. So we'll continue this analysis with the hypothesis that all content being created, whether long or short, meets quality criteria (i.e., it is valuable, helpful, entertaining, etc.)
Marco Arment quote
Long-Form Content
Long-form content is described as content that is typically 2,000 words in length or thereabouts and makes for a compelling, insightful read. Examples of long-form content include whitepapers, e-books, guides, resources, videos, and webinars.

Pros:
•Google has a dedicated ranking mechanism for long articles.
•Keeps audience on site longer, increases engagement.
•Supports evergreen, foundational content.
•Presents a broader, deeper view on the topic.
•Caters to a deeply invested audience.
•Provides quality backlinks.
•Establishes credibility and thought-leadership.

Cons:
•People don't always have time to read.
•Short attention spans.
•Typically less shareable.
•Probably won't go viral.
•Length itself doesn't guarantee higher ranking.
Here's what experts in the long-form content camp have to say about its value:

Neil Patel quote
Marcus Sheridan quote
Short-Form Content

According to Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress, "The average post on WordPress is 280 words long, and that's remained 'relatively constant' over the past few years." Examples of short-form content include blog posts that are less than 1,000 words, list posts, Vine videos, and infographics.

Pros:
•People scan online, rather than read.
•Lends itself to being shared.
•Mobile-friendly.
•Attract more eyeballs.
•Potential to go viral.
•Fun!

Cons:
•Spouts me-too content.
•People have become blind to formulaic posts.
•Can't go in-depth into topic.
•Too shallow.
•May not provide enough info about topic.
People in the short-form content camp include Mark Schaefer and Jakob Nielsen.
Jakob Nielsen Quote
Mark Schaefer quote

Long vs. Short Content: Which Should You Create More of?

So, which form of content should you be focused on creating? Common sense would dictate that you produce both types of content because both serve a different need. But how you decide what ratio they should be in? How much long-form and how much short content should you be producing?
It really depends on six questions:

1. What Stage of Business Are You At?
Early-stage start-ups may not have the resources or time required to produce long-form content. They would be looking to gain traction sooner rather than later and so might prefer shorter stories that would be more likely to be shared.

Conversely, a business that's an industry heavyweight would have both the expertise and the resources to produce foundation-building evergreen long-form content.

2. What's Your Personality & Style?
Seth Godin produces blog posts in small spurts. That's his style. Is that your style? Does that suit your business's tone and voice?

Your decision to go long or short will also depend on what matches the style that is most authentic to your personality. You will attract an audience who loves you for your style and personality, rather than the other way around of building a style to support an audience you feel you should be catering to. I'm a big believer in being authentic because anything else is not a sustainable strategy.

3. What's the Goal of Your Content?
Your answer may be different if your goal is to be a NY Times best-selling author versus becoming your industry's go-to news guy. What are the goals you wish to achieve with your content: engagement, discussion, industry status, shareability, traffic, search rankings, or more?

It's OK for goals to evolve and change with time as your business grows. Develop content according to the goals it can achieve today.

4. What Platform Will It Be Consumed On?
It's a no-brainer to remember that people prefer consuming short-form content on their mobiles while they are on-the-go.

Tablets are traditionally used to read e-books and watch movies since we're comfortable with holding the lightweight devices in our hands for a longer time.

Desktops and laptops can potentially be used to consume both short-form (Twitter Web) and long-form (downloadable guides) content.

5. Who's the End Consumer?
Who's your audience: people bored on the Internet looking for something funny or industry professionals? The length of your content and therefore, its appeal, would depend on what kind of material your customer most prefers.

6. What Are the Topic's Requirements?
What does the topic itself require? For example, if you're tackling an ultimate guide that would naturally demand long-form content versus if you're writing about celebrity gossip.

Although for some businesses it makes sense to produce only long-form or only short-form content, for most of us, it makes sense to choose both.

So what should the ratio be? Some businesses might be more suited to producing more of long-form than short, while others may benefit from shorter bite-sized nuggets.

Summary
Analyze your business and decide for yourself how these six fields may influence your content length decision:

Long-Form vs Short-Form Content
These are rough guidelines, but you can use them as a starting point when deciding which type of content to produce. Ultimately, though, whichever form of content you create, it must meet your current goals.

Improve your website content today. Contact ABCO Technology Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 6 PM at: 310-216-3067 or email us at:

info@abcotechnology.com. Improve your content writing today.

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Active Directory Explained

Sites in Active Directory represent the actual physical structure, or topology, of your network. Active Directory uses network topology information, stored as site and site link objects in the directory, to build the most efficient replication network infrastructure. You use Active Directory Sites and Services to define sites and site links. What is a site? A site is a set of well-connected subnets. Sites differ from domains; sites represent the physical structure of your network, while domains represent the logical structure of your organization.

