SEO and Blog Post Length: What’s The Ideal Word Count?

Blog posts can drive traffic and increase your web ranking. However, professional content writers and search engine experts disagree on the “ideal length” of a blog post. How many words should an article be so it can actually improve your SEO scores?

Don’t ever go below 300 words

According to Yoast – the most popular WordPress plug in for search engine optimization – your blog post should be a least 300 words. Yes, words. Videos and photos don’t count because search engines can’t recognize the content. Even product descriptions should hit 300 words. (Read more about how to create effective product descriptions.)

Longer blog posts may have a higher chance of ranking

Blog posts with 1,000 words or more have a higher chance of ranking simply because there’s more content to crawl. “Google just has more clues to determine what your text is about,” says Yoast. “No need for keyword stuffing! Professional content writers have plenty of opportunities to mention the keyword in headings, links and more.”

Longer blog posts also allow more long tail keywords, and even include secondary keyword variations. That’s just not possible if you’re only hitting 300 words per post.

However, Yoast cautions against this strategy if you don’t have professional content writers. “Long posts require strong writing skills. Not every writer will be able to write readable blog posts of more than 1000 words.” And if your content isn’t readable, your customers will leave your website and never come back. You may have gotten a momentary surge in traffic, but you’re not actually getting loyalty and conversions.

Long blog posts only work for certain types of topics

Rand Fishkin, one of the world’s most respected experts on search engine optimization, said that he thinks believing that long posts increase ranking as “absolutely baloney.”

Fishkin says that this belief sprung from studies where the top 10 results of some keyword searches were compared. But this was a random sampling of keywords. This may not actually apply to your business or your customers’ search intent.

It is more efficient to look at the top ranking articles of your competitors or the most popular blogs or websites in your industry. These sites show you what your market is looking for.

Long blog posts need special structures

All research proves that internet readers want short chunks of text. Professional content writers are able to deliver long information in an engaging way. They add indexes, use short and clear paragraphs, and know writing techniques like active voice and cadence.

The longer your blog post is, the better your web content writer should be.

 Get professional content writers in Singapore

MapleTree Media has a stable of professional content writers who can manage your blogs, social media, and other content marketing requirements. Contact us to find out more about what we can do for your company.