+27 votes
by (350 points)
Starting never ending debate once again. Which works better for you Long Blog Posts or Short Blog Posts?  
Starting never ending debate once again.

20 Answers

+7 votes
by (4.8k points)
Per usual it depends. Some content is better suited for long form. Some better for short. If it answers the user's query and isn't filled with fluff your gucci.  
by (210 points)
Big facts bro
by (1.7k points)
I second @martijn Meacham on this. It depends. It wouldn't be neccessary nor probably right or efficient to have a 10, 000 word page for a local service page promoting the car wash service around the corner because they are only looking for geographical visitors (essentially). If you have a blog about washing cars that you want to put a how to on, you might right 10, 000 words on the full on, in depth step by step process of cleaning the car from bumper to bumper (i. e. wax, engine bay, interior, etc). **I know this example isn't perfect because in this situation you'd probably right five separate 2000 word pages describing each type for better results; but, I think you get the general idea. **  
by (4.8k points)
Diesel I third this. It doesn't make sense to have long form content on a page like you described, but of course it depends.  
by (1.7k points)
Personally, if I had to write one 10, 000 word page for a local service business to get it to rank, I'm either charging an arm and a leg for it if it is client work or finding a new niche.  
+1 vote
by (9.2k points)
The best blog
+25 votes
by (3.7k points)
The one that satisfies my users intent! It can be a 10 liner paragraph!  
by (560 points)
@quaggy this ^^
+3 votes
by (790 points)
Check out brian Dean's case study about that. Shortcut: Long in depth articles always rank better. This is a fact not a guess.  
+2 votes
by (2k points)
Long posts
+8 votes
by (930 points)
For reading short post. For seo, long posts
by (350 points)
Is seo not all about user satisfaction or user intent?  
by (930 points)
@parterre71 That’s why, less written content. More videos and inforgraphics.  
+5 votes
by (1.7k points)
Which works better? it depends on the topic like if I am writing 2k words blog post on simple question. I am a fool and it's not going to work at all, Nah
+9 votes
by (3.2k points)
Not to short not to long, content matter.  
+4 votes
by (10.9k points)
Valuable blog posts
+6 votes
by (5.2k points)
The higher the website's authority, the shorter content it can get ranked at #1. Now the above is not that simple. It is also a question if the searcher's problem can be fully solved with the short content. If yes, an authoritative site can rank it #1. Google sometimes cannot get the intent from the query. For example, if you search for some technical term, #1 can be a very short dictionary page, and then #2 a long-form article explaining everything about it. These kind of debates are never-ending because there are too many moving parts. In general: you cannot go wrong if your blog has a high number of in-depth, well resarched, high quality content. The trouble with it is that it needs good copywriting to keep it engaging. It also needs great blog design to keep it effortlessly readable. Those don't come solely from intuition and talent. There has to be knowledge involved. If we play with an online Copywriting calculator, landing at 17k estimate for an above described content piece is giving us an idea about its completely.  
by (350 points)
Yeah, I agree. Copywriting is crucial as most of the readers like me who have very short attention span will scroll the page easily.  
+2 votes
by (2.4k points)
Neither. the only thing that works for me is a hat made out of pure darkness.  
+19 votes
by (7.3k points)
Both. It really depends on the competition and the niche. And how many backlinks I throw at it! ;)
+8 votes
by (1.9k points)
1300-1700 words seems to be the sweet spot in our niches.  
+8 votes
by (14.3k points)
An example. One niche, medium competition. Most of top spots taken by short posts / pages. Year 2019, two or three algo updates, and out of nowhere, top spots overtaken by other sites, most of them with long posts / pages. I'm not saying this was the only difference between the two types of sites, I don't know, otherwise I would be able to answer your question - at least for a particular niche. But here is something keeping my mind busy for some time now: maybe now, when on my bread and butter niche, everybody is having just long posts / pages, maybe is time to try a few short ones. I'll do that in the next couple of weeks, and see what's up
by (350 points)
I am working in a micro niche for Amazon affiliate website. Top competitors are general websites covering the whole sector. Most of them are obssessed with review posts and long posts. But i feel that we can give adequate info with short posts too by spliting hulk like topics into sub topics or structuring our website into different sub categories.  
by (14.3k points)
@parterre71 always worth trying, but maybe what Google likes is a page covering various aspects / topics in one page. But this doesn't mean 3000 words, can be done with a lot less. Or maybe your idea will work, splitting over-general pieces of content into smaller ones. The problem is understanding / guessing what Google considers to be "the same thing" when it comes to subtopics. I killed on good site of mine by not guessing right and making like 7 pages on what I thought to be subtopics
by (350 points)
Yeah but depends on readers too. There are people who want all info at one place and there, are people who consume more info into chunks. But at the end of day, it is all about hit and trial in some aspects, of course.  
by (14.3k points)
@parterre71 exactly
+23 votes
by (1.1k points)
Depends on the competition!  
+17 votes
by (1.1k points)
Just write until there's nothing left to cover on a topic. There is no magic word count, putting the effort into delivering stunning content is everything High quality reference links also matter. I always try to link to gov uk pages, or similar if I can find something relevant to link to.  
+10 votes
by (1k points)
I hear many saying, as long as it satisfies users needs even if it's a small paragraph. I disagree with that. If your answer finished in a small para, for me that should never have been a topic for a blog post. Instead, I'd answer it in another relevant topic blog on the site. I would firstly chose a topic that is worth writing, I would then do a manual search in the SERP for the topic to see who is ranking and how much they have covered. And simply try to cover the topic better then the already ranked ones.  
+9 votes
by (5.6k points)
Quality signals matter more than quantity but more quantity can be more opportunity to send quality signals.  
+21 votes
by (5.9k points)
What if I told you. It depends
+1 vote
by (3.6k points)
Wrong question.  
by (350 points)
Then what's the right question or in other wordsm how we can put it into better words? :)
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