This is a question I get from a lot of new clients when they sign on with one of NextGear Marketing’s custom blog packages. People are curious what the ideal length for a typical blog article should be.
The simple answer I would say is usually somewhere in the 300-600 word range is where I like to be. However, it’s not always that black and white. It often depends on the complexity of the topic you are writing about and the amount of source material you have to pull from.
Minimum Word Count Target
I usually aim to get at least 300 words out of the blog articles I write for my clients. Sometimes, it’s not so easy to get to that length, but it’s a good minimum to aim for. Other times, I am fully invested in a topic and before long I am looking at over 1,000 words in the word count!
If an article does get too long, I like to go back and trim it down the best I can. I have no qualms about posting an article that’s up to 700-800 words long if all the information in there is vital.
Split it Up if Necessary
If it does get longer than that, then I may suggest splitting the article over two parts. Multi-part articles or a connected series of themed posts over time are never bad ideas. They give you a great opportunity to link back and forth between the posts, which ideally keeps the reader engaged on your site for a longer period of time. One of my newest clients has done several monthly “themes” with the individual topics centered around bigger, broader concepts. Coming up with new themes every month has proven to be a challenge, but I do think the articles have benefitted in terms of continuity, SEO, internal links and reader engagement.
Depending on your products, services and brand messages, you may have less copy and more images/videos in your blog posts. That is fine. I would still recommend targeting at least a minimum word count of 200-300 words from a basic SEO standpoint.
Professional Blog Services
So, how long should the average blog article be? 300-600 words is a good range to aim for, but find your comfort zone and do what you can keep up with. If you can’t keep up with the blog, then hire someone like NextGear Marketing to do it for you.
To learn more about our blogging and other custom web content services, contact NextGear Marketing today.
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