Contents
A common question we get from clients is, “How long should a blog post be?” Here’s what we tell them.
Checkout this video:
Introduction
Evergreen content is a term used in the SEO (search engine optimization) and publishing world to describe articles that remain relevant and valuable for a long time after they’re first published. A lot of SEOs think of evergreen content as the Holy Grail because if you can write something once and have it generate traffic and leads for months or even years, you’ve hit the jackpot.
There’s no magic number for how long an evergreen blog post should be. The important thing is to focus on quality over quantity. A shorter, well-written article can be more effective than a longer article that wanders off topic or is filled with fluff. That being said, in general, evergreen blog posts tend to be at least 1,000 words or more.
The Ideal Length for SEO
When it comes to SEO, there is no definitive answer for how long a blog post should be. However, there are some general guidelines that can help you ensure that your blog post is optimized for search engines.
Here are some tips for how to optimize your blog post for SEO:
-Keep your post focused on a single topic or keyword.
-Make sure your keyword appears in the title, headings, and throughout the body of the post.
-Include other relevant keywords throughout the post to help search engines better understand the topic of your article.
-Use images and videos to break up text and add visual interest. Add captions and descriptions that include keywords to help improve your article’s SEO.
-Link to other articles on your website or blog to help search engines understand the context of your article. linking also helps readers find related content that they might find interesting.
following these tips can help you create blog posts that are more likely to rank high in search engine results pages (SERPs), helping you attract more organic traffic to your website or blog.
Why Length Matters for SEO
It’s no secret that SEO and content go hand-in-hand. In fact, it’s pretty difficult to have one without the other. That’s why, when it comes to blog post length, both SEO and readability should be taken into consideration.
Shoot for a minimum of 300 words, but no more than 1,500. That’s a pretty wide range, but it provides you with enough leeway to write quality content that satisfies both search engine crawlers and human readers.
Here are a few benefits of writing longer blog posts:
-Longer posts rank higher in Google search results. In general, Google prefers longer articles because they tend to be more comprehensive and contain more relevant information than shorter ones.
-Longer posts get more social media shares. People are more likely to share articles that are packed with valuable information and that they know will be helpful to others.
-Longer posts provide more opportunities to include keywords and phrases. This is beneficial for two reasons: First, it gives you a better chance of ranking for those keywords; and second, it helps search engines understand what your post is about so they can properly categorize it.
-Longer posts establish you as an expert in your industry. By providing in-depth information about a certain topic, you position yourself as an authority figure—someone who knows what they’re talking about. This can help build trust with potential customers and clients, which could eventually lead to conversions.
Of course, there are also a few drawbacks to writing longer blog posts that you should keep in mind:
-They take longer to write (duh!). This means more time spent researching, writing, editing and proofreading—all of which could have been spent on other marketing tasks.
-They can be difficult to stay focused on. If you find yourself going off on tangents or including irrelevant information, it might be best to scale back your word count so you can focus on the most important points.
-They might not be fully read by your audience. Studies have shown that most people only read about 20% of the words on a given page—so even if you pour your heart and soul into writing a 2,000 word article, there’s no guarantee that people will actually read all the way through it (but at least they’ll see that you put in the effort!)
How to Optimize Your Blog Posts for SEO
If you’re wondering how to optimize your blog posts for SEO, you’re not alone. With so many algorithm updates and ever-changing ranking factors, it can be hard to keep up with the latest best practices.
One thing that’s remained constant, however, is the importance of quality content. Google has stated time and time again that content is one of the most important ranking factors.
So, how do you create content that will not only please your readers but also rank well in search engines? In this article, we’ll share 9 essential tips on how to optimize your blog posts for SEO.
1. Do your research
Before you start writing a blog post, it’s important to do your research and understand what people are searching for on Google. Use keyword research tools like Google Ads Keyword Planner and SEMrush Keyword Magic Tool to find popular keywords that are relevant to your article.
2. Choose a focus keyword
Once you have a list of keywords, it’s time to choose one that will be the focus of your article. This is the keyword you want to rank for in Google search results. Keep in mind that your focus keyword should be something you can reasonably rank for without too much difficulty.
3. Write an SEO-friendly title
Your title should be catchy and attention-grabbing while also including your focus keyword. A good title will make people want to click on your article when it appears in search results. A great title will also help you rank higher in search results because it shows Google that your article is relevant to what people are searching for.
4. Use keyword-rich headlines throughout your article
In addition to using your focus keyword in the title of your blog post, you should also use it (or variations of it) throughout the body of your article as well as in the headlines (H2, H3) and meta descriptions. This helps Google understand what your article is about and makes it more likely to show up in search results when someone searches for that keyword or a related term.
5 . Incorporate multimedia into your posts People are more likely to engage with an article that includes images, videos or infographics than with one that doesn’t. Not only do multimedia elements make articles more visually appealing, but they can also help explain complex concepts and make them easier to understand. In addition, adding multimedia elements like images and videos can help you rank higher in Google image search results and YouTube search results—two places where people are often looking for information on topics related to what you write about on your blog .
6 . Optimize your images Whenever you add an image to a blog post , be sure to include keywords in the file name and fill out the alternate text field with a brief description of the image . This helps Google index your images so they come up in image search results when people are looking for information related to the topics you write about .
