In this big world of content management, social media and blogging, it is easy to get lost in all the details that are available. The beauty of the web is that it is never constant and is an ever changing environment. That means if you are a business or entrepreneur you need to be sure that you have flowing and updated information on your own website. This ensures optimal Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ranking on such sites as Goggle, Bing and Yahoo. One way to ensure that you have fresh content on your websites is to be consistent in blog writing.
What is a blog, you might ask, well a blog is essentially a journal or diary that is on your website. It is a place you share information pertaining to you and/or your business. A blog can provide up-to-date news, technical information, political topics, business support, health, wellness, sports and other topics that burn passion in your heart. One of the most common question asked by businesses and new writers wanting to join the online social blogging community is, “How long should a blog be?”
Many professional bloggers have a different answer for this. The best way to put it is that there is no right or wrong answer! Some may say a blog should be 250-500 words while others say 500-750 words and there are even those who swear by 700-1,000 words! Then you have those that will not give a number and just say however short or long you need the blog to be in order to get your message across!
It’s actually quite natural to have blogs with different lengths. A blog post should be as long as you need it to be to make your point across to your reader. You want to keep your audience engaged. Your topic will determine the length of your blog. If you are blogging about where the best place is to buy eggs vs. who should one vote for, the length can vary greatly! You will also want to reflect on your blog once finished. Is it too wordy or is it too concise? If you don’t feel good about it you should change it!
You would not want to write 750 words on where to buy eggs. This will bore your reader and you will lose their interest! However, if you want to write that much when it comes to the heart of politics, especially if it is something you are passionate about, go for it! If you feel that a blog is getting too long and is becoming a book I strongly suggest breaking it down and creating a series of blogs. This will help with your SEO and will keep readers coming back for more.
There are advantages in both short and long blogs. Short blogs take a shorter amount of time to write so if you want to write everyday then a shorter blog would be the way to go. If you expect 800 words or more every day, you may lose interest in blogging soon after starting. However, as easy as short blogs are they will not implement On-Page SEO techniques, which are ultimately, what attracts attention to your page. While lengthier blogs do take longer to write, readers who appreciate the content will value the information and will draw attention to your site. Readers also enjoy images within blogs which allows them to connect more with the topic being blogged about.
Many bloggers like to change it up and have a short blog and later that week they may have a longer blog. I personally think a variety of blogging is good. You don’t want to be predictable. Readers often enjoy reading short blogs more often because their attention span does not stay on the subject, therefore when writing both short and long, you give the reader reason to check back frequently and even subscribe to your blogs. Keep your readers coming back for the variety you may offer them. As long as your keyword density is intact and you are getting your point across you should be set.
The more the blog is to the point, the easier it is for the reader to extract the information you are relaying. Readers tend to scan not read long blogs, keep the content compelling and strong. The first paragraph of any blog should grab the readers’ attention so they want to keep going. You could create a series of blogs to make your blog grow quicker. By doing this your readers will be looking forward to reading about what you have to say next. Don’t be afraid to use the thesaurus to find new vocabulary and be ready for the replies you may receive. Keep your own interests in mind; do you like long or shorter blogs? Remember to keep an optimistic mind and you will be a successful blogger! Most of all…Happy Blogging!!!!