How Long Should Your Blog Post Be?
Kia Ora from New Zealand WA friends and colleagues,
Recently I entered into a discussion with people on live chat about this subject and there were a number of differing views so I went off and did a wee bit research on the subject.
I commend to everyone here, who is a Blogger, a site called 'The Write Practice" (just google it) which is a great resource for anyone who wishes to improve, or develop, their writing.
In this article I will be paraphrasing some material I found on that site.
Opinions v Evidence
Opinions
Everyone has one and each will have been derived from their own personal experience, their trials, successes and failures and advice they have received here at WA or elsewhere.
But what does the evidence suggest?
Some Evidence
There is an excellent article on 'The Write Practice', by contributor Joe Bunting, which Is a result of his research and analysis, and which ultimately provides the following recommendations on Blog lengths.
I hope that this will help better inform the ongoing debate that I have seen initiated in a number of chats and exchanges here at WA:
Here is Joe's list of common blog posts lengths designed to help in finding the optimum Blog length. I have left his wording as per his post, my emboldened, italicised, comments are added:
- 75-300 words. Very short posts are recommended as being most effective in generating discussion. These it appears are unlikely to receive a lot of shares on social, and they’re considered as less than effective for SEO. Comment: so clearly the key here is if your target is comments then short seems to be the winner. I saw quite an allergic reaction to this in some chat and other engagements I have seen here at WA
- 300-600 words. This is quoted in a many places as standard blogging length. It is surprisingly, given the advice in WA training, often recommended by significant numbers of “expert” bloggers as being the middle-ground for social and commentary. It is considered as being too short for authority or search engine attention. Comment; not for you if you are trying to establish an authoritative presence on net.
- 750 words. Very much considered to be the standard length for professional journalism, and in particular newspapers. Comment: probably not our target here at WA then.
- 1000-1500 words. Conceived wisdom says that this will attract fewer comments, but can attract significantly more shares on social, especially if you’ve followed advice and written a post that actually solves people's problems. It depends on the subject/niche and the target reading audience. Comment: the key insight that I draw from this is in respect to 'solving someone's problem'. This means always having in forefront of one's mind who we are writing for
- 2,450 words. The analytics show that ranking best on search engines (deriving a following of many thousands of new subscribers each month), will be achieved around this figure. Comment: and yet again be mindful of who you are writing for; have you done your keyword analysis in respect of the subject you would like to write about, are you sure people wish to read about this?
In Summary
Joe’s Thoughts
Joe suggests that longer is usually better for social shares and SEO whereas shorter is usually better for getting more commentary
My Thoughts
I am sure the debate will continue to rage, but from my own experience the 2,450 option rings true with my experience as a freelance content writer. My clients were usually very specific about writing between 2,000 and 2,500 words to meet their requirements.
I have seen here on WA several times a piece of advice that I think it would be wise to consider in the context of the title of this Blog post. I reproduce this advice here in my own words and interpretation of what I have read.
Some things you will try, and they might not work, try something else. Don't be afraid to test and adjust or in other words oft these days quoted, fail fast!
While the training here ta WA provides a great foundation to establish oneself, the most valuable experience is to learn by doing and seeing what works for you.
I do hope that this is in some way helpful to some. Have a great weekend
Kia Koha
Hamish 🧐
Recent Comments
59
Hi Hamish
A very well thought through post. Personally, I think it depends on the keyword competition and if Google sees you as an authority. In a competitive niche under 2500 has little chance, if any, but in a well-researched niche, ala Kyle's WA recommendation of 1000, you should be in with a fighting chance of ranking, at least in the short-term. I don't think there is a one-fit-suits-all solution really. Google moves those goalposts too often for my liking. Love the post.
Have a great day,
Les
Hamish,
Guid mornin, hou'r ye!...
Well compiled from Two main sources and countless other individual sources. As you know Kyle advises same 2500+ but also advises to mix it up, for the inability of most to stick with it because of attention span issues (I believe it is a dumbing down issue from schools) My favourite is experimentation to see what work's when and how....;)
Thank you for sharing 'big herted of ye'..;
R.
Och aye Pal I wanted to put some data behind the chatter and I learned a lot myself while doing it. Hats off to Catherine she motivated me to bring myself up to date. 🧐
I wrote two 7,000 word pieces that no one reads and I got feedback it was too long. I think the articles need to just serve it’s purpose. The guidelines are all useful references. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing Stanley and you make a good point they are guidelines.
in many ways the most important message in my post is hav a go see what works for your Blog and adjust as necessary.
Hamish🧐
Knowledge + Action = Results. Take the knowledge you just provide and go implement it. See what results you get, then improve on that.
See more comments
While the recommendation here is 1000 to 1300 words I feel like I can say what I want in much fewer words. The longer the post the more likely that the reader will lose interest and stop reading. People have short attention spans.
As to wanting comments I feel like the way to go is to require that they join as a free member to your site. That way you are building a targeted email list. Maybe give them a free ebook or something to encourage them.
The extant research appears to show (Google analytics) that 2450 is the optimum length to attract most traffic Neil. You may be able to say what you want to say in less words but once agin we need to remember we are writing for an audience not for ourselves. 🧐