Blog tipps How long should your blog post be?

Unpopular opinion: I think people worry too much about word count in content creation. 

You can produce a 10,000 word article, but if the content and quality is poor, then the article doesn't deserve to rank well... You lose.

But let's see what is the case:

Shorter articles rank better than ever. This is partly due to recent algorithm updates, but also due to changes in the way content is consumed (I'm referring to one thing here...ahem..TikTok). The ideal length also varies significantly between industries, so don't trust articles that give a single overarching answer. 

How the ideal word count has evolved:

Ryan Velez, Sr. Content Production Lead at NP Digital, discusses how word count has changed over time:

"The ideal blog length has always changed over time. Things have always evolved from 750 words of content to something much more voluminous, 2500 words. Now that a wave of AI-generated content is flooding the internet, word count doesn't guarantee the same level of quality. Combine this with the "TikTok effect" and the ideal content size is now smaller and gets to the point faster. Think 1500-2000 words."

As content marketing has become more popular and SERPs have become more competitive, articles have become much more voluminous. Add to that link building techniques such as SEO skyscraper, and it wasn't uncommon for blog posts to exceed 3,000 words. 

In 2019, HubSpot found that the ideal blog post length is between 2,100 and 2,400 words. In 2022, Semrush found that articles with more than 3,000 words get 138 percent more search traffic. 

Today, blogs are 77 percent longer than they were 10 years ago, with the average word count across all industries being 1,427 words. 

Long-form vs. short-form content

First, it covers a topic in a depth that is simply impossible with a shorter post. Therefore, the long format creates a perception of higher quality.

Second, it is perfect for scanning. Look... most people don't read content word for word. They simply scroll through the page like a lawnmower. Headings, subheadings, bullet points, and other elements common in long-form content make this easy. 

Third, creating content with a large word count leaves the author with a sense of achievement that doesn't come with writing 500-word articles. But times are changing. Users are increasingly falling in love with short-form content. This is partly why American adults spend almost an hour a day on TikTok.

60 percent of business videos are less than two minutes long. When you couple these statistics with the fact that half of adults believe that attention spans are getting shorter, it's not hard to see why consumers are placing more emphasis and trust in concise articles that answer their questions quickly. 

Ideal word count for blog posts

The ideal blog length can vary significantly from industry to industry for a number of reasons, ranging from the topics covered to the target audience being served. 

Let's dive into the different options for blog length and their performance: 

Short format: less than 1000 words

You will soon see many more blog posts of this length. Posts shorter than 1,000 words are already common in many industries - I'll discuss this below - and shorter posts will become even more popular as customers across all industries demand quick and to the point content. 

Anyone who reads technology websites will be familiar with this type of concise post. Many of the leading tech blogs are news sites that lend themselves to AMP-filled content and easily digestible shortcuts.

If you look at most of the content on TechCrunch, you'll notice that the majority of the articles are not lengthy. They are fairly short commentaries on a product, technology development or event.

Fashion is another industry where short posts are trendier. Fashion readers are less interested in the why and more in the what. You won't find many articles describing the history of a trend or an overview of how a garment is made. What you will find, however, are thousands of articles explaining which fashion trends are hot and how to recreate them. 

The same applies to recruitment.

People looking for a job don't have time to read thousands of words. They need answers that will help them find a new job quickly. Readers need the "meat". They don't want the "fat". In fact, many topics can be adequately covered in just 900-1000 words.

When choosing blog topics and determining the amount of content to write on each topic, keep your target audience in mind. If you know that their needs can be met with less than 1,000, don't waste their time with an abundance.

Medium length: 1,000-2,000 words

This is the historical peak for blog posts and is still the most common article length across a variety of industries, including retail, manufacturing, marketing, food and travel.

You don't need nearly 2000 words to explain a product. What you do need is imagery. Because while images are important everywhere, they are absolutely critical in retail.

It's safe to say that while long-form content can be effective, it only makes sense for certain topics. Your audience probably doesn't have time for a long-winded blog post, and probably won't read the whole thing anyway. Get to the main points quickly. 

This is a well-known challenge for bloggers in the food industry, who have to strike a careful balance between creating enough content to rank in a competitive space and providing concise answers to users' questions. 

That's why I think a medium length post is perfect. It gives food bloggers enough space to provide relevant cooking tips or advice on finding the best ingredients, while ensuring that readers can quickly get to the part of the article that interests them. 

Your audience probably doesn't have time for a long blog post, and probably won't read the whole thing anyway. Get to the main points quickly. This is a well-known challenge for bloggers in the food industry, who have to carefully balance between creating enough content to rank in the competitive space and providing concise answers to users' questions. 

What is the ideal length for a blog post?

The ideal length of a blog post varies depending on the topic, the target audience and the purpose of the content. However, as a general guideline, a blog post should be between 1000 and 2000 words. 

This does not mean that some articles cannot be shorter or longer. I firmly believe that articles will be getting shorter in the near future, so if you can provide value to your audience in less than 1000 words, go for it! 

Conclusion

As you can see, longer content is certainly not the be all and end all. It's much more nuanced than that.

Some industries, like finance and sales, deal with topics that benefit from thorough research and thoughtful narrative. Others, like fashion, target audiences who value getting to the point rather than reading a good story. 

My advice? Focus on creating and effectively promoting high-quality content rather than on writing as much as possible. If you do both, you stand a good chance of dominating the industry rankings. 

Repost-source: https://neilpatel.com/blog/long-blog-articles