How Long Should a Blog Post Be for SEO in 2024

how long should a blog post be for seo in 2024.
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If you land here, you probably want to learn and understand how long a blog post should be for SEO in 2024.

We will look at the Importance of Blog Length for SEO and why the length of a blog post is vital for SEO.

There is much buzz on this SEO question; many bloggers and SEO gurus have shared their insights.

We will be looking at this post from a different perspective, and I will share some helpful tips to help you decide how long should a blog post be for SEO to rank your page on search engines, mainly the big G.

Table of Contents

How Long Should a Blog Post Be For SEO?

The perfect blog post length for SEO is between 1,500 – 2,500 words. When your content stays within this average, your blog posts are more likely to rank higher on search engines and gain more social media shares and backlinks.

NOTE: There is no specific answer to how many words a blog post should have to rank higher on search engines.

Why Does the Length of blog posts matter for SEO?

  • To provide details about the topic
  • To enhance user engagement
  • Better topic coverage
  • Increase social shares
  • Gain backlinks
  • Establish as an authority and Trustworthiness
  • Improve search rankings

First, Google does not state that a blog post must have a certain number of counts before it can rank on search engines.

I read most of the Google updates and Google helpful content. Google says there is no specific word count for blog posts.

Although the length of a blog post is usually very important, it depends on the topic and niche.

Not all blog posts require 2500 words or more to rank on Google.

I have seen many posts with less than 1000 words on the first page of Google, while those that have up to 2500 word count sink into the bottom.

The Evolution of SEO and Blog Post Length

According to Hubspot, the blog post’s content for SEO should be 2250 words or more.

I have also encountered many blog posts that say the content must be 2,500 words or more to rank best on search engines.

Why is there no fact on this?

Many SEO experts conducted research and experiments to determine if a blog post must have a specific number of words to rank on the first page.

Here are some stats on Blog post length for SEO

According to the Brain Dean of Backlinko, the mean word count of first page results is 1,447.

He further stressed that longer content generates more backlinks than short blog posts.

The experiment’s results show that the average word count of the top 10 results on Google is 1,447.

But Brain said they don’t find a direct relationship between word count and ranking.

Another result on Orbitmedial explained that the average blog post length is 1,427 words long.

Most bloggers publish long-form content in the range of 600 to 1500 words.

A round-up post on the length of a blog post was published, and 67 experts shared their best SEO tips to boost ranking in 2024.

Their results show that the first position comprises 2,400+ words, followed by 2,300+ for the 5th position, while the 10th results are 2,000 + count.

From their analysis, the more in-depth content, the higher its chances to earn quality backlinks.

CanIRank, an SEO blog, also publish case studies on content length for SEO benefits.

They conclude that longer content tends to outperform shot content due to its relevancy, longer time on site and better optimisation.

SemRush, one of the best SEO keyword research tools, published an article on the length of a blog post for SEO.

Semrush suggests that articles with 3,000 words generate the most organic traffic, but other metrics also play more roles.

Also, the quality of the content matters most, and the writer’s comprehensiveness in the topic is more important than the specific post length.

Search Engine Journal is another authority blog that publishes case studies on the idea of blog post length for SEO.

The writer explained that two variables must be considered when deciding the length of blog posts for SEO.

  • Subject matter
  • Searcher intent

He also references the HubSpot case study that says the ideal blog length for SEO is 2,100 to 2,400 words counts.

On the contrary, when writing blog posts, don’t focus much on the length; but focus more on the quality of the content as it matters most.

SEO has changed when we consider what happened in 2023 with Google’s helpful content update.

Every blogger, writer, and content creator needs to understand what Google wants in the content to be on the first page.

The Era of AI Tools

We are in the era of AI, and many sites with content written with AI lack quality.

However, Google has taken action and removed them from its algorithm.

AI can be part of your tools to prepare your content, but learning how to use it is crucial.

Google prefer first-hand experience in content. It differentiates the quality of content that AI could not write.

Creating content that provides value for your readers is your priority in 2024.

