{"id":601,"date":"2021-09-27T15:32:50","date_gmt":"2021-09-27T10:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.createagile.com\/blog\/?p=601"},"modified":"2022-01-09T16:19:09","modified_gmt":"2022-01-09T10:49:09","slug":"how-long-should-a-blog-post-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.createagile.com\/blog\/how-long-should-a-blog-post-be\/","title":{"rendered":"How long should a blog post be?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blog Post Length: How Much Should You Be Writing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When starting a blog, one of the most pressing questions surrounds the length of each blog post. How long should a blog post be? How much should you be writing, really? What\u2019s the average post length that will ultimately help you rank in Google search results?<\/p>\n

The question of blog post length doesn\u2019t necessarily have a straightforward answer. Instead, if you conduct a little online research, you\u2019ll find a collection of averages based on a number of factors. Ultimately, the length of your posts will depend on a unique set of variables within your business.<\/p>\n

In this post, we\u2019ll focus on the best average blog post length, common word count ranges, and factors to consider when determining blog post length. We\u2019ll also discuss some of the variables that will influence your decisions as you build out a strategy for your blog.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s jump in!<\/p>\n

Best Average Blog Post Length<\/h2>\n

If you have been in the digital marketing world for any length of time, you might be aware that recommendations on blog post length are ever-changing. Over time, the best average length of a post has increased. The top-performing post length saw a 57% increase between 2014 and 2020, according to an extensive survey conducted by Andy Crestodina\u2019s Orbit Media.<\/p>\n

Orbit Media\u2019s data showed that blog posts average 1269 words in length<\/a> and that blog post performance begins to rise significantly at the 1500\u20132000 wordmark. However, higher performance seems to correlate with post length. Fifty-four percent of bloggers who published articles longer than 3000 words reported that those blog posts performed exceptionally well. For bloggers who want to publish articles of an average length on a regular basis, 1000 to 2500 words could be a sweet spot.<\/p>\n

These days, longer blog posts perform exceptionally well on SERPs (search engine results pages). According to Yoast SEO, if you\u2019re looking to land in the Google search rankings, then you\u2019ll need to write posts that are longer than 300 words<\/a>. However, your post\u2019s performance depends on more than just word count.<\/p>\n

Blog Post Length Doesn\u2019t Equal Content Strength<\/h2>\n

Word count alone isn\u2019t enough to determine how well your posts resonate with readers (or with Google). Instead, the information itself must be of top quality and deliver high value. Quality content, published to the right audience, and which delivers something of value to the reader, will always trump word count.<\/p>\n

Your content should also resonate with your target audience<\/a>. It\u2019s critical to understand that everything you publish on your blog should be valuable to the people who are reading it. That might mean you need to reevaluate your content against your audience demographics and what kind of engagement you\u2019re currently getting online. If you\u2019re publishing lengthy posts that don\u2019t strike a chord with your readers, your blog post length doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll want to make sure the length of your posts is justified, too. For example, a post should only be as long as its message. If you\u2019re pushing the content past a certain word count for the sake of numbers, its performance will suffer. Don\u2019t write a lengthy blog post just for the sake of making the post long. Instead, only use the word count you need to get your point across and deliver value at the same time.<\/p>\n

Keyword-stuffing your posts<\/a> in an attempt to manipulate your SEO rank will also work against you. While it may be tempting to try to game the system with a post that\u2019s over-optimized with variations on your target keyword, you can actually hurt your blog. Google is known to penalize blogs that abuse keyword optimization.<\/p>\n

Luckily, there are tools out there that can help you make sure you\u2019re not going overboard with keywords. Yoast SEO recommends an average keyword density<\/a> of 0.5% to 3%. As you get accustomed to optimizing your blog posts, it will become easier to use these words strategically, folding them into your articles as part of a natural flow.<\/p>\n

Other Factors That Influence Blog Post Length<\/h2>\n

There are a number of other factors that may play a hand in determining an ideal average blog post length for your site. Here are a few variables to consider:<\/p>\n