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What do Ya Know? (About a Blog’s Word Count)

On Fridays, for a few weeks, I’m asking for tips and advice about some different things. I expect some of you will have similar questions, and others of you will have the answers. We’re perfect for each other!

What do ya know?

Today I’m wondering about the perfect word count for a blog. I seem to have better readership if I keep my posts short. But I’ve read that search engines prefer them longer. What has been your experience?

About a Blog’s Word Count

Here are some specific questions:

  1. If I have a long story to tell, would it be best to keep it together for cohesion, or break it up over several posts?
  2. Why do you hold the opinion you do? (Science or preference? I’m interested in both!)
  3. Have you found a “sweet spot” word count range which works for both your readers and the search engines?

Are these the right questions to be asking? If you think an answer to a different question would inform me better, please jump in!

As you might suspect, I have a lengthy (but oh-so-worthwhile!) story to tell. Well, to be more accurate, a friend of mine has such a story, and has asked my assistance with posting it. I will share it with you all in the near future. We whole-heartedly thank you in advance for spreading your expertise.

So, what do ya know? If you’re someone in the know about a blog’s ideal word count, please light up the comments. This is your chance to shine. I’m waiting at the edge of my seat and I’m sure I’m not the only one!

59 replies on “What do Ya Know? (About a Blog’s Word Count)”

I tell the story ’til it is over. I don’t worry about word counts, etc., though my posts seem to be shorter than some I’ve read. I prefer medium length posts. I detest when the story doesn’t seem quite finished, but ends, never to be continued. 😡. I think the length of your posts is good. I would prefer to read shorter posts, as who has time for rambling?!!! Does that make sense? I’m kind of all over the place today. Going to pick up the newer car!!!! (Thinking Josiah for a name. Thoughts?) Not sure how I’m going to pay my bills (since things are super tight,) but counting on God to provide as He says He will.

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Yay! I’ve been praying for that new car! And I really love the name Josiah. I wanted to name a son that, but it wasn’t to be. And if God has provided this car, it is further evidence that He is taking care of you. There is nothing like tight finances to make one continue to rely closely on Him. I try to remember that when I wish I had, or think I need, more money. And thank you for your input on the word counts. If there is a long story, do you prefer it is broken up into chapters and posted on different days or would you rather read the whole thing at once?

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I will occasionally read a long post if it really grabs my attention. But I personally like shorter ones. If the story is long I prefer it to be broken up in shorter posts for a series. However each serial should make a complete short story, I don’t like a post that leaves in the middle..

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Thank you, Sheryl! So if I understand you correctly, you’d rather a long story be posted all together, if it is all one tale and not a series of short stories. Is that right?

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Not necessarily, If you can have a break point where it doesn’t leave you hanging. For instance, I don’t know if you ever listened to Paul Harvey’s the Rest of the story series. If it is really long, you could tell the first part of the story, cut it off and say to be conntinued and then the next post tell “the rest of the story.” It just depends on how long the post is. Sometimes I just don’t have time to read a 10-20 minute post.

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Yes, the time is always the concern for me. I wonder if my readers are looking at my blog while they’re waiting in line (or something similar) or if they’ve sat down with a cup of tea and have more time. The struggle is real! Haha! And I don’t want to push past easy engagement. Personally, unless I’m well engaged, I sort of check out mentally after 1000 words or so.

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I like to read all about it, but don’t generally have a lot of time, so I guess broken up? I don’t know. Totally indecisive today. Oh, and there was a donkey connection, in case you were wondering! I can’t reveal what it was, or I would be giving away something that should stay private, but yeah.

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I think word count for me personally depends on two things: 1) What message has Jesus laid on my heart and what’s His opinion; and 2) Who then is my target audience? The brand department of the big tech company I work for notes (for learning purposes) if you’re targeting millennials, for example, the shorter the better. The older the audience, the longer you can presumably hope to keep their attention. I’ve also heard that possibly the most important sentence is your very first sentence, because people will decide from that if and how they want to read the remainder of the post. I’m not always good at those things, but hope that helps 😄

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Thank you! This is very helpful. I am with you! At one point I quit trying to please the search engines to just focus on Gods request of me. I wrote a post about SEO standing for Someone Else’s Obsession. :). Then I was asked to help a friend get their incredible story online. This author feels convicted to get as many people to read it as possible. God is telling him to take advantage of SEO, to a degree. He isn’t going to change his story or it’s message, but since I am on his team for this assignment, I want to better understand how to support his mission.
Also, I want to know how my readers connect with the material they read. I think this is all fascinating! So interesting about millennials having shorter attention spans. And I’m not good at the first sentence either. I tend to want to greet my readers before I bring up my topic.

