Should you always do extensive research for articles?

Just finished writing a 5000 word review for one of my money sites and I honestly feel exhausted after having done a crazy amount of research.

It took me 5 days to get this article done from start to finish. I’ve also got a bit of help from Jasper but for the most part I was the one putting the words on paper.

The part which consumed the most amount of time ,however, was reasearch and not writing.

This really got me thinking:

For this piece of content to rank in the top 3, do I really need to dedicate so much effort?

If I had to do the same for all the other articles I would surely burn out before even reaching 50 posts.


If you write your content as well, how often do you do extensive research for an article? Obviously not all articles will rank, so a ton of work will go to waste.

When do you decide that a certain topic needs more attention than another?

I’m really curious what you guys think about this.

I know what you're talking about. Just three days ago I was done with a 6k words article that would still be considered the best of its type if it was just 3k words long. Ideally I would'nt write such overkills, because there's no point in beating the first position by that much, but I really care about this topic and I have big plans for this article so it makes sense.

I'm not a writer myself but I do research and make elaborate notes for the writer with all the details (Topics, keywords, etc..). Depending on the type of article it will take 2-5 hours for this research and the writer will deliver the article in 2 days. So, you can make it in 2 days if you manage the time properly and exclude unnecessary things.

It's necessary if you want to make a high quality article.

It'd be better to specialize in a niche and make content specifically for that niche.
It won't drain you that much energy and you'll sound more experienced in that field.
Otherwise you'll only produce a different copy of other writers

It depends a lot on what you're trying to accomplish, but I can't see a scenario where a 5K word article is worth in 5 days.

The problem with Google is that is so fking random that it may rank like shit or like wonders. But since it is not up to you, putting all the eggs (5 days!) in just 1 content is not worth.

I have seen many webmasters say it many times that it's more important to get the content out there rather than making it perfect or long or hyper researched.

Apparently, it's wiser to do it after it ranks, which is after 6-9 months. This window gives you enough time to just get as much content out there as you can.

Seeing the amount of lower quality articles from my own websites that slowly rank just because time has passed, I tend to agree with them.

Get as much content published out there, and then start looking at GSC for missed keywords and optimize them.

H1ghSky said:

It took me 5 days to get this article done from start to finish. I’ve also got a bit of help from Jasper but for the most part I was the one putting the words on paper.

The part which consumed the most amount of time ,however, was reasearch and not writing.

This really got me thinking:

For this piece of content to rank in the top 3, do I really need to dedicate so much ef

I’m really curious what you guys think about this.

Click to expand...

Hi @H1ghSky

It totally depends on what you really want to achieve as a goal.

Does the Christ pain on the cross worth to getting only 12 disciples during life, some of them even negating him has the source of the Sacred Teaching they received?

If you're working on your current project just for money, you're another idiot wasting valuable time... But in that case simple consider how much are you getting for those 5 days of work and evaluate if that match with the amount you'd want to be paid for that period of time.

H1ghSky said:

Just finished writing a 5000 word review for one of my money sites and I honestly feel exhausted after having done a crazy amount of research.

It took me 5 days to get this article done from start to finish. I’ve also got a bit of help from Jasper but for the most part I was the one putting the words on paper.

The part which consumed the most amount of time ,however, was reasearch and not writing.

This really got me thinking:

For this piece of content to rank in the top 3, do I really need to dedicate so much effort?

If I had to do the same for all the other articles I would surely burn out before even reaching 50 posts.


If you write your content as well, how often do you do extensive research for an article? Obviously not all articles will rank, so a ton of work will go to waste.

When do you decide that a certain topic needs more attention than another?

I’m really curious what you guys think about this.

Click to expand...

This is why you build sites in niches you are interested in OR you hire people who work in the niche and train them how to write. 5K words in 5 days is overkill tbh. If you're creating the content yourself, and if you're working on the same site then it's just a matter of time before you develop a strong understanding of the niche. In that case, if it is taking you this long initially then keep up the grind. You'll see improvement overtime and eventually you'll catch up. It's worth investing your time into things, that's when you build true assets.

roydan said:

I know what you're talking about. Just three days ago I was done with a 6k words article that would still be considered the best of its type if it was just 3k words long. Ideally I would'nt write such overkills, because there's no point in beating the first position by that much, but I really care about this topic and I have big plans for this article so it makes sense.

Click to expand...

for me it’s a combination of wanting to produce the best outcome possible and the fear of having a half-baked cake that noone is going to taste. This is also my first website so I don’t know what’s worth doing and what not.

alternatesword said:

I'm not a writer myself but I do research and make elaborate notes for the writer with all the details (Topics, keywords, etc..). Depending on the type of article it will take 2-5 hours for this research and the writer will deliver the article in 2 days. So, you can make it in 2 days if you manage the time properly and exclude unnecessary things.

Click to expand...

Hiring and training writers is definitely in plans, but for now I want to gain more writing experience so I know what to ask from the people I will hire. How do you usually do your reasearch? What’s your go to resource? I’m curious how I could optimize this process.

kimy said:

It's necessary if you want to make a high quality article.

It'd be better to specialize in a niche and make content specifically for that niche.
It won't drain you that much energy and you'll sound more experienced in that field.
Otherwise you'll only produce a different copy of other writers

Click to expand...

