Blogging is a lot like constructing a structure – you need to build it block by block. Needless to say, that will take time and a lot of hard work. Now, when it comes to achieving success with a blog, several factors come to play. While quality is the first parameter to focus on, the post’s length plays a huge role. Wondering how? Read on to find more about determining your blog’s ideal length, how to make long posts engaging, and more.
Is Content’s Length the ONLY Factor to Focus on?
Now, before we go into the nitty-gritty, you must acknowledge that other factors are intertwined with the length of the post. The number of third-party domains linked to your website and the keywords in the subheadings impact ranking more than the length of your blog. Moreover, the length will do you no good if the content isn’t keyword-targeted and has enough hooks.
Even when posting a wordy blog article, your work doesn’t end at making it informative. You have to remember that most of us barely have time in our busy lives to spend on a blog. If you do not want your readers to abandon your post in between, you must make it readable. Keep the bigger paragraphs right at the start and use headlines and bullet points later on in the post.
That brings us to the most important question.
How Long should Your Blogs be? It Depends!
While the answer cannot be definitive, the average count as per SEO experts for 2021 is 1200 to 1700 words. But the answer may not work in your favour always. The ideal word count for a blog may differ depending on the products and services you deal in, your niche, your audience, and a lot more. So, how do you determine what the ideal length of a blog article for your website should be? I will teach you to determine the perfect length in just three steps using the Top Ten Average Method.
All you have to do is take ten posts with the most traffic from your website and calculate the average to come up with the perfect length. Here’s how to do the calculation.
Step 1: Find the best ten posts using filtering analytics on ‘Organic search’.
Step 2: Take your top ten blogs and calculate the word count for each using a reliable word counter tool. Remember that the words used in images should not count in this case.
Step 3: Next up, you have to determine the word count of the content in the header, footer, and sidebar used in the blog. Subtract this word count from the total word count of all ten posts.
Once you have the aggregate minus the image and header content, divide the post by 10, and you will have the answer with you.
As I have mentioned earlier, the length will be of use only when the other factors at play tick the right boxes. On that note, below is a list of the essentials of a perfect blog post.
The Quintessential Elements of the Perfect Blog Article
1. Always use a target keyword in your blogs and craft the content around it. You can use SemRush or Ahrefs to identify products or services in your niche that people are searching for.
2. Make it a point to use high-quality images or a short video right at the top segment of the post to grab the eyeballs of the readers and hook them in.
3. Use bold text in a larger font towards the beginning. Use italics and bold text when mentioning a provocative question, a promise value, or a hook to get your readers to continue reading.
4. For better readability and scannability, use bullet points below headlines to get to the main points.
5. Use the targeted keyword in the sub-heads without making it look forced. Also, make sure to use the keyword at least once in the first and the last paragraph of the blog.
6. Name your images with the keywords using hyphens. You can also use alt text when providing a description for the image.
7. Always support your key points with relevant and proven facts and examples.
8. Other than answering the main question pertaining to the keyword, address the shoulder questions in the content as well.
In the next segment, you will find out how to create the perfect blend of quantity and quality.
How to Achieve the Perfect Quality-Quantity Ratio in Blogs?
Whether you are writing a blog of 500 or 1500 words, what matters is the content that you offer. So, everything boils down to just one factor – are you creating content of substance or not! So, how do you create the perfect blog that is of the ideal length and does not feel stretched? Here is the anatomy of the ideal blog article:
· Try to introduce new concepts in each blog
Don’t reiterate information that others have already shared. Even when the keyword is the same, you need to come up with better slants and perspectives. Your blog’s primary motive should be to offer an answer that others have failed to provide your readers with.
· Think about the best-suited media for your content
Not all types of media are suitable for all blogs. So, do not use gifs just because others are using them. Whether it is videos or memes, or diagrams, determine the subject and audience and use the appropriate media file. If you cannot finalise one, keep it simple and use images.
· Consider the intent of the people searching
Understand what purpose your blogs serve and how they help your readers. If your products or services cannot be the final solution, the blog will not complete a full cycle.
Overall, your aim should be to increase your site’s traffic by leveraging the things you are the best at. Do not use your blog to increase traffic to your website mindlessly.
Now, writing a blog of 1500+words isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially when you have to click the quality button too. So, how do you write a long post without sounding drab? Read the next segment for some insights!
3 Ways to Find Additional Points for Your Blog
Here are three ways to dig up branches of topics for the targeted keyword and write more on the topic without sounding repetitive or drab.
1. Look at what the search engines suggest when you search on it:
Explore the option of suggested searches and come by a treasure trove of more elements to add to your post. For instance, if your keyword is university assignment tips, you will see how the suggested searches show about courses and tools that students also search for. So, along with dishing out university tips, you can also mention university courses and campus activities for the students. Alternatively, you can mention academic tools like reference generators and word counters that students can use to make the task easier.
2. Use the “people also ask” box for SEO
Trust me; the ‘people also ask’ box can open vistas for your posts from the perspective of SEO. I can assure you about the efficacy of this tactic because I have used it myself. I have gone from having 150 people on my website to shooting to 2000 in a day, and many of those people become clients by answering the queries people have. There are questions that people could be asking, but you have no idea about. The ‘people also ask’ box will have some fantastic and ripe questions that you can provide answers for.
3. Use ‘LSI Graph’ to increase the length
While searching for the content on the targeted keyword (best blog length for 2021) for this blog, I got several other LSI keywords like ‘blog length best practices,’ ‘ideal blog length, and ‘how to calculate ideal blog length’. As you can see, I could use these keywords to write more relevant content that links well to the targeted keyword. Bottom line: LSI gives you the scope to write targeted content while meeting the ideal word count.
In conclusion,
No one can really guarantee the popularity of your blogs since there’s no definite recipe for creating the right kind of content. Just keep at it, post the right type of content of the ideal length and infallible quality at the right time. Also, do not be afraid to try out different things to see what clicks for you. Lastly, remember that the path you are walking on is going to be a rocky ride. Then again, most good things take time and patience. Show perseverance, and sooner or later, success will be yours. Happy blogging, fellow blogger!
