We often get asked about the ideal blog post length. Clients see that we offer different post lengths and they become focused and concerned about which word count range is ideal.
The post length pundits generally fall into two categories: the “people don’t have time” pundits and the “Google says” pundits.
The former believe that people are too busy to read anything more than 400 or 500 words, so why waste your time (and money) on longer posts because no one’s going to read them.
The latter believe that the more words you have, the more authoritative the post becomes. And the more authority your post has, the more Google will love you and reward you with higher rankings.
Both are possibly correct. But as with most things, it depends.
What Is Longform Content?
Because posts are getting longer and longer, the barometer is shifting for what’s considered longform and what’s considered standard. Most content creation experts and marketing agencies consider longform content products to be blog posts or pages that are over 2,000 words. But this is even a poor definition because some online content is 10,000 words or more. So should a 2,000-word post be lumped into the same category as a 10,000 words post? Probably not.
Ideal Blog Post Length
Many people today have the sense that unless your post is 2,000+ words, Google doesn’t want anything to do with it. But that’s not entirely true. As mentioned, there is no ideal blog post length. How long your blog post should be depends on many factors:
- The topic
- The purpose of the post
- Current competition
- Your own branding
- Your audience
Just ask Rand Fishkin, an excellent expert resource on all things SEO at Moz. Because Google operates on dividing up content based on topics, niche topics and targeted keywords, the standard for what’s longform should ultimately be based on the content category in which you compete.
There’s still ongoing debate about which is better — longform content vs. shortform content. But that’s like asking “what’s better for you, diet or exercise?”. Of course, the answer is both but for different reasons. Each accomplishes different goals. Exercise strengthens your body. Diet gives your body the nutrients it needs to operate and thrive.
If you’re asking what’s better for my blog, longform or shortform content, the answer is they both can be. Most of us have 2 minutes (max) to skim a 500-word blog post. But 3,000-word+ blog posts are those “bookmarkable” pieces that users and other websites use as a permanent reference. These are valuable pages people carve out time to read.
Who Needs Longform Content?
Longform content works for virtually any type of content-producing brand. Unless you’ve shaped your brand around a “bite-sized” information strategy. In this case, longform content doesn’t make sense.
Virtually every brand can benefit from producing a few, solid longform pieces. Longform pieces are specialized and establish authority. If you compete in a highly competitive segment of the health and wellness market, then you’ll need longform, guided content to differentiate you from your competition so you become an authority.
If you compete in a relatively untapped market, then positioning yourself as the authority before the competition strikes is also a wise move. Use the space you’ve carved out to produce a few, high-quality informative pieces that can sustain and propel you forward should your segment become more competitive.
Benefits of Longform Content
As mentioned, producing longform content is an excellent way to offer extremely detailed, specialized and authoritative information. It builds credibility in your market, which is especially important if your market is something that users are actively seeking to learn more about. As users continue to search for your specific information about your product or service category, the search engines recognize that your longform content is high-quality and fulfills user-intent. This means you’re giving people the answers they’re looking for in a robust and all-encompassing way.
Here are four benefits of longform content that can translate into higher sales for your business:
1. Attract New Customers
The main reason to produce any kind of content is to be found by new customers who otherwise never would have found you. Longform content accomplishes this by being better shareable pieces. A study conducted by Moz found that posts over 1,000 words had more shares and more links back to the piece. This is likely because longform is more robust and informative (when done right) than its shortform counterparts, so it becomes a linkable source within other authority pieces.
Search engines are also more likely to favor your piece in search results if you have high-quality, informative content. This means you’re giving your brand a better chance of being found by research-focused customers who will likely turn to whichever brand appears to be the most knowledgeable and helpful.
2. Retain Existing Customers
Another one of the main benefits of longform content is customer retention. Once you’ve acquired a new customer, it’s vital to make the effort to retain them. Longform content can help you retain new customers by acting as a value-added offer. After they’ve become a customer, you can send them highly informative pieces or guides. This helps your customers with their continued education about your product or service and its benefits.
Providing ongoing educational support shows your customers you care about their health and wellness journey. It’s also a way to suggest and offer new products. This furthers their consumer knowledge and builds loyalty.
3. Earn Continued Customer Loyalty
Longform content is another way to create a positive customer experience that’s focused on long-term loyalty building. Regularly publishing helpful longform guides or resources demonstrates production value. It signals to your existing customers that you’re committed to being a market leader, which cultivates long-term relationships.
As you consistently produce high-value content (whether it’s monthly or seasonally), it will become something your customers will look forward to. Your consistency in publishing informative pieces trains your customers to become loyal to your brand.
4. Invite New Opportunities
You never know when then next cross-promotion opportunity can pop up. Asserting yourself as an authoritative brand with high-quality, shareable content can invite in new opportunities for event sponsorships, speaking engagements or other mutually beneficial partnerships.
It’s not just customers who will benefit from your longform content, but others who serve the same types of customer you do. If you commit to building an authoritative brand, the world will respond by sending you opportunities to let your knowledge shine.
Getting Started With Longform Content
If you’re interested in producing a longform guide or resource, then it starts with planning. You’ll need to research different niche topics, find high-quality sources of information and perhaps even conduct your own research and data analysis. Longform content publishing also requires a focused keyword targeting strategy and a finely detailed outline that ensures you’ve covered all possible user questions related to the topic.
Above all else, your piece should have crisp and clear writing. It needs to be put together in a readable, skimmable layout with lots formatting breaks that direct your readers to the exact information they are looking for.
There’s a lot that goes into producing a specialized and healthy longform piece. That’s where Healthy Content can help. We know how to put together longform pieces that look professional and offer valuable, digestible information. We take care of the planning and follow through with longform content publishing that will help you attract and retain customers and build brand credibility. Contact Healthy Content today to discuss longform content strategies.