Long-Form Content: Pros & Cons

Long-form content, as the name would suggest, refers to content that has a considerable word count. Generally, long-form content should be more than 900 words long. Alternatively, long-form videos should run for longer than 3 minutes. Long-form content often requires extensive research to deliver information to the right target audience. 

Information imparted should be accurate and relevant, and there’s no reason why it can’t be when it comes to long-form content. But while it might sound great, there are a few cons to long-form content that you should be aware of before you go down that rabbit hole. So, what are the pros and cons of long-form content? Let’s take a closer look:

What are the benefits of long-form content?

Long-form content offers a wealth of benefits to marketers and internet users alike. While it might seem like a challenge, long-form content has a lot to offer, from ranking better in the SERPs to allowing in-depth, accurate information to be imparted. Here are the pros of writing, publishing and distributing long-form content:

It ranks better in the search engine results pages (SERPs)

Long-form content is extremely detailed, allowing for extensively researched information to be included, alongside the inclusion of relevant and high-ranking keywords. It also gives you the opportunity to cite third parties, therefore increasing inbound and outbound links as a result. This is something, along with other SEO-friendly tactics that longform content allows for, that the Google algorithm favours, therefore boosting your position in the SERPs.

It’s easier to include relevant keywords

Long-form content needs to be longer than 900 words. This makes it far easier to include relevant keywords without the risk of keyword-stuffing, which is bad for SEO. Not only does it make it easier to avoid keyword stuffing, but it also makes it easier to weave keywords into your copy in a way that is natural, allowing the words to flow nicely. This is something else that the Google algorithm will look favourably upon. 

It boosts credibility & strengthens your reputation

Long-form content allows for far more content and information to be provided to website visitors and blog readers. If the information you’re including is relevant and accurate, and engagement and traffic levels are high, then Google will look favourably upon the long-form content you’re publishing. This is because you can add credibility to your content, strengthening your reputation in the process. 

For example, you could own a waste management company, and you want to warn people about the dos and don’ts of waste collection and disposal. For instance, a waste management company needs to be licensed, so write an article about how to check that the waste carrier you’re choosing is legitimate. This spells out to your readers and customers that you can be trusted to dispose of waste properly and in line with regulations. This is something that can be done far more easily with long-form content. 

It will receive the lion’s share of the traffic

The very fact that long-form content appears higher up in the SERPs translates into higher traffic levels. Not only does it mean increased traffic, but it’s also considered to be organic traffic. Organic traffic refers to people coming to your content directly from the SERPs and not as a result of paid advertising or via sharing on social media. Once again, organic traffic signals to Google that your content is trustworthy, relevant, and informative.

It allows you to provide in-depth, accurate & relevant information

Long-form content, thanks to its long word count requirement, allows you to include a wealth of in-depth, accurate and relevant information that the Google algorithm loves to see. With the considerable word count scope, nothing is stopping you from including everything you’ve learnt during your extensive research. 

What are the cons of long-form content?

We’ve just been through the pros of using long-form content as part of your marketing campaign or strategy, but what if we told you that there are some downsides to long-form content that you might not have thought about? With this in mind, here are the cons of long-form content that might have you thinking twice about producing it:

It’s time-consuming

Long-form content needs to be at least 900 words long, and the information you’re providing needs to be accurate and up-to-date. This requires a considerable amount of time to be spent on research. Not only would you need to research the topic, but you should also be doing some keyword research so that your copy can rank more highly in the SERPs.

Your audience may lose interest

Long-form content is, by definition, long. Continuous prose can be time-consuming, not only to produce, but also to read. This might cause some people to lose focus, therefore leading to a high bounce rate. If your audience is looking for a quick answer to a question, then long-form content wouldn’t be the way to go. If you want to produce long-form content to boost your performance in the SERPs, then you should look at doing listicles as a middle-ground solution.

It’s not as easy to share on socials

Long-form content isn’t as easy to share on socials as short-form content. It’s not nearly as engaging or eye-catching as short-form content is. Something you can do as a way to share your long-form content, without sharing the actual article, is to create an infographic that rounds up the information in your 900+ word article. But this is yet another reason why some content creators will steer clear of long-form content.

Kumo is pleased to provide clients throughout the UK with first-class digital marketing services, including SEO, PPC, content writing and website design, to name just a few. If you would like further information about how we can propel your business into the spotlight, setting you apart from your competitors, then get in touch with a member of our friendly, professional team today – we’re always happy to hear from you.