Blogging Posts: How Long Should They Be?

In terms of search engine optimization, there is always a lot of discussion and questions surrounding the topic of how long should a blog post be.  Most of the advice out there says no less than 300 words, and most advocate between five hundred to a thousand words for optimization purposes, but I do not think this is always best.

The reason for my thinking is simple.  Search engine optimization for blogs is designed to get to readers to a site, and the hope is that once they arrive they will become lifelong readers.  So, in terms of getting them to find the blog to start with, the aforementioned thoughts about minimums and advice about optimal word counts make perfect sense.  However, there is a problem with this that I have seen time and time again.

Often when people start really focusing on their word counts, their blogs begin to suffer.  Content quality drops in exchange for content quantity, and the focus shifts towards getting higher search engine results.  This shift causes problems for current readers who expect a certain level of quality and organization to a blog.  When shifting to quantity focus, many people lose readers because their blog suffers.  Keyword stuffing, poor organization, repeated keywords, and mindless drivel are the fastest ways to drive your readers away (besides not ever posting or never posting original content), so while your word count focus may gain you a new reader, you may lose ten.

Also, you have to keep in mind that just because a new reader finds your blog does not mean that they will become a permanent reader.  If you sacrifice content for word count, you can be sure that the new reader will notice in the same way that your old readers did before they moved on.  So, in the end you not only have lost your following, but new followers will not be inclined to keep reading either.  Focusing solely on word count is a lose-lose situation, and it will cost you.

Instead, keep in mind that quality content is king.  Word count can be important, but the quality of what you write and how your readers feel about it will have much more of an impact than anything else that you do.  If you write quality material that is well-organized, and meets minimal word count requirements, you will be much more successful than someone who write two thousand words of meaningless nonsense.