How Long Should a Blog Post Be?

Avoid Short Blog Posts

What makes a good blog is often the first thought on many bloggers’ minds, simply because they want to publish the best possible article to rank highly in the search engines and drive traffic. If you want to produce as many articles as possible to quickly increase your readership, you might be tempted to write multiple short-form blogs.

While there are many bloggers who execute short blogs well, such as Seth Godin and David Vandagriff, it’s not the best option for every website. Not only is an indication that your brand is a little bit on the lazy side, but a lack of content can equal a lack of information to provide to your readers. It can, therefore, be difficult to establish yourself as an industry thought leader. Instead of publishing short blogs daily, focus on writing longer blog posts every other day to drive more traffic to your website.

Why Long-Form Content?

Google values quality content, and meatier blogs are an indication you’ve taken the time to publish insightful, helpful copy that deserves to be read. If you want to beat your competitors, write a blog between 1,140 words to 1,285 words, as this is the average word count for top ranking content in Google.

Focus on Scannable Content

Long form content is not only an indication of value, but it’s also much easier to scan in comparison to short blogs. This is much more appealing to readers, as most people don’t want to read a good blog word for word. In fact, studies have proven that many people will only read 20% to 28% of a blog. That’s why it’s so important to incorporate headers, subtitles and bullet points when blogging, so readers can skim with ease.

Quality is Just as Important as Quantity

The best blogs are not only in-depth, but they provide readers with interesting, relevant content. Quality is just as important as quantity when blog writing, if not more so. While a lengthy word count could help you to rank higher in the search engines, insightful content can lead to more shares and increased engagement.

While word count is important, you must focus more on the subject matter than the blog’s length. For example, you shouldn’t add an extra 500 words just for Google’s sake. If you regularly ask “what is a good blog?” then your blog writer must simply focus on writing insightful, engaging content that speaks directly to your audience, rather than trying to squeeze copy into a select word count or filling your article with useless content. It makes sense, right?