How Long Should a Blog Post Be? Best Tips for 2024 Blogging
If you’re wondering how long should a blog post be, 1,000+ words is usually a good rule of thumb. However, the ideal blog post length depends on various factors, which we’ll look at below.
As an SEO Writer and Consultant, I've written over a thousand blog articles and write them almost daily. The word count can range anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand.
In this article, I'll discuss pointers to help you determine the best word count for individual blog articles, including the article topic, who you're writing for, and your goals. I'll also share statistics regarding blog post length versus results so you can see the most blogging benefits, such as increasing brand awareness, website traffic, and conversions.
Short-Form vs. Long-Form Blog Articles
We often refer to blog articles as short-form or long-form. While you may think shorter articles are best for readers, this isn’t always the case. There are various factors to consider when deciding between a short or long-form article.
Short-form articles
A short-form article is usually between a few hundred and 1,000 words and is best for quick content like product overviews and special announcements.
Shorter articles are less common. They don't often rank high on Google, so they may not help you increase blog traffic. If you do write shorter articles on occasion, it's best to share them with your existing audience in other ways, such as social media or email marketing.
Long-form articles
A long-form article is 1,000+ words and shares as much information as you need to on a topic. These are usually necessary for how-to guides, itineraries, and listicles.
Many people avoid writing long-form articles due to short attention spans. However, long-form articles allow you to share helpful content with your audience, which builds trust and generates strong leads.
When writing longer articles, write content that’s engaging and easy to read with the following:
Relevant, helpful information
Short sentences and paragraphs
Headers
Graphics
If you want to rank on Google, share helpful content with your readers, and encourage your audience to take action, aim for longer blog articles. Bloggers who publish longer articles report seeing better results.
Graph showing percentage of bloggers who report seeing strong results based on blog post length
How long should a blog post be? According to Research
A blog post should usually be at least 1,000 words. In 2023, the average length of a blog post was 1,427 words. This number has increased yearly since 2014, when the average article length was 808 words.
However, it’s important to understand blog post lengths can vary greatly. Depending on the topic and niche, an article that ranks high on Google might be 800 or 3,000 words.
For example, I have a client with a very niche e-commerce store and website. They don't have much competition, and their articles rank well, whether they are less than or more than 1,000 words. Meanwhile, some content ranks better if it's long-form (e.g., how-to guides, travel itineraries, etc.)
According to bloggers, most articles are 500 to 2,000 words.
Graph showing bloggers’ typical blog post length
How to Decide Your Ideal Blog Post Length
Since the length of a blog post can vary, you must decide the best word count for each article you publish. To determine this, identify your goal, look at top-ranking articles, and understand your audience. Most importantly, focus on quality over quantity.
Identify your goal
Common goals of writing blog posts are:
Making an announcement - This is typically for your existing audience, and you plan to share your article with them via social media, email newsletter, etc. These articles can be short-form.
Ranking on Google - This is how people organically find your content so you can reach your target audience and increase website traffic. Long-form content is best for this.
Encouraging action - All blog articles should have a purpose. The results you’re aiming for may be to grow your email list, build trust so readers will buy, or keep readers on your site to earn ad revenue. Usually, the more words, the better results.
Look at top-ranking articles
To get a good idea of the ideal blog post length for your article, you can search Google for the SEO keyword you're targeting. This lets you see what Google finds rank-worthy for the target keyword, including content and length.
Look at the top three ranking pages and see how many words there are. Aim to write the average of those. If they’re vastly different, go with how many words the first ranking page is.
To see the word count for various web pages, you can put the URL into WordCounter.net.
A quicker and easier way to do this is to use Keysearch, a keyword research and content assistant tool. I use Keysearch daily and love its features, one of which is that it shows you the average word count for the articles ranking on Google Page One for your target keyword.
If you decide to try Keysearch, use code KSDISC for 20% off.
For this article’s SEO keyword phrase–how long should a blog post be–the average Google 1st page word count is 3,494, which is actually higher than most. You can always use your best discretion when writing the article, but I would likely opt for under 3,000 words.
Keysearch showing average Google first page word count for keyword phrase, “how long should a blog post be”
For a walk-through on how to use Keysearch and write an SEO-friendly blog article, check out my SEO blogging course.
Understand your audience
When you're writing a blog article, your audience should influence everything. Putting yourself in the reader’s shoes can help you determine the best word count. Consider the information they’re looking for when they search your target keyword phrase.
A shorter article is reasonable for quick information and if the reader likely has some prior knowledge of the topic. A longer article is best for more in-depth content and for readers who don’t have much background on the topic.
Focus on the quality, not quantity
At the end of the day, the quality of your article matters more than the quantity. Although I follow the previous steps to get a good idea of the best word count, I primarily focus on what I'm writing over how many words it is.
When you write an article, create an outline that includes the points you need to cover to meet user intent. In other words, include information the reader is looking for when they search your keyword phrase.
While writing, include any relevant information and leave out unnecessary fluff. If it’s not helpful, no need to include it.
Google uses its helpful content system to determine which articles are rank-worthy. With these guidelines, Google has shared that it does not have a preferred word count. Instead, Google is looking for helpful, reliable, people-first content.
Tips for Increasing Word Count
Depending on the topic of your blog article, it may be easy or difficult to write long-form content.
Share in-depth, valuable content that readers actually want to read by including the following where it makes sense:
Thorough details on the topic, including explanations, examples, research, etc.
Interesting information beyond what’s obvious
Further explanation on content some readers may not have background knowledge on
An FAQ section at the end of your article with helpful questions and answers about the topic for further understanding
Increasing word count can help meet user intent and ensure the content satisfies the reader. However, don't include extra information only to add more words. All content in a blog article should be relevant to the topic and valuable for the reader.
One of the easiest ways to get ideas for increasing word count is using Keysearch's content assistant feature. This provides information on what you can include in your article, including words and phrases and questions to answer.
If you decide to try Keysearch for keyword research and content assistance, use code KSDISC for 20% off.
How long should a blog post be? FAQs
While there are nuances to ideal blog post length, answers to common questions can help guide you.
Is 300 words too short for a blog post?
A 300-word blog post is usually too short as it likely won’t rank high on Google or drive results. Three hundred words may be okay for a quick article, like an announcement, to share with your existing audience. Otherwise, you should aim for 500 words at minimum.
Is 1,000 words enough for a blog post?
One thousand words is often enough for a blog post, but it depends on your topic and audience. If your target audience is beginners and needs more information or the topic is best covered in a detailed guide, more words are better.
How long is too long for a blog post?
A blog post with more than 3,000 words is usually too long. Up to 3,000 words can give all the information your reader might be looking for. However, if you need to surpass that, it might be best to target a more specific keyword phrase.
If you’re writing on a broad topic that requires a lot of information beyond 3,000 words, consider breaking that up into two articles on similar topics. Then, you can link each article to the other to give your readers more information.
What is a good length for a blog post?
The ideal blog post length is usually 1,000 to 3,000 words. The best word count depends on the topic and your audience. When writing an article, include the number of words you need to cover the topic thoroughly without including unnecessary fluff.
How long should a blog post be? Conclusion
Although the ideal blog post length depends on your readers and topic, at least 1,000 words is usually best. That said, writing helpful content that thoroughly covers the topic without unnecessary information is more important than focusing on a specific word count.
I hope you found this article helpful and feel excited to write great blog articles that rank on Google and help you meet your goals.
For support with your blog, explore blogging offers, or contact me to chat. My DIY, done-with-you, and done-for-you blogging offers can help you rank on Google, increase your blog traffic, and drive results.
