Here’s the rough rule: blog posts should be about 1500 words.
But blog length really doesn’t matter.
We know, we know. It feels like all the advice out there tells you that length absolutely does matter, and that if you don’t hit at least 1,500 or 2,000 or 3,112.5 words, your SEO will suffer.
But the entire point of SEO is to match readers with content they care about. Your blog post must provide value to your readers. It must address what your audience needs it to address.
Whether you do this in 500 words or 2,500 words, the word count isn’t the most important factor here.
Another downside of harping on word count is you could fall into the trap of thinking a blog post is excellent—or at least good enough—if it hits 1,500 words. Even if it’s totally missing the mark.
Just because the post is the 1,500 words everyone says it should be doesn’t mean people will like and engage with it. Other elements matter more than the length of a piece.
In this post, we’ll talk about what those elements are.
The Appropriate Length For a Blog Post Depends On…
We’ve identified four key factors that impact the ideal length of a blog post:
- The subject at hand
- Your message within the post
- Who your audience is
- The value you want to provide
Let’s take a closer look at each of these factors.
The subject
It takes longer to discuss certain subjects than it does others.
Let’s say you run a food blog.
Recipe posts might take a higher word count than, say, a blog news post. Take the popular food blog, RecipeTin Eats. Founder Nagi Maehashi is an expert home cook who makes a living writing about food—with help from her adorable assistant, Dozer the golden retriever, of course.
According to a quick Semrush traffic analysis we did, RecipeTin Eats gets tens of millions of monthly views and has a sky-high authority score of 81.
Oh, and all that traffic? Those 35 million+ views in May alone? It’s all organic. That means RecipeTin Eats is absolutely nailing SEO.
But the word count for RecipeTin Eats posts varies. We analyzed the word count for a few different posts. The word count for recipe posts ranged between 2,000 and 3,300+ words. For news posts, like this cookbook announcement post, the word count maxed out at about 1,200.
Here’s the key takeaway: Whatever your subject is, you really just need your post to be long enough to cover it thoroughly. If you do that, your target audience will find value in what you write.
Your message
What you want to say to your readers is a big factor in choosing your blog post length. You need to say enough to get your message across to readers in a way that’s clear and memorable.
There’s no hard-and-fast rule for what types of topics work well for long posts and what types work for shorter posts. A book or gadget review will probably be on the shorter side. An in-depth, personal essay giving your readers deep insights into your journey with XYZ is likely to run longer.
Lean into your intuition for this. Ask yourself these two questions before you write:
- What is my message?
- What points do I need to cover to get my message across?
Create a rough outline of your post before you draft. Use H2s, H3s, and yes, H4s to organize how you’ll share the post’s message.
As you’re drafting—or when you’re reviewing a first draft— ask yourself this question:
- Is there any fluff I can cut to make my message clearer, or am I happy with what I’ve written?
Every word should add value. If you feel yourself veering into fluff territory, rein yourself in. It’s way more important to avoid filler content than it is to hit a specific word count.
Here’s the good news: with a bit of keyword research, you can find topics readers are searching for. That means when you write about a topic that’s also a commonly searched keyword, you’re writing to an audience that cares about your topic. Check out our 5 easy steps to doing keyword research to get started.
Your audience
You must consider your audience when determining how long a post should be. How long can a piece hold their attention? What makes a post irresistible to read?
While it might seem like younger adults would have the shortest attention span of all, that’s not necessarily the case.
A 2023 study completed by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) Neuroscape Center found that of three groups—children (7-13 years), young adults (19-32 years), and older adults (56-85 years)—the young-adults group had the longest attention span.
But there’s no denying that younger people today have way more distractions than older folks who don’t use social media and the endless march of apps that snag our attention.
That’s why the key isn’t attention span. It’s understanding what topics grab your target audience’s attention, and what topics just don’t.
A group of gardeners aged 40+ might adore a 1,500 or 2,000-word post about making pickles, from planting cucumber seeds to harvesting, pickling, and taking that first crisp bite. A 20-year-old who doesn’t garden probably won’t.
A group of 20-somethings might love a 1,500 or 2,000-word post on the best fashion items of the 2000s that should make a comeback. A 40-something who shudders at the thought of low-rise capris and trucker hats appearing in the streets again probably won’t.
Build your messages around the topics your readers care about, and you’ll be in a good place.
The value you want to provide
Something your readers will find valuable must be present in all of your blog posts. This is what will increase your blog visits and engagement.
And it’s not always just words. Yes, those should provide value, but think of other ways to bring a new insight or piece of information to your readers. There are plenty of ways to do this!
Here are a few tips:
- Create original infographics: Use Canva to design infographics that break down complicated data and make your message pop.
- Run original research: With tools like SurveyMonkey and Jotform, it’s easier now than ever before to run your own surveys with tools. Feature your findings in your piece.
- Write case studies: Tell stories with examples pulled from your reader or target audience base. This is particularly relevant if you sell a product or service. Case studies are a way to show how your offerings made someone else’s life better.
- Interview experts: Talk to subject matter experts about your topic or message and weave their insights into your post.
- Design interactive content: Get your readers involved with quizzes, calculators, or other free resources that make hard tasks easier.
If you do solid keyword research to find topics your readers care about, and then deliver fresh insights on that topic, you’re on your way to crafting an excellent post—no matter the length. Take a look at these blog post templates for inspiration on how to structure your posts.
Loose Guidelines For How Long a Blog Post Should Be
Okay, fine. Even though word count isn’t the most important thing to think about, we’ll tell you what most literature says about the ideal length for a blog post: 1,500 to 2,000 words.
Basically, a person should be able to read it within 7 minutes.
But remember, this is just a guideline. Think about the other factors first: your subject, the message, your audience, and the value you want to provide.
If the post happens to sit right in that 1,500 to 2,000-word sweet spot, that’s great. But don’t make that your end-all, be-all benchmark. And keep in mind that the way your post looks matters almost as much as the word count. If you were faced with a wall of text that’s 1,500 words long and a 3,000-word piece with short, easily digestible paragraphs, which would you rather read?
For us, it’s the well-spaced blog with more words every time.
So, to recap:
- There isn’t really an ideal blog post length
- Your subject, message, audience, and the value you want to deliver should come first
- Word count is secondary, but generally, you’ll see the ideal blog post length listed as 1,500-2,000 words
If the content matches what your audience wants to read, they will find it, and they will connect with it.
