How long should your blog post be? Not long as you think

Is anybody reading anymore?

Ok I want to be honest. Online readers are getting really lazy. And why should we blame them for it?

As I have said in my previous posts, there are over three million blog posts published every single day and “between 70 to 96% of visitors will never return to your blog or website“.

It is enough for you to say”Ok, so it’s better to change my mind about blogging and start doing something else”.

Well, it might be an idea but you should also consider that these numbers must be divided among the total internet users. Today the total users exceed the 3 billion, and counting 

The importance of content

We’ve been said that when we write a blog post we must do it for readers and not for Google. But how many people are really doing it?

To be honest, the main thing copyrighter and editor try to do when they write a blog post is to work on SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Trying to satisfy Google’s rules and directives is of course suggested, but why?

Google is changing the algorithm constantly, Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird are the latest. So, you’ll always need to follow or don’t follow new rules.

All suggest to write long form content to better rank in the SERP and decrease the competition other blogs and website. Now the trend is to reach at least 1,000 – 2,000 words and more!

Source: Buffer Blog

According to Buffer’s blog, the ideal length of a blog post is around 1,600 words. This means between 3 and 6 minutes long.

Moreover, we are in a world where just the 20% of your readers will actually read your entire post. No, I don’t think SEO is the primary way to go, unless you are an old well-placed website or a new one well-funded.

SEO is a long and challenging process and no more the best investment. (To me)

Focus on your readers

That being said, the way to go is to focus on your readers. You must consider how distracted online users are and face the information overload we are living.

Probably right now half of the people who started reading this post are gone.

How long should your post be?

The ideal length for a blog post is about 400-500 characters. Nothing more. If you need to say a lot of things is better to divide it in different blog posts to better grab the attention.

Here are some ways to better retain users attention and increase CTA (Calls to Action)

• Write short and separated paragraph (40-50 words)
• Use H2 titles
• Keep phrases short
• Use pictures and videos
• Use bullet points and numbers
• Ask questions and invite to a call to action
• Try to invite your readers subscribe to your newsletter
• Keep your blog and theme design clean (no too many banners and colors)

What is the ideal length for you?

Thanks for reading till the bottom and enjoy your day! Or night 🙂