Within the content marketing world there is much debate about the appropriate length of a blog post. Some experts feel that a 1,600 word minimum blog garners better reader engagement, while others feel that shorter blogs take advantage of our attention spans. At Fresh Figs Marketing, our approach to the length of blog posts keeps the following in mind:
Write for Your Audience and Search – Blogging is a useful tool for both reaching your target market and building organic search engine optimization (SEO) for your website. So, you will want to write a blog post that appeals to your audience and provides the recency and relevancy search engines look for when assessing your website. This tactic lends itself to shorter blog posts, perhaps breaking one topic into relevant chunks that your readers will enjoy while also allowing you to consistently update your website content with relevant keywords.
Length Requires Investment – To keep your target audience coming back, your content must offer value. Writing long blog posts full of fluff will annoy your readers and could lead them to ignore your content. Long blog posts must be worthy of their length! If you have many relevant points to share, have completed intense research on a topic, or are tackling a complex issue, then a longer blog post may be appropriate. If your topic can be covered succinctly in fewer words, then do so.
Keep Your Goal in Mind – Why are you writing about your subject? Your goal will help determine the needed length of your message. If you are sharing your expertise, then a longer post may be necessary. If you are trying to get people to attend an event, a shorter post could be more appropriate. Your content should be as long as the topic and intent requires. However, to abide by criterion current search engine algorithms are rewarding, try to include at least 300 words in all of your blog posts.
Questions about creating a content marketing strategy? Reach out to us – we’d be happy to help.
