When writing a blog post, there are so many elements to keep in considering that sometimes it’s hard to keep track of it all; especially when you are struggling to either find the words, or reining the words in.
I’ve recently had a few conversations with people over the optimum length of their posts. So I figured I’ll go over a couple of word limits that I try to aim for.
500 Words
This is always my first goal when I am writing on a topic. These are usually my short, sharp blog posts or my quick to get out ones. Not always overly complex, just covering a small aspect of a topic.
These bite sized blog posts are great because they’re quick to read for your clients and often can lead to larger blog posts.
The other reason I aim for this level of word count is that for page SEO, Google likes posts to have 300-500 words before counting it as part of the new content.
750-1000 Words
These are where the bulk of posts would normally fit. Still short enough that there is no issues for the clients that don’t have much time, but allowing for a bit more detail and content than the shorter ones.
1600 Words
This is the figure that most people say are optimum for blogs as it is enough content for backlinks but still a quick read.
When it’s a topic that has courses attached to it, will be used as a freebie offer or other uses besides just basic content, then this is what I will aim for.
Remember that backlinks are important for SEO as the more backlinks you have pointing to your site, the more popular it seems. This is a topic I’ll go over in more detail later for those who don’t understand backlinks and their uses.
3000 Words
The meatier of the blog posts. This is often seen as the upper threshold you should do for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, blog posts are not essays and you should always keep in mind that people are usually reading them during breaks so you want them to be able to finish the content you’ve provided.
Secondly, is it full of valuable information or is it that long because of fluff and filler? Are you actually remaining on topic or do you go off on tangents that would be better addressed in their own blog posts?
Thirdly, are you giving away too much information for free?? That’s right! Remember that your blog posts are freely accessible and you want to show enough that people relate to the topic but you don’t give them all the answers. You want to encourage them to book in with you not just read the post. This will be another topic I’ll cover soon about what to do in this instance.
So, what’s best for me?
Regular content is great, so if you can only manage 500 words at a time, there is no harm in doing that.
Personally, I like looking at a mix of lengths and it all comes down to the content that I am publishing.
When you approach a topic, consider whether you are doing a disservice in only doing a bite sized chunk or would it be better suited to a longer post? Is it full of valuable nuggets that you are running a course or offer a service within? Then, aim for the 1600 words where you have the best chance for people to link back to it.
I tend to shy away from the 3000 words one purely because I consider people’s attention spans PLUS I don’t want to give too much away for free.
However, if you find a style that works for you keep going with it! It’s your blog, do with it what you do. As long as content is going up, you will keep your readership growing which is always a good thing.
