These days, many workplaces have either fully adapted to the work-from-home model or combined it with in-office work to create a hybrid model—and that means many people have regained the precious hours that were previously lost to travel time. Now that people have way more time on their hands, many of them have turned to content creation to share their passions with the world. If the short-form apps of TikTok and Instagram are too brief to do your passion justice, you might just want to consider blogging.
If you take the blogging route, you might be wondering how long your blog posts should be!
Ideal Blog Post Length
When writing a blog post, you never want too much or too little. There’s a sweet spot to blog post length, and it sits squarely between 1,500 to 2,500 words. That’s a good length to cover all your bases with keywords while supporting all your main points. With sufficient length, your blog post has a better chance of being noticed by Google.
Long-Form vs. Short-Form Content
There are pros and cons to both long-form and short-form content, and the difference lies in your needs as a content creator. You’ll find short-form content—under 600 words—used primarily by already-established brands who don’t need to market themselves to their audience—they’re already well-known, after all! This form of content is great for maintaining consistency and frequency in engagement, as it will take less time to write a 500-word piece than a 2,500-word piece.
Long-form content—over 2,000 words—is more common for newer content creators and bloggers because it enables them to establish their brand, credibility, and authoritativeness on the subject. Brands that are new to a certain industry will have long writeups on their products to convince customers of their quality; on the other hand, take a look at Apple’s website; the content for their new releases are simple one-sentence lines.
Benefits of Long Blog Posts
Writing long blog posts allows you to establish yourself as a convincing authority on the subject. With more length, you have more leeway to discuss your subject in detail and to make it keyword-rich to optimize it for search engines. This also means you have an opportunity to differentiate your content from other content creators on the same subject, meaning your readers can learn something from you that they won’t be able to from other content creators.
Long-form content, content containing 2,000 or more words, is also more likely to gather shares on social networking sites. If you’re just starting out building your blog brand, long-form content means your readers will help you build it through their shares.
Your Audience Spends More Time on Your Site
The longer the blog post, the more time it takes to read through it; and the more time a reader will spend on your site. Spending more time on your site means they’re also more likely to check out other content that’s already there, which means more engagement for you, and more odds of them sharing your content,
You are More Likely to Rank on Google
When you write long blog posts, you’re able to put out content that’s distinct from other, shorter content, and Google rewards you by placing you high in the search results. This makes your comprehensive content more authoritative and informative, which also makes it more likely to be used by the reader as a reference. That can mean a lot of return visits.
You are More Likely to Get Social Shares
People love to share value-adding content with each other, whether it means informative articles, awe-inspiring stories, or entertaining websites. When your article checks any of those boxes, your readers will share your content with their friends.
You Build a Reputation as an Expert
When people repeatedly share your content with their friends, your site and your name will become regular references for people who are interested in your particular niche – both newcomers and longtime hobbyists.
Word Count Isn’t Everything
Writing a blog post should be about quality, not quantity. At the end of the day, it’s individual, human readers who share your content. If you’re writing to meet a word limit or you’re cramming search engine keywords into your posts, your readers will be able to tell. Your goal should always be to deliver quality content; and with long-form content, that means comprehensive and authoritative content that readers can learn from.