What Is The Best Length For A Blog Post?
What is the best length for a blog post? Yes, another question that my students often ask me at seminars, or in my email box. So this is what we are going to discuss here and see if we can arrive to an compromise.
Because of the forever changes in the Google algorithms, we end up with different beliefs among the webmasters and SEO gurus.
If, for example you are using a SEO plugin like Yoast, you know that according to them, below 300 words the articles are not indexed by the search engines.
If you want for Google and company to notice your blog posts, then here is the minimum limit. But, regarding the maximum there is no indication.
So what is the best length for a blog post?
Should we write more or less?
The answer will depend on two factors:
- The topic and
- Our writing ability
It is as simple as that!
There is no ready made answer that would fit perfectly for each one of us.
Fortunately there are still ways to help us determine the ideal length. We will study them in this article.
1 – Does a long article lead to a better ranking?
There are clichés that have tough skin in the world of blogging. For example there are those experts who say that more posts is equal to more traffic. As well as those who are convinced that the longer the articles are, the better it will be ranked in Google.
As much as I do not agree with the first belief, and I have proved with this article, as much that I agree with the second idea.
Warning, this is not because you are going to write 10,000 words in an article that you will necessarily rank number 1. This is not an exact science. But this will increase your chances of being so.
This is very simple. The purpose of search engines is to give the Internet users the best answer to their question.
So the longer an article is, the more information there will be. So the more likely it is to be relevant and meet the needs of the user.
That’s why a long article (more than 1,000 words) will have more probabilities than a short article to rank well in search results.
It’s pretty simple to understand and I’m sure you agree with me.
2 – Why you do not necessarily need to write long articles
A quick answer to the previous paragraph might lead you to believe that you should only write long articles for your blog.
But this is not necessarily the case and I will give you 4 reasons that contradict it:
1 – Your subject is not suitable for a long article:
Let’s say you have a beauty blog. You decide to write an article about your favorite 10 shower gels. On this subject it will be complicated to write more than 1,000 words. The only way I can think of is to write the list of items and their ingredients and fill in with unnecessary information for your readers. Not all subjects are suitable for long articles.
For example, a while ago I have written an article titled “The Beginners Guide To SEO (Seduce Google in 4 Key Points)” I just couldn’t exceed the 1,000 words mark, no matter how hard I tried, there are some like that. And finally, I received some very good reviews for it, because my audience liked it.
2 – Your layout is bad:
This surely has happened to you to find yourself on an article made up of a huge block of text.
Without any paragraphs, a 500-word article visually looks like an article of 5,000 words. If your articles look like this then it is better to focus on short articles. You must learn how to air your text so that it is more readable for your readers. Otherwise this will only drive them off.
3 – Your style is bad:
Some people are gifted for writing and naturally have a very good writing style. Unfortunately, this is not the case for everyone. If your only way to write an article of 1,000 words is to produce very heavy phrases and repetitions, then I would suggest you stop it right there. Settle for the shorter formats as they will not make your readers want to leave your blog very quickly.
4 – Your readers may not want to spend 20 minutes on an article:
The longer an article is, the longer it takes to read it. Think about who your target is to find the ideal length. If you write for the very busy moms, they are not going to have the time to spare 15 minutes to read. So write shorter articles with bullet points. If your readers have more time or are passionate about your subject, then you can go for it.
To find the perfect length for your blog post you will have to take all this information into account. There is no point in writing articles of 3,000 words that are completely illegible because they are badly written or do not correspond to your audience.
It would be better then, to split your articles into 3 to make everyone happy: you and your readers.
3 – My tips for writing long but interesting articles
Now that you understand that writing a long article is better than writing a shorter one, but that it does not have to be done in just any kind of way, I will share my tips with you.
You probably noticed it but the average length of my articles is 1,500 words. So I write long articles. I use some tricks to make them more digestible, here they are:
1 – Structuring the articles
Use titles and subtitles. It is important that the various parts of your articles are clearly defined. This allows your readers to know where they are and how long they will need to read everything. This can also allow them to split the reading time into sections if needed.