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SEO = Someone else’s obsession, I love that 🤣👏❣️ Brilliant! So sweet that you are helping this young man!
I too go back and forth between just putting a message out and leaving the results to God alone and wondering how to increase my reader base/how they connect, so your series has been an interesting one. Thank you 🙏

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Usually a story in full because just about every other day I go off social media and just play. It’s totally irresponsible. I miss a lot of posts but I never regret uninterrupted time with my grandkids, husband too, and honestly anyone I happened to be with. I spend a lot of time trying to catch up but I never do. Hugs, C

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Mama Lava, I cannot speak for science based word counts. My preference and opinion follow.

For longer pieces on my own blog I turn them into a series. I make certain each part makes sense even if a person jumps in midway. I always link back to the starting post of the series giving the reader the option to go back and read from the beginning or catch up on missed posts.

Somewhere I was taught that to keep readers engaged online, break up long text with brief quotations, pull quotes, subheadings, small images, or bolding the first few words of a paragraph. Being cautious not to overuse these elements. (Don’t make the reader scroll through 20 photos to read the next sentence.) Keep the reader moving rather than feeling overwhelmed by too much text or lost by too many photos that don’t support the writing.

Unfortunately, a some bloggers have lost me as a reader when there are no breaks or helps to keep me moving through their story. My brain feels overwhelmed if there’s nothing other than paragraph spacing breaking up long text. It feels like scroll, scroll, scroll till the day is done. Without the “helpers” if a person gets distracted it’s not easy to relocate your spot in a long article.

I do read a few blogs that are longer word counts. Because of the author’s implementation of good helpers they don’t feel long.

In principle, there are general tips about “good writing” that apply to blogs too. To engage readers, create a catchy title, use a first sentence that makes a reader want to know more, break long text into bite sized word count with paragraph breaks, and edit for conciseness. Imagine how few books would be read if there were no chapter breaks just one loooong story from front cover to back.

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Thank you! I agree with everything you have said. It is great food for thought. Have you noticed any difference in readership on your own blogs when they are long vs. when they are short? Or when they are a series vs. when they are one post?

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My posts have gotten shorter through the years. I think my experience in journalism and PR keeps my writing short. I had to get to the point or my story would be chopped off in newspapers. I just checked my insights and my posts went from an average of more than 600 words to 350. I do like to read posts of any length if they are compelling. Look at Cheryl’s posts which are way longer than mine, but her writing is so beautiful, I can’t stop reading.

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I agree about Cheryl’s posts. But lets be honest, we aren’t all Cheryl 😂 Have you noticed a change in readership with the change in your post length? Do you know of any correlation between word count and SEO?

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So true. There’s only one Cheryl. Yes, I’ve noticed more readers and comments with shorter posts. Also, I went from five days a week to three recently and there’s more engagement. People are probably thinking, “whew what a relief!” 😉 I don’t know much about SEO.

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Haha – I actually miss your daily posts. But I know what you mean. I’m finding that not many people who engage on the Back Porch care much about SEO. That is nice – it means we all let each other just be ourselves. ❤

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I think it comes down to the writing and how the writer goes about the subject. I will read a thick novel if it’s interesting and keeps my interest. In the same vein, I may start to skim or even give up reading a short blog altogether if the text is boring and dense, runs-on, or doesn’t think of the reader. Yes, I think word count matters, but most times we’re willing to give our time to a blog if the writer keeps us interested and thinking. You bring up great questions. Thanks so much!

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Thank you. I feel like you’re right on the money with your instincts here. Sometimes we connect with an author, or their written material, and it doesn’t matter what they write, we will read and support them. And sometimes the opposite is true. But mostly, the way a post is written will determine how easily we engage and whether we stay that way until the end. I appreciate the insight from a successful and well-loved blogger like yourself. Blessings, Brian!

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I haven’t played a lot with WordPress themes, but I think design helps too. Some designs can space out text better and scrunch it in other areas. One of the key things you’ve hit on too is care for the reader. I think you’re writing, I think good writing, does that. As far as successful goes, I’m not sure about that. If I was, I would figure out how to do this blogging thing full-time. Now that would be fun!!! Thanks Mamalava for the great post.

