Search for the ideal blog post length and you’ll find confident numbers: 1,500 words, 2,000 words, “at least 2,450.” Those figures usually come from studies that correlate word count with rankings. The trouble is that correlation says little about cause. Long pages often rank well because they tend to be thorough, well-linked, and published by established sites, not because of their length.
Google has said publicly, more than once, that word count is not a ranking factor, so there is no single best word count for SEO. What it rewards is content that satisfies the searcher. So the useful question isn’t “how long should a blog post be?” in general, but “how long does this post need to be?”
Start with search intent
Every query implies a type of answer. Match your length to it.
- Quick answers (“how many ounces in a cup”) need a direct answer in the first sentence. A few hundred words of useful context is plenty. Padding these pushes the answer down and frustrates readers.
- How-to guides (“how to format a hanging indent”) need every step, plus the common mistakes. That’s often 800–1,500 words, but only because the steps take that long to explain well.
- Explainers and comparisons (“APA vs. MLA”) need enough depth to cover each option fairly, frequently 1,500–2,500 words.
- Definitive guides on broad topics are long form content: they can run 3,000 words or more, but they must be structured so readers can jump to the part they need.
Look at what already ranks
Search your target phrase and open the top five results. Don’t just note their length; note what they cover. If every result answers the same five sub-questions, readers expect those five answers. If you can add a sixth that the others miss, you have a reason to exist in that list.
Paste each competing article into a word counter to see its blog post word count and get a sense of the range. If the results span 900 to 1,400 words, a 4,000-word post isn’t automatically better. It may simply be harder to use.
Write for completeness, then cut
A practical process:
- Outline every question a reader has about the topic, in the order they’d ask them.
- Answer each one as directly as you can.
- Cut anything that doesn’t help: throat-clearing introductions, repeated points, and filler transitions.
The length that remains is the right length. Use the Edit Counter to see how much your cuts removed. It’s common for a tight edit to trim 15–25% without losing any substance.
Length and readability go together
A long post only works if people can get through it. Keep paragraphs short, use descriptive subheadings, and put the key takeaway near the top. Check your draft’s Flesch reading ease in the word counter. For general web audiences, a score of 60 or higher is a good target.
It also helps to know how long your post takes to read. At an average of 238 words per minute, a 1,500-word article is about a six-minute read. The Reading Time Calculator shows the estimate for your own speed and audience.
Don’t forget the parts search engines show
The title and meta description are often the first words a reader sees. Keep titles under about 60 characters and descriptions under about 160 so they aren’t cut off in results. The Character Counter shows how much room you have left for each.
So, how long should a blog post be?
When it comes to blog post length for SEO, write as much as the topic needs and not a word more. A focused 700-word answer that solves the reader’s problem will outperform a padded 2,500-word article, both with readers and, over time, in search.