2 – Write short paragraphs
Some people write a sentence and then go to the the next line to write the following one. I am not particularly fond of this method but they are right on one point: you have to write short paragraphs. No one wants to read a full page in a block of text. So if you write 5 or 6 sentences in a row, skip a line, your content will be more readable.
3 – Select the correct writing font and the correct line spacing
There are very beautiful fonts but they are awful to read on long texts. Choose a classic that reads well and does not hurt the eyes. In the same way, pay attention to the line spacing you used. I advise 25 px minimum for it to be well ventilated.
4 – Add a menu in your article
If your article is really long (more than 2,000 words) I strongly advise you to add a menu at the beginning so that your readers can directly access the part that interests them. This is especially true with tutorials. Help your readers find what they want and they will be happy. To do this simply add an HTML tag to your text.
This article is coming to an end. You may not have learned for certain what is the best length for a blog post, but you discovered that ideally a good article is comprised between 300 and as many words as you want.
The best way to find the perfect length of an article is to write it down. You will see that this happens naturally. On some topics you will have many things to say and on others much less.
For a beginner blogger to set as a goal 600 or 700 words is already a lot. It is through experience that you get to write more and more easily.
Finally, keep in mind that your article should remain attractive. If it is long only because you fill it with repetitions and useless words it will not interest anyone.
Same for its readability. Make short sentences and paragraphs. Add titles and visuals to make it more digestible.
And for the final word, there is no miracle recipe for the length of an article. Some stories are long and others shorter. Yesterday I wrote one that was only 650 words and yet it was complete. I wrote another one this week that is more than 4,000 words. I ended up cutting it in half because even for me it was too long.
So let yourself be carried away and naturally find the answer to what is the best length for a blog post.
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Thank you John, this post helped me a lot. I have some articles that are only about 500 words long and some that are about or over 1000. I agree with you that you have to keep your target audience in mind, and then there are things you write about that are just redundant if you try to exceed a certain amount of words. Your article reassured me that I don’t have the 1000 words or over as long as I get my point across to my audience.
Thanks for your comment Michaela. The most important thing is to write naturally. Your reader will feel it if you force yourself to fill the page and will quickly get off if nothing makes sense. Google knows that too as the length of time a reader stays on a page is indicative of how interested web users are in your content, the longer they stay the better for your ranking.
I wish you the very best for your writing efforts.
John ツ
This is something I struggled with quite a bit when I started my blogging journey. I soon discovered that the longer blog posts were getting more hits in google analytics, and promptly went back and edited my other ones for length. I think 1000 or over is the golden ticket. Thanks for an interesting post
Thanks very much for your comment on the subject Penelope. I am glad that you agree with me, as not everyone does. I also battled at the beginning and could hardly come up with something of over 500 words and someone suggested that in future I should make the effort of passing the thousand word mark and from time to time, adjust some of the older articles, and yes, it becomes easier and easier with time.
If you have any questions please feel free to ask them here, and also we would be pleased to learn from your experience.
Best wishes,
John ツ
How do you feel that the movement toward mobile has changed the appropriate length of an article? I’ve read in a few places (like Brian Dean’s website) that with mobile becoming more prevalent that shorter articles are actually starting to rank higher because they are easier to read on a phone. Have you run into this?
Thanks for visiting my website and for your question Craig. Your suggestion does make sense, and we have to take that into consideration, but right now it is not yet the norm. One thing to remember though is that shorter articles can also rank higher that some long articles. So, personally, at the moment I write for both length depending on the subject. What the search engines are mostly interested in is the quality of the content. What is most important to remember is not to stretch the copy to reach the thousand mark by writing unnecessary information.
I have also written an article about a month ago that discusses this matter very well, it is titled “How To Reduce Information Overload“.
I look forward to seeing you here again soon Craig, and if you have any questions, please do ask them here so that we can all benefit.
