How long is too long?
I think I am overdoing it.
My last post - a "best of" type covers 12 products and runs to 6,600 words.
It takes me forever to do and I am wondering if it is worth going to that length.
I don't know how to reduce it without detracting from the info it contains.
I think my next 10 posts will be short and sharp (less than 1500 words if possible) just to give me some relief from these lengthy posts.
Anyone know if 6,600 is too long (it is easy reading though with bullet points and lots of images)
Lawrence
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Lawrence, I will go with you niche audience on that one and ask, will they read it?
I wrote 2 x 7,000 blogs which no one reads... therefore for my niche, I have analyzed and ask another question, what do they want that adds value to their life?
In anticipation, I have categorized my blog to the following:
- quick answer type (short)
- show me how (about 1,000)
- explain to me ( 1,500 words or more)
Maybe you can think of something effective along the same line.
Maybe you can split the products into two categories and create two different post. Then link back and forth to each other.
I haven’t gone beyond 4000... but I’m thinking from the point of view of the reader, would I stick around to read the whole 6000?
I’ve heard some people here say they break long posts down into parts... like part 1 and 2 of 3000 each... indicating to your readers...
just my penny’s worth.
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Waaaay to long for a reader to read!
Consider this - feature articles in newspapers are only 1200 words. That fills up quite a few column inches, and still you need a really great article for someone to get to the end.
Even with bullet points, someone coming to your page looking for something that may be near the bottom would have to read through literally thousands of words to find what they wanted. It's much easier to just go to another site where the information they want can be found in the first paragraph or two.
Don't write for Google. Google will never buy anything for you.
Write for your readers. Make it easy for them to find the information they need quickly and succinctly. Then they will buy from you.
Good points Jeannine and ones I take/took into consideration.
This is what I did in terms of H2 Headings and H3 headings.
I think it makes it easy to find what you are after even if you don't use the Table of Contents that jumps to the relevant section.
Best (Keyword) in 2020
Introduction
Para #1: What to Look for In (Keyword)
Para #2: Top of The Range (3 x products with H3 headings)
Para #3: Proven Favourites ... tried and tested (4 x products with H3 headings)
Para #4: Inexpensive ... Value for money (4 x products with H3 headings)
Para #5: For Little Humans ... Start them young (1 product with H3 heading)
Closing Para: Final word on (Keyword)
I think it may be improved by adding the price range in the paragraph title?
I'm not sure splitting the article into 3 and using the same keyword 3 times would work. But it is worth considering and I may do that if I decide to review something else that has a number of products that can be split this way.
Thanks for your comeents - most appreciated.
Lawrence
You can use a long-tail version of the keyword. No offense, but personally if I came upon an article that long, I wouldn't waste time searching it. I'd just find someone else that wrote something much shorter where my answer could be easily found.
You are so focused on optimizing the keyword you are forgetting about your reader. Only your reader will buy something.
no offense taken.
I know that huge article is your baby. It took you forever to plan and write, so the idea of chopping it up is painful.
BUT, your goal is readers and sales. Sometimes our posts have to take one for the team.
You wouldn't be losing the content by breaking it up, but you would be making it work harder for you.
haha - one for the team.
I thought about this and I have a question.
Having been posted if I now chop it up into more posts using the same content would that not be considered duplicate content by big G even if it is removed from the original?
And that huge article was not my baby - it was an agonising childbirth, a monster no mother should have to bear. Even the epidural was totally ineffective.
The nurses left the room ...
What it was was a range of products starting at $5000 going all the way down to $39.99.
:) :) :)
Basically it was a set of sextuplets instead of a single birth! (Had to beat that metaphor to death, hahaha)
The choice remains yours. You can leave it as it is, or split it up and put a bunch of redirects to the other pages, or you can write new, smaller articles for each of those segments.
Here's a human nature tip - People who may be interested in products costing $5,000 don't want to read about stuff that's $39.99. People who can only spend $39.99 don't want to read about products costing $5,000 that they could never afford.
Do consider at least writing new articles that are more tightly focused. You'll get much better results in terms of conversions.