USING SITES
Sites help you facilitate several activities within Active Directory, including:
•Replication. Active Directory balances the need for up-to-date directory information with the need for bandwidth optimization by replicating information within a site on a frequent basis. This operation saves bandwidth between sites. You can configure the relative cost of connectivity between sites to further optimize the need for replication.
•Authentication. Site information helps make authentication faster and much more efficient. When a client logs on to a domain, it first searches its local site for a domain controller to authenticate against. By establishing multiple sites, you can ensure that clients authenticate against domain controllers nearest to their work station, reducing authentication latency and keeping traffic off WAN connections.
•Active Directory-enabled services. Active Directory-enabled services will leverage site and subnet information to enable clients to locate the nearest server providers much easier.
In Active Directory, a site is a set of computers well-connected by a high-speed network, such as a local area network (LAN). All computers within the same site typically reside in the same building, or on the same campus network. A single site consists of one or more Internet Protocol (IP) subnets. Subnets are subdivisions of an IP network, with each subnet possessing its own unique network address. A subnet address groups neighboring computers in much the same way that postal codes group neighboring postal addresses. Several clients are contained within a typical subnet
Sites and subnets are represented in Active Directory by site and subnet objects, which you create through Active Directory Sites and Services. Each site object is associated with one or more subnet objects.

ASSIGNING INDIVIDUAL COMPUTERS TO SITES
Computers are assigned to sites based on their Internet Protocol (IP) address and subnet mask. Site assignment is handled differently for clients and member servers than for domain controllers. For a client, site assignment is dynamically determined by its IP address and subnet mask during logon. For a domain controller, site membership is determined by the location of its associated server object in Active Directory.
Understanding sites and domains
In Active Directory, sites map the physical structure of your network, while domains map the logical or administrative structure of your organization. This separation of physical and logical structure provides the following benefits:
• You can design and maintain the logical and physical structures of your network independently.
• You do not have to base domain namespaces on your physical network.
• You can deploy domain controllers for multiple domains within the same site. You can also deploy domain controllers for the same domain in multiple sites.


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8 valuable Tips for Wireless Home Network Security

Many users setting up wireless home networks rush through the job to get their Internet connectivity working as rapidly as possible. That's totally understandable. It’s quite risky as numerous security problems can result from haste. Today's Wi-Fi networking products don't always help your situation as configuring their security features can be time-consuming and non-intuitive. The recommendations below summarize the steps you should take to improve the security of your home wireless network.

1. Change Default Administrator Passwords (and Usernames)
At the heart of most Wi-Fi home networks is an access point or router. To set up these pieces of equipment, manufacturers provide Web pages that allow owners to enter their network address and account information. These Web tools are protected with a login screen (username and password) so that only the rightful owner can do this. However, for any given piece of equipment, the logins provided are simple and very well-known to hackers on the Internet. Change these settings immediately.

2. Turn on (Compatible) WPA / WEP Encryption
All Wi-Fi equipment supports some form of encryption. Encryption technology scrambles messages sent over wireless networks so that they cannot be easily read by humans. Several encryption technologies exist for Wi-Fi today. Naturally you will want to pick the strongest form of encryption that works with your wireless network. However, the way these technologies work, all Wi-Fi devices on your network must share the same encryption settings. Therefore you may need to find a "lowest common compatible setting.

3. Change the Default SSID
Access points and routers all use a network name called the SSID. Manufacturers normally ship their products with the same SSID set. For example, the SSID for Linksys devices is normally "linksys." True, knowing the SSID does not by itself allow your neighbors to break into your network, but it is a start. More importantly, when someone finds a default SSID, they see it is a poorly configured network and are much more likely to attack it. Change the default SSID immediately when configuring wireless security on your network.

4. Enable MAC Address Filtering
Each piece of Wi-Fi gear possesses a unique identifier called the physical address or MAC address. Access points and routers keep track of the MAC addresses of all devices that connect to them. Many such products offer the owner an option to key in the MAC addresses of their home equipment that restricts the network to only allow connections from those devices. Do this, but also know that the feature is not as powerful as it may seem. Hackers and their software programs can fake MAC addresses easily.

5. Disable SSID Broadcast
In Wi-Fi networking, the wireless access point or router typically broadcasts the network name (SSID) over the air at regular intervals. This feature was designed for businesses and mobile hotspots where Wi-Fi clients may roam in and out of range. In the home, this roaming feature is unnecessary, and it increases the likelihood someone will try to log in to your home network. Fortunately, most Wi-Fi access points allow the SSID broadcast feature to be disabled by the network administrator.

6. Do Not Auto-Connect to Open Wi-Fi Networks
Connecting to an open Wi-Fi network such as a free wireless hotspot or your neighbor's router exposes your computer to security risks. Although not normally enabled, most computers have a setting available allowing these connections to happen automatically without notifying you (the user). This setting should not be enabled except in temporary situations.

7. Assign Static IP Addresses to Devices
Most home networkers gravitate toward using dynamic IP addresses. DHCP technology is indeed easy to set up. Unfortunately, this convenience also works to the advantage of network attackers, who can easily obtain valid IP addresses from your network's DHCP pool. Turn off DHCP on the router or access point, set a fixed IP address range instead, and then configure each connected device to match. Use a private IP address range (like 10.0.0.x) to prevent computers from being directly reached from the Internet.

8. Enable Firewalls on Each Computer and the Router
Modern network routers contain built-in firewall capability, but the option also exists to disable them. Ensure that your router's firewall is turned on. For extra protection, consider installing and running personal firewall software on each computer connected to the router.


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