Content writing has become an increasingly popular way to share information, ideas, and perspectives. As a copywriter, one of the most critical decisions you’ll make is determining how long should the blog post be.
You might wonder whether your blog posts are too long or too short, and what impact their length has on their readability, engagement, and search engine optimization (SEO).
In this definitive guide, we’ll dive into the topic of ideal, typical, and average blog post length and explore the factors to consider when deciding how long your blog posts should be. By the end of this guide, you’ll have a better understanding of what works best for your audience and your goals, so you can create high-quality, engaging content that resonates with your readers.
TL;DR
- Determining the ideal length of a blog post is crucial for content writers.
- Vary the length of blog posts to fit the topic at hand. The ideal length of a blog post depends on the topic, target audience, and purpose of the post.
- Quality content is essential, regardless of word count. The word count of a blog post should provide value to readers and keep them engaged.
- The optimal blog post length for SEO purposes is between 2100 and 2400 words.
- Longer blog posts can generate more leads and reinforce your authority on a subject.
- Research is key to writing quality, informative blog posts.
- The ideal length for pillar pages is about 4000 words.
- Listicles should be between 2300 and 2600 words.
- “How-to” posts should be between 1700 and 2100 words, depending on the complexity of the task.
- Use the length of the top-performing blog posts on your website and consider what Google thinks to determine the ideal length for your content.
- SEOwind offers comprehensive research to determine the ideal length of a blog post based on competitive analysis.
Ideal Length of Blog Post for SEO 2023
Not every blogger is verbose and not every topic needs a long blog post to get the point across. However, there are ideals to shoot for and when you reach those ideals you stand a good chance of having a popular article.
Currently, the best length for a blog post is between 2100 and 2400 words. But that does not mean that every blog post you write has to be that length. Sometimes, if the topic demands it you can go longer. Quality still matters.
Is it best to write Long Blog Posts or Short Blog Posts?
It depends. What that answer means is that you should vary the length of your blog posts to fit the topic you are writing about. Do not jam a lot of useless information into the content which will ruin what you are writing.
Also, do not go so short you actually say nothing. Fit the length to the subject you are writing on. If it doesn’t demand 2000+ words, then stop where it will naturally end. If the topic demands lots of detail, then do not stop at 2100 words but continue till the topic contains all the details needed.
Mind that the search engines like certain lengths and for SEO purposes, Google likes 2000+ words at this time. However, that can always change.
Optimal Blog Post Length for Lead Generation 2023
If you are looking to generate more leads and build up your traffic, then you may want to go a little longer in your blog post length than you do for SEO purposes. The ideal length is set at around 2500 words.
What longer blog posts does is reinforces the idea that you are knowledgeable and an authority on a given topic. This is true when your keywords are targeting a very specific audience.
But you still must write for quality and your audience. Longer posts take more time because you need to do more research. The better your research the better your quality, and the better your chances of converting readers into leads.
How Long Should A Blog Post in Numbers
When you are writing your content, it has to be good. It will not matter if your blog post is 500 or 5000 words if you are not writing quality content that is informative, interesting, and answers people’s questions. People just won’t read it.
While longer posts will generate more leads, the content has to be good to get those leads. There are too many factors involved when it comes to writing blog posts but numbers help.
1. According to Hubspot, the median high-performing blog length is between 2100 and 2400 words.
This is so for Hubspot and it may work for you. However, the length of your post should not have you ignoring other top SEO strategies. This would just be one more strategy to employ to help build your audience and gain more leads.
2. Hook Agency: Consider the 1760-2400 word answer to how long should a blog post be.
This is good news for those who do not want to write a lot of information. It is best to make the article just right and that means for any given topic it is not too short and it is not too long. Think of the Goldilocks principle.
Some say that your guide to your length should be the 10 best-performing blog posts on your website. Then average their length to get a good idea for your writing. Don’t forget to use your experience as well.
In my opinion, the much better choice is to do in-depth research and check what Google thinks about it. Just type your primary keyword and check how long the SERPs are. It should give you a pretty good answer on how to structure your content and how long it should be.
Ideal Blog Post Lengths for Different Blog Post Types
Hubspot takes time each year to study its best-performing blogs and their length. They have done it for a variety of blog formats to create the ideal length for their different blog styles. Here is what they found out:
1. How long should pillar pages be?
The pillar page is your comprehensive page that covers your subject matter. All your minor blog post subjects will be related to the content on this page. The ideal length for this amount of content is about 4000 words.
2. How long should listicles be?
Listicles, if you do not know by now, are just blog posts filled with lists on a given topic. This is one of the easiest web pages to construct when you are a new blogger.
