What was the blog word count for your last post?
Do you know how many words it should be? I’ve been teaching blogging workshops for over a year now and this question comes up every time!
Your blog post length DOES matter, but depending on your needs and how you’re planning to promote and share your blog, the actual length (ie word count) may change.
So today, we’re gonna talk about length baby, because bigger doesn’t always mean better…but it can sometimes. Let me explain:
What SEO says about blog post word count
The SEO experts of the world, say your blog posts should be over 2000+ words each! We call these types of blogs Long-Form Content. That may seem like a lot of worlds, but they have value:
- You’re flirting with Google: Longer articles give Google more to read to determine what your content is truly about. Using their mostly super-secret algorithms, they can scan long-form content to pick up on more related words and keyword phrases to show your content in more searches.
- You’re providing VALUE: People want value, and generally, longer articles provide more information and more value. (Of course, they still have to be well written and not just a 2000 word stream-of-consciousness writing with non-existent sentence structure and grammar.
- It’s more shareable: According to Neil Patel, a well-known SEO expert, blog articles that are 3000+ actually get more shares on social media!
- Better chance for top 10 in Google: Articles over 2000 words more often show up in the top 10 results for a given search because google wants to reward richer, longer content.
What YOUR READERS say about blog post word count
People just want information in the fasted possible form. According to a study done by Medium.com, the ideal blog post can be read in 7 minutes (or about 1600 words). So this is slightly less than what the “SEO-Gods” suggest, but as you’ll find out shortly, is still more than my recommendation.
Just think about who is reading your blog. Do they have lots of time to read your content, or do they only have a few minutes in between meetings or activities to read something? Make sure the length of your writing is appropriate for the reader.
(Also consider that more technical topics are better suited to long-form content because people want more in-depth analysis and information).
What WRITERGAL says about blog post word count
I always tell my clients if they plan to blog regularly (2-3 times per month), to aim for 300-500 words each. Most of mine (including this one) are between 500-750. That is the perfect amount of time to get across at least 3 key ideas, without going too long a boring people.
If you ever have a topic that is more complex, by all means, go ahead and write a 1000-2000 word blog post, but know it’s not necessary. An alternative if you have a lot to write is to break it down into a series of smaller posts that with hyperlinks between them. This is called creating a cornerstone article.
For example, If you are writing about 4 self-care practices to calm your overactive mind, write one article that explains each of the four in high-level, general terms. Then write a separate blog post for each self-care practice that goes into more detail. Make sure you link to the more detailed version from the more general post.
With this strategy, people who only want to read the general information about the topic can, and those who want more details, can click-though to read the whole thing. If you choose to write more regular shorter articles, be sure to have other ways to drive traffic to your website and don’t rely on Google and organic methods.
The final word: Focus on QUALITY and VALUE
No matter how long you make your blog posts, make sure you are providing value. The more high-quality value you write, the longer the reader is willing to read or engage with your content.
Bigger isn’t always better. Quality and value win every time!
Your best bet is to write weekly or bi-weekly blog posts of shorter lengths (between 300-500 words each). Then, throw in a longer one once and a while or cornerstone article and separate/linked related content.
And, if you need help to write more consistently for your business blog, you can hire a ghostwriter to write your content for you. The WriterGal team of writers and editors can create your content AND post it to your website for you. Learn more about hiring blogging support for your business.
