Word count has been a hot topic in SEO for a while now. The general consensus is that word count does not matter in SEO. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule.
First, let's look at why word count generally does not matter in SEO. The main reason is that search engines don't care about the number of words on a page. They care about the quality of the content. They want to see that the content is relevant to the user's query and that it is well-written. They also want to see that the content is updated regularly.
However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. One is if you are trying to rank for a very specific keyword. In this case, you will need to include that keyword a certain number of times on your page. But, you should only do this if it is relevant to the user's query. If you stuff your page with keywords, you will likely be penalized by the search engines.
Another exception is if you are writing an article for a directory or an article directory. In this case, the word count may be important. But, again, only if the article is relevant to the user's query.
So, in general, word count does not matter in SEO. However, there are a few exceptions. If you are trying to rank for a very specific keyword, you will need to include that keyword a certain number of times on your page. But, if you stuff your page with keywords, you will likely be penalized by the search engines. Also, if you are writing an article for a directory or an article directory, the word count may be important. But, again, only if the article is relevant to the user's query.