Is Blog Post Word Count Important for SEO?

When creating content for a website or a blog, one question that often comes up is how long a blog post should be. Some people think that the longer the blog post is, the better it will perform, whereas others swear by short-form content that is quick and easy to read and consume. But is there a right answer here? Is blog post word count really that influential when it comes to performance in the search engine results pages (SERPs)? Let’s take a closer look.

Why longer blog posts can give successful results

Longer blog posts often have the opportunity to cover a topic in greater detail. For instance, a 2,000-word guide can explain a subject thoroughly, answer several related questions and provide examples, tips, and useful resources. This can be beneficial for SEO as a comprehensive article may naturally include a wider range of relevant keywords and topics. It can also encourage visitors to spend more time engaging with the content if they find it genuinely useful. Long-form content can work well for:

• Detailed guides
• Tutorials
• How-to articles
• Product comparison
• Educational content
• Lists of tips or resources
• In-depth explanations of topics

However, length alone isn’t enough to get a piece of content ranking. There are actually quite a few things that can affect SEO performance, and word count isn’t always as influential as you might think.

You shouldn’t underestimate short-form content

Short-form content isn’t always classed as a blog post. It can be anything from microcopy for e-commerce purposes to LinkedIn posts that are more than 150 words long. However, the point is still the same. Short-form content can perform just as well as long-form content, as long as it’s done correctly. 

Sometimes, a reader is looking for a quick and simple answer to a question, and so shorter blog posts or other pieces of short-form content, like an infographic, would be more useful. As long as the short-form content quickly and clearly answers a question or query, it can perform successfully. Keywords also play a huge part in the performance of short-form content.

For instance, FAQs and listicles are perfect examples of where short-form content can be useful. That content will automatically include all of the relevant keywords, quickly answering a reader’s question without the need for blocks of text. As such, short-form content should never be underestimated just because it has a lower word count than long-form content. 

Quality is more important than word count

One of the biggest mistakes in content creation is writing to reach a specific word count as opposed to actually satisfying the reader and their search intent. Imagine searching for advice on how to clean a reusable water bottle. You’ll want clear instructions that are formatted clearly, such as the use of bullet points or numbered lists. 

You’d find it frustrating if the information was listed in block text form. This can increase bounce rate, which can actually harm the SEO of your content. Keep blog posts to the point and always come back to the purpose of the article. 

For example, you’ve come here to find out if blog post word count is important for SEO; well, this paragraph tells you why word count isn’t important for SEO, and you’d know that based on the H2 “quality is more important than word count”. You’d have known this without even reading this block of text because all you had to do was read the H2 – simple.

Word count can be beneficial for content performance – just avoid adding unnecessary words

You might think that adding as many words as possible to a blog post will help to bump up its performance in the SERPs. But you’d be mistaken. To help explain this, I’m going to refer back to the above point about quality mattering more than blog post length. Google needs to see that your content is of excellent quality if you want it to rank. 

Waffling and adding unnecessary words to your copy doesn’t make for quality content in this sense. If you want your blog post to be successful in the search results, then don’t add unnecessary words to it. Ensure excellent flow throughout and keep points short and concise where appropriate. 

For instance, instead of saying “in order for your blog post to perform well in the search engine results pages, you need to ensure that its word count is no less than 500 words and no more than 3,000 words”, you should say: “blog posts perform better in the SERPs if they’re between 500-3,000 words long”. It’s the same information, but it’s clearer and more concise. 

How long should a blog post be?

There isn’t a single perfect word count for blog posts. This is usually because each one is different in terms of topic, search intent and purpose. However, there is a general rule of thumb for content creators to follow when it comes to blog post word count, and that includes making sure that the word count is anywhere between 500 and 3,000 words long. This gives a minimum expectation and a maximum one. Generally, content marketers won’t publish content that’s less than 500 words or over 3,000 words, so it’s a good link to follow if you aren’t sure. Learn more about how long a blog post should be.

Kumo is pleased to provide a wide range of digital marketing services, including content creation, SEO, PPC, website design and more. You can rest assured that our team of dedicated experts can set you apart from your competitors with excellent content creation and copywriting services. If you’d like further information about how we can help you today, get in touch with a member of our friendly, specialist team – we’re always happy to hear from you.