With the E-E-A-T guideline updated in 2023, writing content with First-Hand experience is crucial.

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.

Understand that the E-E-A-T is not a Google ranking factor but a Google search quality guideline.

Google wants you to create helpful content that will make visitors trust you.

  • E stands for experience
  • E stands for Expertise
  • A stand for Authoritativeness
  • T stands for Trustworthiness

You can learn more about the E-E-A-T and how to make your content meet the Google guidelines.

User signals are more critical now than before

Focus on optimising for user engagement and satisfaction when preparing your content, not search engines.

Google understand how users engage with a page to determine its relevancy and usefulness.

In 2024, it is vital to optimise your page for user intent. Focus on how your content will cater to users’ needs and expectations, which may impact bounce rate, a critical factor in Google ranking.

Optimised For Search Intent

 Optimised Search Intent is more important than before. You need to understand what people want when they search for certain worlds.

Search intent is a query a user types into the search engine.

One way to understand what users want is to use keyword tools such as Keysearch, Semrush, etc.

For example, Best Podcast Software In 2024

SEO BLOG POST

Add the keyword into the SEO tool to determine user intent based on each related keyword.

To understand user intent better, input your keyword into the search and analyse top SERP results.

HOW LONG SHOULD BLOG POST SHOULD BE FOR SEO

Analyse the content ranks on the first page and see what intent they satisfy.

This step will guide you on what your article covers to meet the user’s interest.

Blog Post Length for SEO In 2024

Understand that no one can say specifically that this is the number of words a blog post must have to rank on search engines.

 Below is the summary

Short-Form Content (400-600 words):

This type of post is good for answering question-related content.

  • For quick update
  • Answer specific questions
  • It allows you to focus on specific information

Medium-Form Content (750-1500 words)

This is the most common form of content.

  • Provide more details about user intent
  • Room for optimising the content for user experience
  • Cover all related sub-topics to some extent
  • Great readability
  • Increase reader engagement

Long-Form (1500-2,500 words)

Writing long-form content has many advantages, such as follows:

  • Increase dwell time
  • Gain backlinks
  • Details topic coverage
  • Increase user engagement
  • Getting more social shares
  • Keywords optimisation
  • Build authority and trust

Pilar Content (4,000+ words)

The Pillar content is a type of blog post that covers in-depth topics. For example, if you want to write a tutorial post to train your readers on a particular subject.

Factors Influencing Ideal Blog Post Length

What factors can influence an idea blog post in any niche or market?

Industry and Niche

 Different niches may require different blog post lengths. For example, an e-commerce store may not need to write 2,000 for a product description.

The best way to determine the length of your blog post is to look at the first-page results and check the content length.

It will give you an idea of what search engines want. You can average blog posts of the top 5 results.

For example, I want to write a blog post on ‘How To Create and Sell Online Courses.’

To determine my content length, I will type the keyword ‘How to Create and Sell Online Courses’ into the Google search bar and analyse the top 10 results.

Find out the length of each blog post. Sum them together and divide them by 10 to find the average.

In addition, I will analyse the content of a few blog posts to get some ideas for my article.

Audience Preferences:

You know your audience’s reading habits better than anyone. So, when preparing to write a new blog post, always put your audience first.

A blog post of 1,500 words counts, engages readers and provides value, which is far more critical than 2,500 words that have no impact on your audience.

Purpose and Goals

The length of the content should be based on the goal of the post. It must have search intent and provide solutions to the audience’s challenges.

The key is that you write for humans, not for search engines.

Quality vs. Quantity

Providing value is more important than hitting a word count.

Does your content have the quality to meet the standard? Does it solve your reader’s problem?

After reading your blog post, would your audience be able to follow your instructions and apply them with positive results?

Always prepare to avoid Fluff and maintain quality while achieving the desired content length.

What Are The SEO Benefits of Long-Form Content?

As I said earlier, there are many benefits of writing long-form content based on your niche and industry.

To Improve Higher Search Rankings

There is a correlation between long-form content and search engine ranking.