That’s what I’m doing. At the moment I’m only writing in one niche. All I can do is keep getting better and better and refine my processes. Maybe I just have to be more patient…who knows

SirLouen said:

It depends a lot on what you're trying to accomplish, but I can't see a scenario where a 5K word article is worth in 5 days.

The problem with Google is that is so fking random that it may rank like shit or like wonders. But since it is not up to you, putting all the eggs (5 days!) in just 1 content is not worth.

Click to expand...

I totally understand what you’re saying. Maybe I’m trying too hard to get something that’s not even under my control…

Alexion said:

I have seen many webmasters say it many times that it's more important to get the content out there rather than making it perfect or long or hyper researched.

Apparently, it's wiser to do it after it ranks, which is after 6-9 months. This window gives you enough time to just get as much content out there as you can.

Seeing the amount of lower quality articles from my own websites that slowly rank just because time has passed, I tend to agree with them.

Get as much content published out there, and then start looking at GSC for missed keywords and optimize them.

Click to expand...

I’ve heard this advice as well. But at the same time I hear a lot of people talking about content quality as well. I just had a fixed way of thinking that always made me prioritise creating something much much better than my competitors no matter what.

Randall F said:

Hi @H1ghSky

It totally depends on what you really want to achieve as a goal.

Does the Christ pain on the cross worth to getting only 12 disciples during life, some of them even negating him has the source of the Sacred Teaching they received?

If you're working on your current project just for money, you're another idiot wasting valuable time... But in that case simple consider how much are you getting for those 5 days of work and evaluate if that match with the amount you'd want to be paid for that period of time.

Click to expand...

I’m not really doing it for money at the moment.I have other projects going on in different areas of IM. I really wanted to get into SEO and also get progressively better at writing content.

DeadJoe said:

This is why you build sites in niches you are interested in OR you hire people who work in the niche and train them how to write. 5K words in 5 days is overkill tbh. If you're creating the content yourself, and if you're working on the same site then it's just a matter of time before you develop a strong understanding of the niche. In that case, if it is taking you this long initially then keep up the grind. You'll see improvement overtime and eventually you'll catch up. It's worth investing your time into things, that's when you build true assets.

Click to expand...

Out of 100%, I like about 80% of the niche that I chose. Hiring and training is on my bucket list later this year. Until then I want to learn how to do the stuff myself.

I think you’re right, improvement will come over time and I will become more efficient at what I do if I just stick with it. Things are much better than they were a month ago already.


Thanks a lot guys for sharing your thoughts!

H1ghSky said:

Hiring and training writers is definitely in plans, but for now I want to gain more writing experience so I know what to ask from the people I will hire. How do you usually do your reasearch? What’s your go to resource? I’m curious how I could optimize this process.

Click to expand...

Apart from picking the keywords and products, I always check the product descriptions, customer reviews, competitors article to get the idea. Sometimes, fact check with the authority sources needed but not for all the products and niche. Picking the images is the other issue, sometimes it will eat up much time.

Crafting a 5k words of article in 5 days isn’t worth since G00gle is unpredictable these days, it may rank a 300 words shit over a 5k words article, this is what G00gle has been doing after the ‘Helpful Content Update’
I’d suggest to follow @Alexion ’s advice, you can make the content better later.

DeadJoe said:

This is why you build sites in niches you are interested in OR you hire people who work in the niche and train them how to write. 5K words in 5 days is overkill tbh. If you're creating the content yourself, and if you're working on the same site then it's just a matter of time before you develop a strong understanding of the niche. In that case, if it is taking you this long initially then keep up the grind. You'll see improvement overtime and eventually you'll catch up. It's worth investing your time into things, that's when you build true assets.

Click to expand...

This ^.

If you are experienced and proficient in a subject, topic you should be able to create articles quickly, with minimal research.

If you have picked a totally random niche, then hire people to do the legwork for you, but ensure you have a good editor who can fact check these articles.

Spending 5 days to create 5k words articles is not what I would support.

While I agree that longer content has better chances of getting higher rank, it is important to realize how long the article should be? I have a website where 1500 to 2000 words articles are doing good. I got them written by some good writers. I am not a writer myself but I am an online marketer and I oversee the writing work, edit the final drafts my self and optimize them with keywords. I never spend 5 days on one piece of content because it is a waste of time for me.

Believe me if you are an expert in a niche and know how to do keyword research properly, then you can make 1500 to 2000 words article rank too. With your speed you can write them in 2 days too or even in 1 day in many cases.

See, I have saved your 3-4 days time... haven't I? You may thank me later.

Cheers and wish you all the best buddy

It's never a good way to spend too much time and energy on a 5K words article.

What I would suggest is to spend just enough time to create one good enough piece of content, then look at your search console for more insight on how you can optimize each article.

kimy said:

It's necessary if you want to make a high quality article.

Click to expand...

This!

kimy said:

It'd be better to specialize in a niche and make content specifically for that niche.

Click to expand...

This also plays a big role in the research process. I mean, I think there´s a strong correlation between how familiar/knowledgable/experienced you are on the niche/topic you´re writing about and the time you will have to invest to research it.

Either way, researching is and will always be a key element in any writing process. That is if you want to produce high-quality content.