The answer is two-fold. It depends on:

  1. How much information you need to tell your story or explain your topic
  2. If you are writing it to fill Google’s requirement or for your customer(s)?

In February 2019, Backlinko published an article stating they analyzed 912 million blog posts. They talk about the type of blog posts that convert the best. According to Backlinko, if you’re looking to maximize your social shares through blogs, the perfect length runs between 1,000 – 2,000 words. Long headlines of 80+ characters are also working. That’s between 14 – 17 words in length. And, titles ending in “?” appear to be working. The other two forms are lists and “why” posts.

In April 2019, Content Marketing Institute (CMI) published an article challenging Backlinko’s results to the test. Mind you, CMI’s database is smaller. And, targeted to their specific audience. In CMI’s article they talk about two tests they ran against their database. Blog posts 3,000+ words and blog posts 1,000 – 2,000 words. The results showed 3,000 words worked better.

So, who’s right? Both are.

Before you decide on the length of your blog posts, first decide who your audience is. Google’s search engine? Your customer? Or both?

Then let your audience tell you.

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