John ツ
You’ve made me feel better about the shorter posts on my own blog, thank you! My blog is centered around researching a topic, and the more I dig into my topic, I imagine I will be adding information to different posts. But for the time being, 1,000 words feels horribly awkward. Its good to know that its also a trait of me being a newbie blogger. Its great to know that it may get easier to stretch those posts just a bit longer.
Thanks for your comment Debbie. As you will continue writing articles you will see that you are getting better at it and soon 1,000 words will not seem that difficult. You will even surprise yourself sooner than your think. The main thing is that your content is written with the reader in view, it must make sense and be easy to read. Then at every article you write, make it a goal to reach always a few words more.
Here is a great blog post that was written by Sonia JB which will clarify a few things: “How to write an article that gets ranked“.
Enjoy it.
John ツ
Thank you John, this helps me very much and it is a topic I have had questions over. I have always heard that it is better to write over 1000 words, but I never knew how bad it was if I didn’t quite get enough on some articles.
I will definitely keep these points in mind and will bookmark this page for future reference.
Thanks again for the information!
Dalton
Thanks for your comment Dalton. Yes, although there are different opinions on the subject of how many words an article should be, the way I proceed is to get over the 1,000 word article naturally, as it comes to me, then increase if at all possible, by all means keeping the reader in mind.
It can happen that on certain topics I don’t find the words, in this case I don’t force it, I stop right there even if it is less than 1,000 words.
I wish you the very best.
John ツ
Great tips here. Some bloggers are starting to get caught up in the idea that a long article leads to higher rankings in the search engines. That is just not necessarily the case.
You have debunked that myth here. I believe your target audience and the subject of your article are key in deciding the length. You do not wan to lose your audience by writing just to be writing.
I think the key is to get the information to your audience in the most effective way possible and that does not always equate to a very long article. Thanks for sharing. Love your blog!
Thanks for being a regular reader of my articles Nate. When I write an article I use the well known rule #1: “write as if you were talking to a friend seating in front of you at a table”. If it was the case, you wouldn’t want to keep talking for hours and bore your friend to death, right? Or see him or her go away, leaving you talking by yourself. In writing a blog post it is just the same, the goal is to keep your reader interested, and not to go away.
In fact, just the other day, I was reading a very interesting blog post by Sonia JB: “How to write an article that gets ranked” and apart from other interesting tips that she kindly shares, she has her own view on what is a good length for an article.
I would like to invite the readers of this article to share their personal view and experience on the subject, so feel free to do so below this comment.
Best wishes Nate, and I look forward to your future very useful comments.
John ツ
Usually I never bothered much regarding the length of the posts in blogs. This post has brought some insight in me that the length of article also matters much.
Thanks for your comment Tessy. I have been marketing online since 2001 and a few months ago I have joined Wealthy Affiliate as a free member and followed their free training where one can buil, host and monetise 2 websites for free that will rapidly rank first page on the search engines, thanks to the excellent SEO training. I see that you are using blogspot (as I used to before I came across Wealthy Affiliate) to promote your various affiliate programs. That’s fine but you would do much better with a website created on Siterubix (owned by Wealthy Affiliate). You should really give it a try and see for yourself.
Let me know if you have any questions.
John ツ
Very interesting post. I used to target 1000 words. Now I’m aiming for higher. And it’s really important to have our audience in mind.
It means we have to find a way to keep our readers committed to the end. This post has really served as an eye-opener. Thank you very much.
Thanks for your comment Laurine. That’s right, you must constantly keep the readers in mind, feed them with all the information they expect, and stop before they get bored. A thousand words is a good measure and Google likes to have that and more if possible. That doesn’t mean that longer content will rank better, your readers are the judges.
It seems to be an impossible task to produce that many words, but with practice we can easily get there. I am a Premium Member at Wealthy Affiliate Academy and it is where thousands of people have become very successful business owners over the 15 years or so of their existence. So I can highly recommend them to anyone.
I look forward to seeing you again soon on this blog Laurine, as I have a very interesting article coming soon. I am sure that you will love it.
Best wishes,
John ツ