“So … how long should my blog post be?”
That was my primary question when I sat down to write my first blog for my new content marketing business.
In my time as an online editor and news director, I’ve written articles as short as 150 words and as long as 5,000. But what is the ideal length for a blog post?
Well, the answer is multifaceted depending on what your goal is. But with all the factors combined, I would say the length of your average blog post should be about 700 to 1,000 words long.
Why do I say that? Let’s dive in.
1. Shorter is usually better.
The trend is clear: People’s attention spans, especially online, are getting shorter.
We simply don’t have the patience to scroll through an endless sea of words on the screen. Even those who love their lengthy books will find they don’t have the same giddiness reading a blog post that has thousands and thousands of words.
I’ve seen this time and again in my job as a news director. People often don’t reach the end of articles before forming their opinions and moving on—gracious, they sometimes only read the headline before sharing it on their social media.
Because of this, when receiving submissions as a news director, I always encourage writers to try to keep their articles to 1,000 words or less.
Doing so increases the likelihood of readers actually consuming the bulk of the article.
2. Blogs should be at least 300 words long for SEO.
If you want your blog to be easy to find online, SEO is crucial to keep in mind when writing blog posts. Yoast recommends blogs being at least 300 words in order to rank better on search engines.
One of the first things I did when I started my blog was install the Yoast SEO plugin for my website. The basic plugin is free, although they do have a premium version you could purchase if you feel you need to. The free plugin allows you to optimize pages and blog posts for a single keyword and for readability. It also alerts you when there’s a major SEO error on your site.
Hint: Don’t forget to fill out your meta description at the bottom of the blog post. I’m not even going to say how long it took me to figure that one out. Embarrassing.
3. Have a few extra-long posts on your site to help with your organic traffic.
So… remember how I just told you that people’s attention spans won’t tolerate articles longer than 1,000 words?
Well, forget I said that. At least sometimes.
Although I’ve seen people overall have a shorter attention span when it comes to online articles, I’ve been shocked every once in a while when an extra-long article does fantastic numbers-wise.
I remember one instance in particular when a cultural commentator submitted an article for publication that was at least 4,000 words long. It was a bear to edit. The content was a good fit for our audience, but I thought the length would keep the article from really going anywhere.
I was dead wrong. It got tens of thousands of page views.
Did every one of those viewers read until the very end? Probably not. But I’ve seen this happen enough to form my own theory: Long posts build credibility with readers.
Someone may not read every single word of your super long blog post, but they will be able to tell if it’s packed with meaty insights and quality research.
On top of that, longer posts tend to rank better for SEO. By “long,” I mean about 2,000 words or more.
As long as they’re easy to read and broken up with enough white space and clear headings, long blog posts can provide a lot of rich content to make the search engine bots happy.
If you’re still not convinced, check out this Forbes article to learn how long posts can dramatically affect your blog’s SEO and validity online.
Do What Works for YOU
Every blog is different. Maybe your topic or audience lends itself to short and sweet blog posts. They want the info, they digest it easily and quickly, and they’re out.
Perfect. Do it.
Or maybe your niche requires a lot more explanation and research. Maybe people come to you because they want deep, meaty content they won’t find elsewhere.
Again, perfect. Go for it.
The real answer to “How long should my blog post be?” is simply to allow your blog—and its length—to be as unique as your business is.
And, for the record, this blog post is 810 words long. 😉
Hey real quick before you leave … have we connected on Facebook yet? If not, take just two seconds to like and follow my Facebook page!
Jenny Rose is a freelance copywriter and content marketer specializing in B2B marketing, real estate, and accounting. She's written for clients like AAA, Edward Jones, Flyhomes, Guild Education, and more. Her writing has also appeared in publications like Business Insider and GOBankingRates.
