What is the best length for a blog post?

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell

Is there an ideal length for a blog post?

Well, like all opinions, everyone has one on this subject. Some “experts” suggest 2500 words. Listen, I’m no “expert” but I think that is way too long. Just my opinion. I try to keep my posts between  250-500 words. However, I do add links for those who want to dig deeper and read more in-depth on whatever the subject.

If you love to write long meandering posts, have at it. But I’m busy, and like many of you, I receive dozens of emails every day.

Not wanting to miss anything, I try to read them all. Well, maybe not each and every word. I’ll confess, the longer ones I scan for nuggets of information.  

This past week I received a wonderful compliment from another writer. She likes that my posts are brief and to the point. Thank you, Marian.

“I like too that your posts are not long and laborious, attractive to busy writers like me. Thank you!” – MarianBeaman

Readers may prefer shorter content but search engines will hit more often on longer content. SEO or not, I believe brevity is important.

Readers need to know what to expect from your blog. Long or short, get to the point.

Here are my tips for writing good, consistent blog posts.

  • First, decide your blogging goal.
  • More readers? A shorter blog post may be the way to go. 250-600 words.
  • Selling a product? Very short blog content. Average under 250 words.
  • Desire more comments and conversations on your blog? The ideal blog post length should hit in the middle. 500-600 words.
  • Want more shares on Social Media? Again, hit for the middle. Write an informative article somewhere between 500-600 words.
  • More Google searches? The best blog post length for SEO should be longer. 1000-2500.

Know your audience and keep your blog goals in sight.

Have time to read more details about ideal blog posts? Then click the links below and read these bloggers/writers have to say.

How Long Should Your Blog Post Be? A Writer’s Guide  by Joe Bunting

How Long Should My Blog Post Be? By John Rampton 

For Blog Posts in 2017, What’s the Best Length for SEO?

Okay, question time.

How long are your average posts?

Have you thought about blog post length?

Do you think articles should be longer or shorter?

Do you prefer to read shorter or longer posts?

I HOPE YOU TAKE A MINUTE AND FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA, JUST CLICK ON THE BUTTONS BELOW. I’LL LEAVE A LIGHT ON.

    

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28 thoughts on “What is the best length for a blog post?”

  1. Well, I think it depends on the content (and, of course, the title of the post). If the title of a post grabs my attention and I’m enjoying the content, then I will read long posts and usually comment on them. That may mean less time to read other blog posts, but I also look at the number of shorter posts I’ve read the whole way through (hoping that I’ll find something interesting) and find that they’ve been hurriedly put together and I’ve really nothing to add. However, saying all of that, most of my own posts are somewhere between 500 and 1000 words. For longer posts, I tend to split them into two posts.

    Liked by 2 people

  4. Reblogged this on Stevie Turner, Indie Author. and commented:
    I tend to agree with Jean that blogs should be short to gain more readers. People simply do not have the time to trawl through a long, rambling post if they are trying to comment on as many blogs as possible. I must admit that long blogs put me off to the point where if I see one, I usually won’t read it unless it’s about something I’m really interested in.

    Liked by 3 people

  5. Thank you for the mention here, a nice surprise on a moody Monday, Jean. As I said, I try to stay around the 500-word mark, never mind SEO. And, like you, that’s about the length I can handle on other bloggers’ websites. If the content is very rich, and divided into segments, I can probably handle up to 750 words, but that’s about my limit. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  6. Thank you for this! I’m new at blogging so my word count varied as I experiment. But I don’t think I’ve collected enough data to make a conclusion. I’ll definitely try your advice though. Thanks!

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Short – less is more. Skill is needed to write something concise that says something new and leaves the reader with something to chew on. If you see a blog post that is contained within your screen you know you have time to read it. If it is long I end up bookmarking to read later because I have to cook dinner etc. I have described the perfect blog – I”m not saying mine are always like that!

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Good post, I have debated this subject as well. I try to keep my posts no larger than 250 words, 300 if it a really good short story. I try to be considerate of other blogs who have to read dozens and maybe hundreds of posts.

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  11. I feel if the blog post is too long, the readers may not want to read it. My recent post is 231 words. I’m not sure how many bloggers read it. Most people who visit my blog, are content to press the like button. I wonder do they really read what I have written? 😦

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