We usually discuss the length of the blog and try to write a lengthy one. But is it really worth it? Most content writers are concerned with word count when drafting content for clients or themselves.
A writer can produce a 10,000-word article. But if the content and quality are boring, then the article doesn’t deserve to get ranked. It’s a loss.
As a marketing company, we have been asked about the ideal length of a blog or article for SEO. Every time Bullzeye Media Marketing ventures into a new area, we dig deep to learn everything we can about what makes for excellent content in that field.
So, our team conducted some research. After that, we start using content marketing while continuously examining our data to see what makes a difference.
And Here are the results:
Just like audiences have consumed content such as short videos on TikTok, studies show that shorter articles rank better than ever. That’s partly due to recent algorithm updates.
The optimal length varies throughout companies/ industries, so be wary of sources offering a general solution.
Let us find out our research results that provide an ideal word count for various industries.
How Word Count Has Changed Over Time?
How Ideal Word Count Has Evolved
Our founder and seasoned author, Meghna Deshraj, has highlighted how content length has evolved and how it will change.
“The ideal length for blogs has constantly changed. It took time, but with the surge of 750-word content, things grew to be far longer—more than 2,000 words. Word count no longer serves as a strong indicator of quality due to the flood of AI-generated content that is now available online. The “TikTok Effect” is unavoidable and changes the whole equation of the ideal content size. It is now shorter and gets right to the point.”
This is a two-way process. As content marketing became more popular and the SERPs became more competitive, articles started getting much more comprehensive. Here comes the term link-building.
Bullzeye Media Marketing once firmly pushed its clients to post longer blog posts. However, we have proven studies that show that long blog posts matter.
In 2019, HubSpot found that the ideal blog post length was 2,000 to 2,400 words. In 2022, Semrush found articles with over 3,000 words got more than 100% search traffic.
Today’s blogs average 1,427 words, 77 percent more than ten years ago across all industries.
People expect quick, concise responses to their questions, which is why short-form media, AI-generated content, and SGE (search generative experience) are becoming more popular.
Our stake? Shortly, Google is likely to start giving short-form material much more credit.
Long-Form vs. Short-Form Content
Let us keep trends behind, but has anyone considered why long-form blogs are more famous and inspiring?
Long-form blogs have deep knowledge of the topic that covers almost every dimension, which is nearly impossible with shorter posts. This could be the prime reason why long-form creates a perception of better quality for its readers.
Second, long blogs are perfect for readers who follow lawn-mower patterns. It is the finest example of scan reading. Most people need to read the content word for word. They absorb the pattern:
In this reading pattern, headings, subheadings, bullet points, and other elements help readers easily read long-form content.
Third, we have observed that it gives pleasure to any author to create content with a high word count instead of writing only 600-word articles. Based on all the information discussed above, marketers believe that they must provide long-form content to gain traction in the SERPs.
But time is evolving every bit. Readers, audiences, and viewers are fond of quick content, or short-form content. Our research has found that quick and short content is the reason U.S. adults spend almost one hour per day on TikTok.
Sixty percent of corporate videos have a duration of less than two minutes.
When you consider that half of adults think that people’s attention spans are getting shorter, these figures make it easy to understand why readers are becoming more critical of and confident in articles that provide concise answers to their queries.
Short-Form: Less than 1,000 Words
We have adapted, and soon, 1000-word blogs will be available. These blogs will capture the market and survive for a longer period.
Posts of less than 1,000 words are already shared in several industries — which we shall discuss below — and shorter posts will become even more popular as customers across industries demand quick and to-the-point content.
Anyone who reads tech websites will be familiar with this kind of concise post. Many top tech blogs are news sites that lend themselves to AMP-loading content and easy-to-digest blurbs.
Let us move ahead and discuss various industries and their ideal or preferable blog lengths. Fashion is the industry where blogs are considered best when they are short. It’s trending. Fashion readers do not bother about in-depth knowledge but read what they want to.
There are no blogs that define the history of fashion and explain how a garment or accessory is made. Instead, the blogs or articles explain the most attractive look and how it can be recreated.
The same concept applies to recruitment blogs. A short and precise description of a job or company attracts more people and increases engagement and involvement. Only an 800-word article works so well and provides results.
Mid-Length: 1,000–2,000 Words
This was previously the ideal length for blog articles, and it continues to be the most popular article format across a wide range of sectors, including retail, manufacturing, marketing, cuisine, and travel.
Bullzeye Media Marketing recommends that while long-form content can be effective, it only makes sense for certain topics. For everything else, we promote shorter articles, around 1,500 words or even less.
Most of the audience likely doesn’t have time for a long-winded blog post and won’t read the entire thing. Readers like to get to the main points quickly.
Bloggers in the food sector are familiar with the difficulty of carefully balancing providing users with concise answers to their questions while producing enough material to rank in a crowded field.
No one wants to read 2500 words before getting to your ravioli recipe. However, Google does not provide a ranking to 300 words for recipes blogs/posts/ articles.
For this reason, a mid-length post would be ideal. It guarantees that readers can rapidly access the article’s section that interests them while giving food bloggers ample space to offer pertinent culinary instructions or suggestions for locating the best ingredients.
The relatable industry gets involved when the blog or article is about 1400 words and has unmissable visuals.
Long-Form: 2,000 Words and More
Well, talking about the pros of short and mid-length blogs, long-form blogs have their own supreme space in the industry. However, these benefit businesses, buyers, and sellers with comprehensiveness and depth of long-form content.
Here falls finance, fintech, sales, and healthcare. These industries cover fairly complex topics, so it’s almost always necessary to go beyond 2,000 words to be descriptive to your readers.
Conclusion
As you can see, longer material is by no means the be-all and end-all. It goes far deeper than that.
It is a story of each category of business. It is the need for industries like finance and sales to cover topics that benefit from in-depth research and thoughtful narratives. Likewise, the other business category, like fashion, targets an audience that cares more about getting to the point than reading a good story.
What is our advice? Rather than writing as much as you can, concentrate on producing excellent content and marketing it successfully. You’ll accomplish both and be well-positioned to rule the rankings in your sector.