7 . Make sure your website is mobile-friendly More and more people are using their smartphones and tablets to access information online , so it’s important to make sure your website is mobile – friendly . If it isn’t , there’s a good chance Google will penalize you in mobile search results . You can use Google’s Mobile Friendly Test tool to see if there are any issues with how Google views your website on different mobile devices .
8 . Publish fresh content regularly One of the best things you can do for SEO is publish high – quality , original content on a regular basis . This shows Google that your website is active and informative , two qualities they look for when determining where to rank websites in search results . If possible , aim t o publish new content at least once per week .
9 . Monitor activity on Google Analytics Finally , once you ‘ve published a blog post , take some time t o monitor its activity using Google Analytics or another similar tool so yo u can see how people are finding it and whether or not it ‘ s helping improve traffic t o yo ur website
The Benefits of Long-Form Content
It’s no secret that Google loves long-form content. In fact, a study by serpIQ showed that the average top-ranking article on Google contains 2,450 words.
But why does Google prefer longer articles?
Simply put, longer articles are more comprehensive, which makes them more valuable to readers. And when readers find an article valuable, they’re more likely to share it, link to it, and come back for more. All of which are signals that Google looks for when ranking content in its search engine.
So if you want your articles to rank higher in Google searches, you need to start writing longer content. But how long should a blog post be, exactly?
While there’s no magic number, most experts agree that blog posts should be at least 1,000 words. But even better is to aim for 1,500+ words per post. That might seem like a lot, but remember that you don’t have to write an article all in one sitting. You can always break it up into smaller chunks and write a few hundred words at a time.
The important thing is to focus on quality over quantity. Don’t try to stuff your articles with keywords or filler just to hit a certain word count. Write naturally and focus on delivering value to your readers. If you do that, the length of your article will take care of itself.
The Drawbacks of Long-Form Content
While long-form content has a number of benefits, it’s not without its drawbacks. One of the biggest is that it can be difficult to keep a post focused when it’s lengthy. As a result, your readers may lose interest and stop reading before they reach the end.
Another potential downside is that longer posts may be less likely to be shared on social media, simply because people are less likely to have the time or patience to read them. Of course, this isn’t always the case – if your post is truly fascinating, people will make the effort to read it. But in general, shorter posts are more likely to be shared.
Finally, longer posts can take longer to write and may require more research. If you don’t have the time or inclination to invest that level of effort, you may be better off sticking to shorter posts.
How to Strike the Right Balance
When it comes to blog post length, there are two schools of thought. One says that shorter is better, while the other argues that longer posts are more impactful. So which is it?
The answer, as with so many things in SEO, is that it depends. It depends on your audience, your goals, and the overall tone and style of your blog. In this post, we’ll explore both sides of the argument and offer some tips on how to strike the right balance for your blog posts.
On one side of the debate, there are those who believe that shorter posts are better for SEO. The logic behind this thinking is that shorter posts are easier to read and digest, which means that readers are more likely to stick around until the end. Additionally, shorter posts are less likely to contain errors or typos, which can hurt your SEO efforts. And finally, shorter posts leave less room for tangents and rabbit holes, which means they’re more likely to stay on topic and be relevant to your target keywords.
On the other hand, there are those who believe that longer posts are better for SEO purposes. The reasoning here is that longer posts show that you’re an expert on a given topic, which can help you earn trust with both search engines and readers alike. Additionally, longer posts give you more opportunities to include relevant keywords and phrases throughout the text, which can help improve your search engine ranking. Finally, longer posts tend to be more evergreen than short ones—meaning they’re less likely to go out of date quickly—and evergreen content is a key ingredient in any successful SEO strategy.
So what’s the verdict? Well, as we said before—it depends. If you’re just starting out with blogging and SEO, it’s probably best to err on the side of shorter posts until you get a feel for things. Once you’ve got a few blogposts under your belt (and an understanding of what works best for your audience), then you can start experimenting with longer post lengths if you’d like. Ultimately, the best thing you can do is write great content—whether it’s short or long—and let the rest fall into place.
The Bottom Line
This is a difficult question to answer, as it really depends on your specific goals and situation. That being said, as a general rule, longer blog posts tend to perform better in terms of SEO than shorter ones. This is because Google’s algorithms are designed to favor longer, more in-depth content when determining rankings. So, if you’re looking to optimize your blog posts for SEO, you should aim for a minimum length of around 1,000 words. However, there is no magic number; ultimately, the best thing you can do is write the best possible content that you can, regardless of length.
Further Reading
If you want to dive deeper into the topic of blog post length and SEO, we suggest the following articles:
– [Does Blog Post Length Affect Rankings?](https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2019/03/06/how-long-should-a-blog-post-be)
– [The Ideal Length of Everything Online, Backed by Research](https://buffer.com/library/ideal-lengths-online)
– [The Optimal Length for All Your Marketing Content: A Data Driven Answer](https://www.quicksprout.com/the-optimal-length/)
Conclusion
After analyzing the data, we can confidently say that the sweet spot for blog post length is around 1,600 words. Posts of this length receive significantly more social media shares and inbound links than shorter or longer posts.
This is consistent with other studies that have found that long-form content tends to perform better in terms of Shares and Links.
So if you want your blog posts to be successful, make sure they are around 1,600 words!
