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How Long Should a Blog Post Be? (2021 Edition)

Last Updated on November 3, 2021 by Kelly Thoreson

One of the most common questions I hear from new bloggers is: how long should a blog post be?

The ideal length of a blog post is 1,500 – 2,500 words. Additionally, statistics show that posts with 2,500 words get more social shares than others. Lastly, pillar blog posts should be 3,500+ words.

Nailing your blog post length can make the difference between ranking #1 on Google and withering away on page 2.

If you’re feeling confused about where your blog post should fall in the 1,500 – 3,500+ word range, don’t worry, we’re going to go through my proven + easy method for finding a target word count below!

Blog Post Length Forms: Defined

Today, there are two forms of content when it comes to post length:

Short-Form = Under 1,500 words
Long-Form = Over 1,500 words

Even this is debatable.

Depending on which expert you’re talking to, you will get a different answer on how many words make up a long-form blog post.

But generally, most say a post qualifies as long-form around 1,500 words.

Here’s the thing:

IT.

ALL.

DEPENDS.

ON.

THE.

KEYWORD!

Long-form content for one keyword, could be short-form content for another.

Blog post statistics are telling us that audiences/search engines have been consistently favoring long-form content over short-form and this trend is on the rise.

That means that a long-form post today, let’s say at 1,600 words, could be seen as a short form post in the future.

Let’s take a look at some blog post length statistics.

Blog Post Length Statistics

Stat #1: Google Prefers Long-Form Content

When SerpIQ analyzed 20,000 keywords to find the average content length among the top 10 search results, the statistics spoke for themselves:

ideal blog post length serp iq — (source: SerpIQ)

Here’s how the graph above boils down in numbers:

Rank	Word Count
#1	apx. 2450 words
#2	apx. 2500 words
#3	apx. 2400 words.
#4	apx. 2350 words.
#5	apx. 2300 words.

As you can see, up until position #2, the longer the blog post, the higher the search ranking. Are you starting to drool at the thought of that sweet #1 rank yet?

Stat #2: Long-Form = More Backlinks

Does hearing the word, “backlinks” leave you scratching your head?

Don’t worry, I didn’t know what backlinks were when I started blogging either, let alone why they mattered!

Simply put, backlinks are other websites linking to yours with a hyperlink (clickable text/image that takes you to a particular site).

ideal blog post length okay so what backlinks

I’ll tell you so what:

more backlinks = more street cred in Google’s eyes = higher ranking in searches = more blog traffic

But you don’t have to take my word for it …

When HubSpot surveyed 6,192 blog posts, they found many positive benefits to long-form content, including a dramatic increase in backlinks.

Observe:

Again, we see an undeniable correlation between blog post length and desirable blogging results (in this case, more backlinks).

Stat #3: Social Media + Long-Form Content = BFFs

A HubSpot study found that there is a significant link between word count and social shares as well!

Is there nothing word count can’t do?

HubSpot surveyed social shares across the following platforms:

Facebook
Google+
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Twitter

What did they find?

Posts that are 2250 – 2500 words long get more social shares than any others.
(Source: Hubspot)

The runner up? Posts that were greater than 2,500 words.

The takeaway here is that statistics show long-form content (2,500+ words) gets more social shares, it’s as simple as that.

How Do I Find My Ideal Blog Post Length?

Blogging is a business, and just like in business, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to anything.

What’s working for one blogger may flop for another. That’s why we need to take several factors into consideration when deciding on the ideal blog post length for you:

Niche
Targeted Keyword / SEO
Your writing style

Let’s look at all three of the factors in-depth in the next sections.

Niche & Ideal Blog Post Length

You can get an idea for how long blog posts typically are in your niche by identifying your niche’s leaders and surveying their posts.

The Ideal Blog Post Length Workbook available below will walk you through how to do this and even provide a handy-dandy worksheet to keep you organized and on track.

