The perfect blog post length is a hotly debated topic. But as a business owner, you should not waste too much time on the number of words. Focus on the quality of your content instead.
Some say shorter posts are more promising, while others say longer posts are better.
It is difficult to determine the perfect blog post length for your business because there is no single answer. It all depends on the content type you are producing, your target audience, and your goals.
Still, you came here for an answer, and I will do my best to give you one.
Here is what you can find in this post:
- The minimum recommended blog post length for SEO
- The ideal blog post length for most business blogs and content needs
- And how to determine the content length you should use for your business.
Ready? Let us get started!
What is the minimum blog post length for SEO?
The minimum recommended blog post length for Google to rank content is 500 words. In reality, you could write 300 words and maybe still rank. But even if a 300-word post does get accepted, it will perform much worse than a quality 500-word post.
Google also recommends that you write your blog post to make it a page on your website, not just a standalone piece of content. If you are writing a blog post and want to include links to other pages on your site, consider linking them within the body text rather than at the end.
Generally, it is true longer blog posts perform better, longer meaning 1000+ words. But it is also possible to have great results with multiple smaller blog posts. You simply have to pack an incredible amount of value in only 500 words.
And I would suggest you do not go below that number.
Not unless you are just publishing simple company news for your visitors.
What is the Ideal Blog Post Length?
The ideal blog post length depends on the type of content that you are publishing. For example, a blog post about new tech trends could be shorter than a blog post about how to launch your startup.
When it comes to deciding on the best length for your blog posts, there are four things you should consider:
- What kind of content are you publishing?
- Who is your target audience?
- What do they need to know?
- How much time do you have?
In reality, two of those questions have the highest effect on the length of your blog posts.
What does your audience need to know? If you want your blog to perform well, you should answer that question with the tiniest details. In other words, your blog posts should be as long as it takes to answer all the questions your audience might have.
Secondly, how much time do you have? Writing two to three 2000+ weekly blog posts is time-consuming. Of course, you could hire a freelance content writer for the job, but that increases your expenses.
If you are a solopreneur or a small business owner, you probably cannot sit down and write a few 2000+ word weekly blog posts. And you might not have the budget to hire someone yet. In that case, write smaller posts and pack them with value.
It is counterproductive to write a long post with nothing valuable to say. It is also detrimental that you write a 500-word post about a topic that can easily handle 1500 words.
I know this is all vague, and it probably does not help you much. But the thing is that there are no strict rules you should follow.
However, if you need a number as a milestone to improve your writing focus, try to keep your blog posts above the 1000 words range.
One thousand words seem long enough to provide enough value and receive decent SEO benefits. Though, again, you should customize your approach to your audience!
How to Determine the Ideal Blog Post Length for Your Business?
The best way to determine the ideal blog post length for your business is to consider your goals and capabilities. A longer blog post may be better to increase brand awareness. And a shorter post can be an excellent way to increase social media engagement.
Your content goals, current blog state, and budget should determine how much you can spend on blogging.
For example, if you are writing blog posts for SEO and have a decent budget, you should go with longer posts, between 2000 and 2500 words.
But you could also benefit from multiple smaller weekly blog posts if you are starting a business blog and do not have the budget for detailed articles. Two to three weekly blog posts are a decent weekly range for most smaller businesses.
You are better off writing two 800 to 1000-word blog posts if you want to grow than one 1600 to 2000-word blog post.
Why is Everyone Saying Longer Blog Posts Are Good for SEO?
Your content needs to be optimized for SEO to rank higher on search engines. Blog post length is also a factor in search engine optimization.
Longer blog posts may be better for SEO because they offer more content and variety to the reader. Meaning that they are more likely to get shared on social media, which will drive more traffic to your site.
The longer the blog post, the more words that Google and other search engines will index, and the more possibilities you have to include relevant keywords. However, the length of a post does not matter as much as the quality of the content. You will rank well in SERPS regardless of blog post length if you have high-quality and relevant content.
Let me put all this into perspective with a simple example.
Let’s say you decide to write a how-to article and pack a ton of value for your audience. The title can be “How to get the most out of your insurance claim.”
Can you write a good 500-word article about that topic and teach people how to get the most out of a claim? I don’t think so.
You will need more writing space to share all the information your readers want and need to know to solve their problems.
In a 1000+ word post, you will have more space to target keywords naturally, and thus, this post will bring more traffic to your website than a 500-word post about the same topic.
Keep in mind that this only works if longer posts are of high quality.
Your post will not reach its content goals if you cannot write quality content. It doesn’t matter how many keywords you put in or even how you promote it on social media. Sooner rather than later, it will die.
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