Writing high-quality content on a regular basis is an effective way to boost your visibility in search engines. However, the length of your articles may also impact your rankings. So, you may be wondering: how long should a blog post be?
By looking at some recent studies on search engine results, you can determine the ideal length for your blog posts. This knowledge can help you improve your overall search engine optimization (SEO) strategy.
⌛ In this post, we’ll discuss the ideal blog post length for SEO, based on recent data. We’ll then offer some tips to help you break down long articles and make your content more engaging. Let’s get started!
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How long should a blog post be?
The length of a post is often determined by the topic or the type of content you publish. For instance, an in-depth article on digital marketing will naturally require a higher word count than a quick update post. Meanwhile, the length of a how-to guide will depend on the number of methods or steps involved.
Your target audience also plays an important role in determining how long a blog post should be. If your readers are looking for a quick fix to a WordPress-related issue, you’ll need your content to be short and to the point. However, if your audience is interested in comprehensive guides or tutorials, you’ll want to provide as much information as possible.
It’s also important to take SEO into consideration. For instance, Yoast SEO recommends a minimum of 300 words for a regular post:
For cornerstone content (the core pages and posts you want all visitors to see), the recommended minimum word count is 900 words. If your posts are too short, search engines like Google may see them as thin content. These are posts that provide little value to readers and are therefore ignored (or even penalized) by Google.
At the same time, if your posts are too long, it may have a negative impact on your user experience (UX). Some visitors may be put off by lengthy articles, especially if they’re unable to find the answer they’re looking for within the first few paragraphs.
What research says about article length
Google releases algorithm updates on a regular basis. These are designed to improve the quality and relevance of its search results, and they normally target factors such as a site’s user experience. Additionally, Google pays attention to the quality of your content.
In the past, Google favored long-form articles with word counts of over 3,000 [1]. However, some recent data suggests that the search engine is now prioritizing shorter content.
Backlinko recently analyzed 11.8 million Google search results, and found that the average Google first page result contains 1,447 words [2]. Still, other sources recommend higher word counts.
According to data by HubSpot, the ideal word count for a blog post is even a little
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This article was written by John Hughes and originally published on ThemeIsle Blog.