The length for these types of blog posts ranges between 2300 and 2600 words.
3. How long should “how-to” blog posts be?
The ideal word length for this type of blog post is between 1700 and 2100 words. But, the length should be only as long as how hard the activity is to do. In other words, if the task is very simple and does not take a lot of time, you don’t need 2100 words.
You may need 5000 words if the task is very difficult and requires a lot of explanation. The popularity of the how-to blog post will depend on what topic you are writing on.
4. How long are the competing blog posts that are currently ranking?
As someone once said ‘there is no need to reinvent the wheel’. That is true for the length of blog posts. To find out how long you should go here, you should type in the most relevant keyword to your topic in a search engine box and find out what is currently ranking for that keyword.
Then see how in-depth they go. Then average their length and that should give you a good idea of how long your post should be.
5. How long should “what is” blog posts be?
When you are answering a question or a ‘what is’ topic, then your post should not be more than 1700 words and not less than 1300 words. But that will depend on the complexity of the question or the ‘what is’ topic.
6. Minimum Blog Post Length
While everyone is talking about the ideal length, the good news is that there is no official minimum you have to write to address any given topic. If you can say everything you need to say in 300 words, then so be it.
But generally, you should not have a website that is only filled with blog posts 100 to 300 words in length. You should have a variety of lengths with the majority leaning toward the ideal length.
Blog Post Length according to Google
Google says, ‘It depends’. It also says that there are two main criteria you should use to determine the length of your articles. The first is the subject matter and the second will be the searcher’s intent.
The length of your article should be determined by your subject matter. One subject is going to require far more information than another. For example, an article on how to tie your shoes is not going to be as long as describing how shoes were made.
Keep in mind that article length is only one criterion out of hundreds that determine a website’s ranking. While you want to have the right length for your article, you also need to employ other SEO strategies to get that coveted top ranking.
How to decide on The Ideal Blog Post Length
There are several criteria you can use to help you determine how long your article or blog post should be.
Using the following criterion will help you organize your thoughts and make sure you find enough material to include in your blog post.
1. What’s your blog topic and its expected comprehensiveness?
The topic matters and your length will depend on the type of topic you are writing about. If it is a very difficult subject to write on then you can expect to go longer. If it is a simple topic, then expect to write less.
For example, an article on how to publish a book may take up a lot more space than an article on the best hamburgers at the top 5 fast-food outlets. There is not a one size fits all topic length.
2. Which goal are you looking to achieve?
What is your goal for writing the content you are writing about? Is it to rank high on the search engine results page or do you simply want to be informative? Do you want to drive sales or get more likes?
Think about your goal and pick the length that suits it best. Keep Goldilock’s principle in mind as you do this.
3. Who is the audience you’re writing for?
You need to know your audience. That is the best way to not only determine the content depth but also its length. How much do they want to read? Try to put yourself in their place and think about what they would want to read and how much they want to read.
The amateur-level audience is not going to like technical blog posts and professional audiences will be bored reading amateur-level content. Knowing your audience will direct both content and post length.
The Benefits Of Long-Form Blog Posts
It is a common concern that your readers may get bored and move on to another website if all they see on your website are long-form articles. But that is not necessarily the reality. There are some good benefits that come with writing longer blog posts.
1. Longer blog posts result in longer average time spent on the page.
This is what you want. You do not want your website’s visitors bouncing to another website. Long-form articles help build trust in you, convert your readers into customers, and send a message to the search engines that you are writing good stuff.
2. More words correlate with more social shares and backlinks
This is something else you want. The more backlinks and social shares you get, the more you are seen as an authority. Website readers seem to find more value in longer blog posts than in shorter ones. That is also good for you.
3. Longer-form content can significantly enhance SEO
With this improvement, you can get a better placement on search engine results pages. It is an invitation to search engines to take your website and content seriously and rank you higher.
Also, long-form content allows you to use more keywords without using the dreaded keyword stuffing search engines hate (and people too).
4. Long-form content showcases your expertise
If you want to be trusted, seen as an authority, and have people respect your opinion, then you need to use long-form content. This format gives you the space you need to achieve those objectives.
The trick is to do good research so you have enough to say on a given topic. You want to make sure your website visitors walk away from your post gaining something valuable from it. Long-form content helps you do just that.
Quality Over Quantity: Don’t Focus On Article Length
After reading about the ideal blog post lengths or word count, you still cannot ignore quality. In fact, you should not focus so much on how long your article is but on its quality.
Content is still king but only if it is quality content. Anyone can write on a given topic and reach 2500 words. But does that content have value, in-depth information, and real-life experiences? Most likely not.