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That would be the dream – if you ever figure out how to be a full-time blogger (and still be able to eat) please let me know! And that is a good tip about WordPress themes. I am afraid to play around with them for fear I’ll mess everything up! Ho hum… so much to learn so little courage! 😀

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No, I get it. I start to play with the themes and then always stop. I have found that you can go back, but it is kind of scary to see your site change just like that. Yikes. I know there are a lot of other folks, better versed on the themes more than me. Might be a good future Friday question for you. Hang in there. All fun. 🙂 🙂 🙂

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I try to keep my blogs’ length in terms of time-to-read. It takes me about ten minutes to read a 2000 word essay (from days of grading), but that is to thoughtfully evaluate it.
Unless it is of particular interest to a reader, most will not spend that much time at a blog, so I try to keep mine between 800 to 1500 words, or three to seven minutes.
❤️&🙏, c.a.

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This is a loaded question and has changed over the years. Most recently, “experts” say longer. I’ve always written what I felt God gives me to write and try to keep it under 1000 words. 600-800 seems to be the “sweet spot” for me. I prefer reading shorter (in that range) posts as I can get through them quickly and the content doesn’t overwhelm. I follow a couple of writers who give so much content, I rarely read at all or only read in part; however, that’s also due to the way they pack all the words and info together. When I first started blogging, the “experts” said to block out your paragraphs in smaller bits with plenty of white space (also for books). I still adhere to that and prefer to read those who post that way. If a post is long, I am hooked on reading series (like the ones you’ve done over the past few months.) I also love pictures in blogs and tend to read those more readily. I also add at least one picture, but a recent marketing webinar I watched showed statistics that videos gain the most attention, then text, then linked content, and finally photos. I do try to link content to my posts, and sometimes videos. Just my opinions and experience. But I don’t have thousands of followers so… ? Hope that offers something helpful. I love your posts because the content and heart speak!

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Thank you so much for this thoughtful reply. I think I enjoy the same types of blog you do. And if my unofficial experiments tell me anything, I think we’re in good company. That is interesting about the photos though… I would have thought they be more “attention grabbing” than last place. But videos being first doesn’t surprise me. Thanks for being a faithful reader and friend, Laura. I appreciate you!

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Wow, I love this discussion. It’s something I’ve been pondering on as I feel like a newbie. Figuring out what other people like without having them put it into black and white is not my strong point. Another thought that kept coming back was “blogs between 400 to 600 words are easier to read en route while longer ones require an easy chair. It all depends on the moment!” Blessings to each writer!

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Good point, Lois! I think what I’ve learned most from this discussion is that, while we all want to reach everyone, we have to accept that different audiences have different preferences and we probably need to choose one to cater to. Would you agree?

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Yes, and no. I think it’s important to give it all you’ve got whether long or short. Just maybe there’s someone out there that God will use your writing to move them to love and good works. If we hinder the Holy Ghost to fit a certain genre perhaps we are depriving ourselves of a blessing. That’s a whole new can of philosophy though.

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For what it’s worth, here’s what I think: The first thing I look at before I read a blog post is how long it is. If it’s too long, I pass it by. But there is an exception. If it is written by someone I know is a good writer, it doesn’t matter how long it is. I will read it.
In my experience, too many posts ramble on and on. The writer doesn’t know how to be concise. I don’t have time for that. I want to say: Get to the point! Or is there a point?
(I’m being blunt, I know.)
I must say, though, I love your blog, so I don’t check to see how long it is! I just read and enjoy!
By the way, I really like your “What do ya think?” series. And I noticed you are getting a lot of feed back! Blessings, ML!

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Thank you for your blunt feedback, Cindy. And also for your kind words. I love your blog too. ❤ In your estimation, when looking at a blog and deciding whether to read, how long is too long?

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Great feedback, Cindy. Thank you! I’ve read that Google sends more people to your site if your posts are over 1000 words. And I want to share the love and encouragement of the gospel with everybody… but the people who actually do the reading seem to say differently than the stats. Who cares if Google send readers if they take one look and move on? 😀 This has been such an advantageous conversation!

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I have to agree with you. The last thing we want, as writers, is to take the time to write something we feel is important, only to have people start skimming and scrolling away. Thank you for your input! Have a blessed day!

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