The Ideal Blog Post Length

In the world of blog writing, writers are always looking for that magic combination that will rank well, engage the reader, and increase readership.  One of the questions that a motivated blogger will ask is “What is the ideal blog post length?”

   

The Benefit of a Long Blog Post

In an article that I have written for Ezinearticles found at http://ezinearticles.com/?Which-Is-Better-Long-Blog-Posts-or-Short-Blog-Posts?&id=8545847 I noted that 10 top Blogs, as ranked by Google, were all written with a minimum of 2000 words.  In fact, the more words within the blog the higher it was ranked.  One of the reasons that these longer blog posts ranked so well with Google is because they have a lot of words.  The more words that they have the more keywords that they have.  The more keywords the more opportunities for Google to identify these keywords and rank the article.

The Benefit of a Short Blog Post

Now that we have established a benefit of long blog posts, don’t start filling your 250 word blog posts with filler words just to stretch it to a 2000 word post hoping that Google will rank your blog well.  We are still writing for the reader.  If a 250 word post addresses all of the issues then that’s the length that it should be.  Besides, there are some shorter blogs that have also ranked well.

There is definitely a place for shorter blog posts.  In fact, you will find that some long blog posts of larger sites are broken down into smaller posts.  Why?  First because breaking these longer posts down into smaller posts results in additional sets of tags and keywords.  Secondly, breaking these posts down results in more internal linking.  Thirdly, breaking these posts down makes your library appear to be larger. 

What Blog Post Length Does the Reader Prefer?

Well, we have now identified reasons for longer blog posts and for shorter blog posts.  But what does the reader prefer?  The average reader does not read each word in a blog post.  It has been shown that the average reader skims a post.  So writing for the reader can be done in either a 250 word post or a 2000 word post as long as it’s easy to skim.  The most important thing is to make sure that all the points are covered and that the points are organized with appropriate subheadings.  Because the reader usually skims a post it could be deduced that what the reader usually prefers is to get the information as quickly as possible.  Organizing the sentences of the post under appropriate subheadings makes it easier for the reader to skim and to get the information that they are searching for.

Conclusion 

There is no magic number of words for a blog post.  There is a place for longer blog posts as well as shorter blog posts.  Remember that both can rank well.  The most important thing is that you add value with your blog.  If you are adding the information that your readers are looking for and you are adding it in a way that is organized well with appropriate subheadings then you should receive a good response from your readers.  Having good SEO is also an admirable goal because in order for the value that you offer to be realized by your readers your blog has to be found.  You just have to find a way to include keywords, etc. without sacrificing readability.   

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