As a professional writer, this is a question that I am asked a great deal and the answer is that there is no set length that is optimal for any kind of reader. Some people want an in-depth level of analysis from a blog post and others want to be able to dip into a text to glean the information that is most to them within a moment or two.

So, the question that really ought to be put is, “How long should a blog post be to help with my strategy?” For business customers who are looking to create a knowledge sharing platform that shows off their technical expertise in a given area, a blog post of several thousand words would be called for. On the other hand, a lifestyle post that is designed to generate virality and links to a particular product or service may only need 400 words to achieve its aim.

Google and the other big search engine operators don’t prefer short blogs. Nor do they rank longer blog posts more highly. What they like is concise blogs – regardless of length – which get to the point, make their statements clearly and don’t waste anyone’s time with excessively flowery language or, worse still, padding.

That being said, I will keep this blog short and sweet. Feel free to contact me if you’d like to discuss your blogging strategy and how to augment interest in your website, e-commerce platform or blog with high-quality web copy.