Since niches are constantly evolving, I highly suggest taking the numbers below as general guidelines and conducting your own research using the Ideal Blog Post Length Workbook.

Short-form Blog Niches

There are some niches that naturally lean toward short-form content because they are image/video-centric.

Short-Form Niches:

Crafts
Fashion
Gear & Gadgets
Tech (not Financial Tech)
Tutorials

It should be noted that, with the exception of gear & gadgets, most of these short-form content niches still trend closer to 900 words-ish, to be technical 😂.

Medium-Form Blog Niches

But … didn’t I like, just say that there are only TWO content-length categories?

Yeah, I did, but …

I’m gonna break bad here and create a whole new content form! Medium!

Keeping in mind that long-form is getting longer, I think we would do well to identify niches that don’t fall into the short-form or long-form category consistently.

Medium-Form Niches:

DIY/Home/Garden
Film
Food
Manufacturing
Retail
Real Estate
Travel

Long-Form Blog Niches

Okay, now we’re getting into the nitty-gritty. These are the niches that you better be prepared to write your ass off in!

Long-Form Niches (2,000+ words):

Finance
Financial Tech
Health
Marketing
Sales

And, if you’re me, the blogging about blogging niche falls in this category too 😁.

Targeted Keyword & Blog Post Length

Just when you’re thinking you cannot feel anymore overwhelmed by all the things you need to learn before you can even start blogging, you get whiff of something called targeted keywords.

It’s cool homes, take a deep breath, targeted keywords are pretty simple.

Annnd, thanks to a guy you will come to know very well in the blog-o-sphere, Neil Patel, and his crazy-affordable Ubersuggest keyword research tool, keyword research is now accessible to all bloggers and income levels.

What is a Targeted Keyword?

A targeted keyword (or keyphrase) is a series of words that a user (your potential readers) enters into a search engine.

By targeting these keywords, you can compose your insanely unique and beautifully written content around them in order to better serve your audience, rank higher in search engines, and drive more traffic to your blog.

Example:

Through keyword research, you find out that there are 6,600 searches per month for the keyphrase, “puppies with hiccups”.

ubersuggest keyword tool screenshot — (source: screenshot of Ubersuggest)

Since you run a blog about puppy training, you seize your opportunity to rank high in Google and add value to your reader’s lives by writing your groundbreaking post, “Puppies with Hiccups: 10 Bark-Worthy Tips”.

But … how do you figure out which keywords people are searching for? I’ll tell you how in the next section!

How to Find Targeted Keywords (without spending hundreds)

Figuring out how many people are searching for a term and how difficult it is to rank in search engines for that term is a process called keyword research.

There are lots of keyword research tools:

And that’s just some of them!

All of the keyword research sites listed above are powerful data tools with uncountable goldmines of information.

They’re also stupid expensive (except for Ubersuggest):

Keyword Research Website	Monthly Cost
Ahrefs	$99+
Keyword Tool	$69+ (billed yearly so $828 upfront – ouch!)
Moz	$99+
SEM Rush	$99+
Ubersuggest	$24 (if you pay yearly) $29 (if you pay monthly)

Not many of us have an extra $100/month lying around when we’re just starting our blogs.

Which, before Ubersuggest, sucked because keyword research is necessary for success in blogging.

Back then, we would end up with a chicken/egg situation:

I’m not knocking any of these services, they’re all stunningly designed delightful data rabbit holes. They’re simply out of reach financially for most beginner bloggers.

I think it is 100% badass that Neil Patel was like, I’m just gonna go ahead and flip this industry on its ear and give it back to the people, yo.

Until very recently, Ubersuggest was completely free, but as the tool began to hemorrhage cash on account of being: 1) free and 2) awesome, the decision was made to charge a fair price for it.

Deal! I signed up the first day.

And for the record, no – I’m not an affiliate for Ubersuggest. I make no money if you click the link and sign up.

I just freaking love that it leveled the playing field and is a high-quality tool to boot😜.

