If you think that the longest your article the better the SEO, without taking into account the content quality, you’re totally wrong.
Keep in mind that the number of characters depends on the type of market, the brand and other factors.
In this article we’ll share some recommendations for when you’re going to sit down and write a blog post or article. Take some notes!
Is length important?
We all wonder that, right? Well, length (for blog posts) IS important. However, there are some other things that are even more important than length itself.
How you write and connect with your audience, how deeply you talk about a subject, how often you publish new content, and how relevant is the content, are more important things than length per se.
When you write a post for your brand’s blog, you want it to appear on the first positions on search results pages, because the more visitors you get, the more people get to know you, and the more likely is for you to end up with new customers.
So, focus on the content and how the article is written instead of just the number of words on it.
Appropriate blog post length for SEO
Don’t make the same mistake everybody does: adding too many words and repeating themselves all over again, and thinking that’s going to be SEO optimized.
Although there’s not a magic number for the number of words, as well as there’s not a perfect blog post, there are some tips and lengths that will add value for your blog and your readers.
When writing a blog post, content is king. So, instead of counting words and writing just for the sake of it, make sure you’re writing about the topic you’re talking about, adding important information for your readers and adding value for your audience.
So, what are my options?
Let’s take a look at the different post and length types, and see how each of them fit into different marketing strategies and how can you implement them. This information will let you know that there are different options, each one with some pro and cons.
1. Short Posts
Short posts, or mini-posts, usually have under 600 words, typically among 100 and 300 words on average.
You might tend to think that short posts are not valid or important, but, well, they are. They are often easy to read, to share and to understand.
They are mostly addressed to people that don’t have too much time to dig into a subject, but need precise information to make a decision.
This format is great for:
- Social media sharing: Short and precise posts are designed to be quickly consumed and massively shared on social media, like Twitter or Instagram.
- Direct contact with your customers: Precise contact points are relevant in some situations, like when you welcome a new customer, or on your E-Commerce site, for example
2. Medium Posts
Medium posts have among 700 to 1.000 words on average. They’re perfect to share enough information about a subject without being too exhaustive about it.
These posts are also easy to read, understand and share. With just the right amount of information, your readers won’t be bored or tired.
This format is great for:
- Social media sharing: Medium posts can be used on some social networks supporting longer content, like LinkedIn or Facebook, for example. And if you break the content down and add some beautiful and engaging images or videos, you can even share it on Instagram or Twitter.
- Newsletters and Subscriptions: People that previously subscribed to your newsletter or your blog are more likely to read longer posts, since they’re looking for more specific and detailed information about your products or services.
- Direct contact with your customers: There will be some times when you need to share some extra information with your customers, and this format is great for it. For example, when you need to explain what to expect or how a product or service works.
3. Long Posts
Long posts are over 1.000 words, and can reach up to 2.000 or 3.000 words. A post with 1.000-2.000 words sometimes is considered as the “ideal” post for SEO. For example, this article has 1.284 words.
Longer posts, with enough and relevant content, attract more organic traffic to your website and often get better positions on search engines. However, it’s not as simple as it looks.
Writing a post this long takes time and effort, a lot of research and filtering information. Just some random 1.000 or 2.000 words won’t make it. You should take enough time to read different sources, organize the information, add value on your own, and then write it perfectly to keep the reader engaged with it.
Content must be valuable, different, unique, relevant and updated. People reading your post must find it awesome and interesting. You should also use your relevant long-tail keywords in strategic parts of the post, like titles and subtitles.
This format is great for:
- Your website: You want to have a few of these posts for your most relevant content or keywords. This way you will attract more qualified leads to your company.
- Other relevant websites: If you’re invited to write for other websites, you should think about writing a long post with enough content, to attract visitors and customers.
4. Extra- Long Posts
Extra- long posts have 3.000 – 5.000 or more words, and are perfect for when you have a specific topic requiring some explanations and very detailed information.
They are not that common and can be quite difficult to write, taking into account the vast amount of time it takes to do the proper research, organize the content and finally write the article.
This format is great for:
- E-Books, Guides or Downloadable contents: If you manage to gather enough relevant information about a specific topic, you can turn them into an E-Book, a Guide or some form of downloadable content. This is great for attracting highly qualified leads for your products or services, and are often part of a bigger Inbound Marketing strategy.
- Infographics or videos: Once you have the written article, you can transform the words into a smaller infographic or video, or a series of infographics or videos. These formats make the contents easier to understand, and they work great if you want your information to be consumed and shared on social media.
- Papers and Publications: If your content is scientific or specific enough, you can even submit it to a scientific magazine, journal or publication. This will definitely attract more customers if you are a scientific, B2B or niche company.
Conclusion
Now that you know the different lengths for blog posts or articles, you can start planning your next moves.
The most important thing is not the number of words on your article, but the content itself and that you feel comfortable once you have written it. The secret lies in keeping a balance and offering amazing and quality content for your readers and community.
There is no such thing as a perfect blog post. A 100 words article is not bad, and a 5.000 words article is not the best. Neither of them will warrantee you to be more attractive for your users or search engines like Google just by the number of words, but definitely the content quality will.
So, next time you’re writing an article, think about your audience first: will they find it interesting? Is the article adding enough value? Is it something I would share with other people? Answering these questions will result in a quality post!
If you need help with your contents or your Inbound Marketing strategy, don’t hesitate to drop us a line! We’ll be more than happy to help!