How long should a Blog Post Be?

Dean Ethridge / March 24, 2012 / Wordpress Tutorials / Permalink

How Long Should a Blog Post Be?

So how long should a blog post be? This is one of the most common questions small business owners and new bloggers ask. Blogging is uncharted territory. What should I write about? How often should I write? How long should a blog post be? All great questions, but I’m focusing on the last one in this post.

Writing a blog post is your chance to be real, to be yourself, and to be part of the conversations that are already happening online. It’s your voice, but only with more authenticity than any business web site offers. For example, check out this recent description I saw on corporate “cookie cutter” websites:

The corporate website is an unbelievable collection of hyperbole, artificial branding, and pro-corporate content.

There’s a lot of truth in that, I think. And blogs can provide the opposite — more legitimacy, less hype, and more real content that will attract people to your offer. So keep that in mind as we get back to the original question.

How Long Should a Blog Post Be?

My answer: As short or as long as it takes to say what you need to say.

1.) There is no perfect length for a blog post. It’s similar to the idea of keyword density in SEO; there’s no magic number for keyword density on a web page, and there’s no magic number for how long your blog posts should be.

2.) A variety of blog post lengths is a good idea. For me, the most enjoyable blogs to read are the ones that offer variety of content, and variety of length of blog posts. I think a blog is easier to read when there’s a mix of short posts, mid-length posts, and long posts. Too much of one type of post can be monotonous for the reader, and invites the reader to start tuning out.

3.) It’s natural to have posts with different lengths. If you believe that a blog is conversational in nature, then think about your blog posts as individual conversations. Important question: Is every conversation you have the same length? Of course not! You have conversations that last 10 seconds and you have conversations that last 10 minutes (or longer). This is how we communicate. So, if you’re trying to be natural on your blog (and you should be), your blog should have a mix of blog posts, some short and some long.

Blog Post Examples

Short Blog Posts

When writing a short blog post, it may be just a quick update to your readers about a vacation, an upcoming event, or a quick tip or link to a website you liked. New, fresh content on your blog is important, so any post of any link will help you with traffic long term. I would classify a short blog post as between 100-350 Words.

Medium Blog Post

A medium blog post is obviously more involved than the short post, but you don’t have to fully expand on the topic you are discussing. Medium length blog posts are the most common obviously, as most bloggers want to spend a few minutes a day on their blog to keep it current and updated to their viewers. You can hit the highlights of your topic, get your bullet points across, and publish it to update your blog. A medium length blog post for me is between 350-700 Words.

Long Blog Post

The long blog post is one that you are really passionate about, want to try to rank well on a particular keyword, or really spell out the details of a particular offer or strategy. You can place your keyword in more often, multiple heading tags, and have several variations of your targeted keyword. Remember to try to break up ALL of your posts if possible with pictures, and offer a video along with your post when possible. I wrote an article on SEO with SEOPressor recently as an example of a long blog post with videos, and really spelling out what SEO Pressor can do for on-page SEO for Blog Posts. I wanted my reader to understand the power of that tool. A typical long blog post is 700-1500 Words. Over 1500 words can be sleep inducing to the readers if you’re not careful!

Final Thoughts: How Long Should a Blog Post Be?

When considering how long should a blog post be, keep in mind what your goals are at that particular moment when you’re writing. All three of the different lengths of blog posts can be successful, because they can accomplish the goals you had for them. If you’re a new blogger, keep this in mind:

Don’t feel the need to limit your blog posts to a certain length — whether short or long.
If you can say what you need to say in 150 words, stop there and hit the Publish button. If it takes 1,000 words to say what you need to say, that’s ok, too.
For best results, I think a variety of short and long posts is the best strategy. It keeps your blog from getting predictable and boring.

What are your thoughts on how long blog posts should be? If you’re a marketer, what do you tell clients who ask about this? I’d love to hear your feedback. Have a great week!