Short vs. Long Blog Post: Which is Better?

Putting up a blog is one of the ways to increase brand awareness and SEO score. But how long does a blog post needs to be in order to meet ranking goals as well as the expectations or standards of readers?

One of the questions that baffles most content writers and marketers is how long a blog post should be. Some claim that shorter articles worked for them, while others say that long and detailed content helped them achieve their goals better.

Determining the right length of a blog post is confusing, and we’re here to shed some light on the truth about article length and its impact on your marketing goals.

Why Go for Long Blog Posts?

Long blog posts have higher chances of landing on the top of the SERPs. In fact, the average length of content found within the first page of Google is 1,890 words long, as per data from SEMRush that’s reported by Backlinko. Google prioritizes value when delivering search results to users, and that’s probably the reason why long blog posts tend to rank higher. Aside from that, long blog posts can help attract in-bound links, build credibility, and spur interaction.

While long posts tend to be ideal in terms of SERP rankings, that shouldn’t be your only main point of consideration for creating a long article. There are other equally important elements that you should factor in before deciding to go for long and in-depth blog posts.

Consider your topic. Do the concepts surrounding it call for a thorough explanation? Is it interesting? The challenge with long articles is that it should be stimulating and meaty enough to encourage your audience to read from start to finish. It should be filled with reliable data to back your claim as well as photos and illustration to stress a point or break chunks of texts.

TIP: Divide your long article into a list or into subtopics. This way, it would be easier for readers to skim and find information they’re looking for. It also allows them to digest your content easily.

But Short Posts Aren’t So Bad Either

If long posts perform so well in the SERPs and provide quality to users, does that mean shorter posts don’t bear weight anymore? No, not at all. Short posts are not the bane of content marketing, because there are topics that only call for a few words or short explanation. More so, there are successful bloggers that only publish short content. Take for example, Seth Godin.

It’s important to note that there are concepts and types of content that can be easily explained and don’t require a thousand words. If you’re posting an infographic or a video to your blog, you would only need a brief introduction because much of the information is already in the illustration or footage.

Which is Better?

It depends. But the bottomline will always be quality and value.

When you prioritize quality in all your posts, length will not be so much of an issue. The focus should not really be on the word count. If it takes you 750 words to deliver your message then so be it, but if you need 2,000 words to discuss a topic, then that’s fine too. At the end of the day, what matters is providing valuable information to users. So get to know your audience and cater to their interests—that’s how you can create substantial blog posts.

READ: 7 Effective Ways to Present Content Visually