Blog post length: how long should a blog post be?

The short answer

A blog post should be as long as it takes to answer the reader's question fully, and no longer. Google says it has no preferred word count, so length alone will not help a post rank. Decide the length from the question, check what readers of that topic expect, then write until the question is answered.

Blog post length: the short answer

Blog post length should follow the job the post has to do. A post that answers one narrow question may need a few paragraphs. A post that compares several options, or walks through a process, needs room for each option or step. A fixed target such as a minimum number of words hides this difference and pushes writers to pad.

The useful question is what the reader must know before they can act. Whatever helps them belongs in the post. Whatever does not is a candidate for cutting.

Does Google prefer long articles?

No. Google's guidance on helpful content lists writing to a particular word count, because you have heard Google has a preferred one, as a search-engine-first habit. Its answer is that it has no such preference. The SEO starter guide says the same: there is no magic word count target, minimum or maximum, and length alone is not what matters.

Google's SEO office hours in November 2022 added two points. Content length does not decide how often a page is crawled or whether it is indexed. And word count alone does not make a page thin.

Long pages that do well usually do so because they answer more of the questions behind a search. The words are a side effect of that coverage. A long page that rambles gains nothing from its size, and a short page that answers the question completely loses nothing from its.

What decides the length of a post

How to decide the length before you write

1. Write the promise in one sentence, for example: after reading this, you will be able to check a supplier's quote.
2. List the questions the reader needs answered to keep that promise. Customer emails are one source. The guide to People also ask boxes shows how to use another.
3. Look at the pages that already appear for the question. The SEO competitor analysis guide explains how to compare them. Note what they cover and what they skip. Do not count their words, because that copies their padding along with their coverage.
4. Group the questions into sections and give each section a heading.
5. Write each section until its question is answered, then stop.
6. Read the whole post and cut every paragraph that no heading needs.

A worked example: two posts from one garden furniture shop

Take a made-up shop that sells garden furniture and writes two posts. The first answers “How do I clean a teak table?” The reader has one task. The post needs a short answer, the materials to gather, the steps in order, one warning about what to avoid and a line on how often to repeat the job. A history of teak, a buying guide and a section on other woods would not help that reader and would only delay the answer.

The second post is “Teak or aluminium garden furniture: how to choose”. Here the reader is weighing two options against their own garden. The post needs room to judge each option on the same points: weather exposure, upkeep, weight, appearance and how each ages. It also needs a section on who each material suits less well. This post will run much longer than the first, and every part of it earns its place.

Neither post is better because of its size. The cleaning post would get worse if it were stretched to match the comparison, and the comparison would get worse if it were squeezed to the size of the cleaning post. Each one is the length of its own question.

How to know when a post is complete

A post is complete when the reader can do what the title promised. Use this list as a test before you publish.

• The promise in the title is kept within the first screen of text.
• Each heading answers a question a real reader has.
• A reader could take the next step without opening another site, apart from official sources for rules that differ by country.
• Terms are explained once, where they are first needed.
• Examples are specific, and any invented example is labelled as invented.
• Every paragraph is there for the reader, and none is there to reach a count.
• The next step is clear.

For any section you are unsure about, ask what the reader would lose if it were removed. If the honest answer is nothing, remove it.

Signs a post is padded

• The introduction restates the title in several sentences before it says anything new.
• Terms every reader of the blog already knows are defined again.
• A history lesson comes before the answer.
• Generic tips that appear on every site on the topic fill the middle.
• The same point appears in several phrasings.
• A final section repeats every earlier section in shorter form.

Signs a post is too short

• Customers keep emailing the question the post should have answered.
• The post names a step but never says how to carry it out.
• There is no example, so the advice stays abstract.
• It sends readers to other pages for basics they need to follow the argument.
• It states a conclusion without the reasoning that lets a reader trust it.

Fix these by adding the missing part, not by adding words around it.

Splitting, merging and very long posts

When one post tries to answer several separate questions, split it into separate posts that link to each other. Each one then matches a search more closely. When several short posts overlap, merge them into one and redirect the old addresses. The guide to 301 and 302 redirects explains which redirect to use.

Splitting a single article over numbered pages leaves each page with a fragment of the answer and adds pagination for readers and crawlers to cope with. If the article is long, a contents list with jump links at the top is usually kinder to readers. The pagination and SEO guide covers the cases where numbered pages are right, such as archives and category lists.

Check your own blog before you copy anyone else's

Compare your posts by what they achieve, not by how long they are. Search Console shows the queries and clicks for each page, and your analytics tool shows how readers behave on it. The comparison of Google Analytics, Tag Manager and Search Console explains which tool answers which question.

Sort your posts by length only to see whether a pattern exists in your own data. A pattern on your blog tells you something about your readers. A pattern on someone else's blog tells you about theirs.

If you want help planning posts around the questions your customers ask, the search engine optimisation service page describes the SEO work Liftup Technologies does.

Related guides

• SEO services
• Competitor analysis for seo step by step
• Pagination SEO: How to Handle Multi-Page Lists
• Blog post structure and outline

Questions and answers

How long should a blog post be?

As long as it takes to answer the reader's question completely. A narrow question may need a few paragraphs, while a comparison or a process needs space for each option or step. Decide the length from the questions you must answer, not from a word count.

Does Google prefer long articles?

No. Google's helpful content guidance says it has no preferred word count, and its SEO starter guide says there is no magic target, minimum or maximum. Long pages that rank usually cover more of the reader's questions, not just more words.

How do I know when a post is complete?

A post is complete when the reader can do what the title promised and each heading answers a real question. Read it once more and cut anything that no heading needs. Then check that the next step is clear.

Is a short blog post bad for SEO?

Not by itself. Google says word count alone does not make a page thin. A short post is a problem only when it leaves the question half answered. If it gives the reader what they came for, its size is fine.

Should I add words to a post that is not ranking?

Adding words rarely fixes a post. First check that the page matches what searchers want, that the answer is easy to find and that the page is indexed. Add content only where a real question is unanswered.

Should every post on my blog be the same length?

No. Different posts do different jobs, so lengths will vary. A quick answer, a step by step guide and a broad overview each need a different amount of space.

Is it better to publish fewer long posts or more short posts?

Neither is better by default. Publish the number of posts you can keep accurate and useful. A small set of helpful posts serves readers better than many thin ones, and the right post length is the one that answers the question.