According to the Search engine Land, there is a correlation between long-form and search engine ranking.

Many SEO experts also agree that long-form content helps to improve the SEO of a blog post.

Increased Dwell Time

The dwell time is the relationship between content length and user engagement.

When your content engages the readers, they spend more time digesting it and take some essential points.

This is one of the Google rank factors, so visitors must spend some time when reading your content.

There is a correlation between long-form posts and backlinks. Research suggests that long blog posts get more backlinks than short-form content.

This happens when visitors share or link the content on social media to other authority websites.

Balance Content Readability and SEO

Write Scannable Content

One easy way to improve the SEO content and user’s readability is to help readers find what they need quickly.

Organise text into different components to help with scanning when writing a blog post.

The following methods work better

  • Headings
  • Bullet points
  • Quotes
  • Table
  • Short paragraphs

The above can enhance readability.

Add Visual Elements

Adding videos, Images and infographics to the blog post is a great way to improve page SEO and increase user engagement.

Both are among the SEO factors that can help a page rank on Google and other search engines.

Before hitting publish, ensure the page has proper linking strategies to enhance SEO while providing value.

Internal links link two pieces of content on the same site, while the external link links two different sites.

For example, if you link to sites like Backlinko, forbe, hubpost, etc, that is called an external link.

Analysing Competitors Content

I have mentioned it before. Analysing your competitor’s content and seeing the content that ranks well is not rocket science.

Copy your keyword into the Google search bar, then click search.

Analyse the first 5 or 10 results. Look at the length of the content and use that result to write your blog post.

Find the average content length of the top 5 results or go for the top 10.

Add each number of post words together and find the average.

Identifying the content length based on competitive analysis will help determine the length of the blog posts that rank for the keyword.

Tools for Finding Blog Post Length

There are many SEO Analysis Tools to analyse your competitor’s content. Below are a few of them that are worth trying.

  • KeySearch
  • SEMrush
  • Ahrefs
  • Ubersuggest

Google Analytics is also an excellent analytic tool for analysing content performance.

What Does Google Say About Blog Post Length?

According to Google engineers, content length is not a ranking factor. If you’re following SEO blogs for Google updates, you will understand that Google does not speak directly.

The only way to understand the Google core update and beginners in SEO is to learn from SEO experts about their research and experiments.

You can watch the video that reveals what Google says about the question:

Is more content better?

Conclusion

Some SEO experts have experimented and found that a long blog post ranks better than a short post.

When preparing to write a blog post, the most important things to remember are user intent and how the content will be valuable to the audience.

This is the reason Google rolled out the Helpful Content Update in 2023.

Creating helpful and people-first content is a great way to engage your readers to improve your page experience.

Google also warned against creating search engine-first content, as it is not helpful and can harm your page.

But that doesn’t mean content optimisation is less important.

Optimising your content based on search intent is a great way to ensure that the audience gets what they need and has a good user experience.

Ensure you conduct in-depth keyword research to find low keywords for the content.

Add keywords accordingly so as not to dilute the quality of the content and reduce user engagement.

FAQs

Here are a few FAQs about how many words a blog post should be for SEO.

How many words should a blog post be for?

The blog post should be 1500 to 2500 words from the SEO perspective.

However, Google does not state the number of words a blog post needs to rank on search engines.

Also, many companies stick to 600-1000 words for a blog post to promote their brands.

Is 5000 words too long for a blog post?

The answer depends on what you want to achieve and the goals of the content.

If the blog is a tutorial or a guide, 5,000 words are not too long.

How many words should a blog post be for SEO?

Many SEO experts suggest 1500 to 2400 words, while others prefer 3,000 words. The length may also depend on the industry and niches.

If you have any questions about how long a blog post should be for SEO in 2024, kindly let me know in the comment section.

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  • Oyundoyin Anthony

    Oyundoyin Anthony is a blogger who offers helpful contents to people and recommend different products for their needs. He enjoys helping people to achieve success in their business.

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