You want good quality content that provides value to your readers. If your longer post does not provide value, it can hurt your ranking. Focus on the quality aspect of your topic, get all the key information in the right amount of detail, and let the word count take care of itself.
Those websites that say their best articles were their longest ones are forgetting it is not the length that made them so popular. It was the quality and value of the content.
Let SEOwind help you identify how long should a blog post be
At SEOwind we strongly believe in in-depth research of what works and what doesn’t. And taking guessing out of your table.
That’s why SEOwind does comprehensive research – you just type your primary keywords and the tool analysis all the SERPs. You get all the information you need to make a data-based decision on how long should a blog post be.
By looking at competitive analysis you can find out how long top-performing content is. This can give you a pretty decent direction on how to approach your blog post length.
If most pages are comprehensive, detailed articles having 2000 words and above, it might be extremely difficult to get there with 500 words post.
On the other hand, if most pages are sweet and short (depending on the type of page) there might be a great opportunity for you to write the content that will get to the top.
Let’s have a look at how long should a blog post be for this keyword.
By looking at the data you can see that posts vary from 451 words to 2500 words.
Source: SEOwind
By looking at the data it seems that we have a bit of flexibility here. However, I decided to cover the topic in a comprehensive way I went for the long-form post.
💡 For more information on how SEOwind works visit How to create a content brief with SEOwind?
Frequently Asked Questions on How long should a blog post be
What is a good length for a blog post?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. The ideal length of a blog post depends on several factors, including the purpose of the blog post, the target audience, and the topic you’re writing about.
That said, a blog post of around 1000-2000 words is considered a good length for most blog posts. However, some blog posts may be shorter or longer depending on the topic and the writer’s style. Content pillar, listicles, and how-to posts tend to be longer (even up to 4000 words), whereas “what is” posts are shorter (around 1300-1700 words)
It’s not even the word count that matters, but ensuring that the blog post is long enough to cover the topic in sufficient detail while keeping the reader engaged. The post should provide value to the reader and be well-written, informative, and easy to understand.
Are 1000 words enough for a blog post?
For some topics, a 1000-word blog post may be sufficient to cover the necessary information and provide value to readers. However, for more complex or in-depth topics, a longer blog post may be necessary to provide comprehensive coverage and satisfy the reader’s curiosity.
Most of the data on top SERPs show that on average blog posts tend to be longer each year, rather than shorter.
The best way is to check how long blog posts are that are already ranking in search engines. It will give you more reliable data on whether 1000 words blog post stands a fight with top results.
Are 500 words enough for a blog post?
Most of the analysis and research shows that 500 words in blog posts might be not enough to rank high in search engines. Still, I know of some examples where such content was performing well as they answered the exact question the users have.
Still, for more complex and in-depth topics, a longer blog post may be necessary to provide comprehensive coverage and satisfy the reader’s curiosity.
One reliable method is to examine the length of blog posts that are currently ranked highly in search engines. This can provide valuable information on whether a 500-word blog post has the potential to compete with the top results.
What should be the maximum length for a blog post?
There is no definitive maximum length for a blog post, as the ideal length depends on various factors, including the topic, target audience, and writer’s style.
From research, it seems that longer blog posts are content pillars with 4000 words.
That being said, if you’re planning to write long content (above 2000 words) make sure that you have the right structure in place. Use the table of contents to help the reader navigate through the sections along with the TL;DR section or Key Takeaways so that the reader can quickly find all the essentials on the topic you are covering.
What should be the word count for my blog post?
Determining the ideal word count for a blog post depends on various factors, including your goal, the target audience, and the topic being covered. As a general guideline, most blog posts are between 1000-2000 words in length. However, some blog posts may be shorter or longer depending on the topic.
To determine the appropriate word count for your blog post, consider the following:
- Goal: What is the goal of the blog post? Is it to inform, educate, entertain, or persuade? The purpose of the post can influence the ideal length.
- Audience: Who is the target audience? What is their level of knowledge on the topic? Tailor the length of the post to meet the needs and interests of the target audience.
- Topic: How complex is the topic being covered? Does it require in-depth analysis or can it be covered in a shorter post? A more complex topic may require a longer post.
- Engagement: Is the post engaging and well-written? Focus on providing value to readers and keeping them engaged, regardless of the post’s length.
Ultimately, the word count should be determined based on the needs of the readers and the goals of the blog post. It’s important to focus on providing high-quality content that meets the needs of the audience, regardless of the post’s length.
I often use the following approach: analyze the length of blog posts that are currently ranking highly in search engines. This can offer valuable insights into determining the appropriate word count for your blog post.