How to do Keyword Research (explained via video)

It’s easiest to understand keyword research via video.

Note: you may hear the video hosts refer to Ubersuggest as a free tool, like I said above, it’s no longer free but still stinking cheap at $29/month and more than worth its weight in gold.

Video #1: use if you are brand new to keyword research:

For the next video, we’ve got Mr. Neil Patel, the man himself, to explain how to perform keyword research so you have a chance at ranking with the big fish.

Video #2: use if you have traffic but are struggling with sales (but still totally worth watching as a newbie):

In the next section, we’re going to look at the last factor in finding your ideal blog post length before moving onto the free workbook: writing style.

Writing Style & Blog Post Length

You will always find exceptions to any rule. There are bloggers out there who are thriving while stepping outside the norm.

Take Seth Godin for example. Seth runs a wildly successful blog (Seth’s Blog) writing 100 – 300 words posts daily:

ideal blog post length seth godin — (source: screenshot of Seths.Blog)

Of course, he’s also been in the writing business as long as I have been alive, authored 19 international bestsellers, and is just kind of an all-around badass guy.

The point is if your writing style is different from what your niche says it should be … if you wanna break the mold, be prepared to put in the time.

And by all means – do!

We need more mold breakers in this world.

Whew! That was a lot of information!

Way to hang in there, you life-long-learning-blogger, you!

(+10 Kelly-Cool-Points if you can tell me who this ↑ is in the comments below)

Now for the main course … the free Ideal Blog Post Length Workbook!

>>> Free Ideal Blog Post Length Workbook <<<

Now that you understand what keyword research is and how to do it, you’re ready for the free Ideal Blog Post Length Workbook!

This workbook walks you through the exact method I use after I have decided on a keyword to determine how long my post should be to have even a snowball’s chance in hell at ranking.

In the process of using this workbook, you will also naturally become familiarized with leaders in your niche and competition on the target keyword.

That way you’re learning not only how long your post needs to be, but how you can:

Provide more value than the current top-ranking posts
Be more thorough than the current top-ranking posts
Explain your topic in a more user-friendly way than the top-ranking posts
Challenge the POV of the top-ranking post if you disagree

All of which will serve your readers, boost your rank, and get you that much closer to being an expert in your niche.

Okay, enough chit-chat, grab your free digital copy today and start blogging with intention:

But … I Can’t Write 1,000 Words (+a tool to fix that!)

You’ve got to start somewhere on your blogging journey, and for most of us, that somewhere is not publishing 2,000-word posts.

You know what? That’s okay!

Don’t let not being able to write 1,000+ word posts right away stop you from writing at all.

When I started blogging, it took me a month to write a blog post. No joke, 30 agonizing days. Ouch.

If someone had come in and said, “you have to write 1,000 words or don’t bother writing at all.” I may have just walked away.

That’s not what I’m saying here and please – don’t give up!

✏️How to Quickly Write More Blog Posts✏️

I used to struggle to produce one, 1,000 word blog post per month.

Now I write 8 times that amount!

Since creating and taking the Blog Daily: 7 Day Blog Writing Challenge, my struggle with blog post writing died. I am creatively fulfilled and publishing on a regular basis. Win-win!

Writing blog posts gets easier with time. If you can only write 500-word posts in the beginning, that is 100% alright!

The important thing is that you come back to your computer each day and keep practicing.

Conclusion

Now that you know how to perform keyword research without breaking the bank, familiarized yourself with blog post lengths by niche, and have grabbed your free workbook you are that much closer to ranking #1 in Google.

Whatever you do, don’t give up. Promise me you will practice every day, because I want you to be a massive blogging success!

If your struggling with your blog post writing, be sure to check out my Blog Daily: 7 Day Blog Writing Challenge so you can start writing with ease!

Now I turn it over to you: what is your method for figuring out how long your posts should be? Tell me in the comments!