--- title: How Long Should a Blog Post Be for SEO? | Blue Lake Web Design description: There is no magic word count for Search Engine Optimization. Learn what the research says, how to pick the right blog post length, and what to write first. url: https://bluelakewebdesign.com/blog-post-length-seo/ --- How Long Should a Blog Post Be for SEO? | Blue Lake Web Design - Call # How Long Should a Blog Post Be for SEO? There is no magic word count for Search Engine Optimization. Learn what the research says, how to pick the right blog post length, and what to write first. Eric Plotts / October 27, 2026 Want this handled for you? Custom sites starting at $899. Most go live in about two weeks. Get a free quote Or call (248) 800-1855 Most blog posts that do well in Google run between 1,200 and 2,500 words, but that range is a pattern, not a rule. Google does not reward a post for hitting a number. It rewards the page that answers the question best. So the right length for your post is however many words it takes to fully answer what your customer is asking, and not one word more. If you run a small business and you are about to write your first few posts, this guide gives you a practical way to decide. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which simply means making your pages easy for Google to find and understand. Below you will find what the experts say, a simple method for choosing a length, and how to make a post stronger without padding it. Bluelakewebdesign Build a Website That Supports SEO Blue Lake Web Design combines fast-loading website design with integrated SEO to help Michigan businesses improve online visibility. Visit Blue Lake Web Design ## TL;DR There is no official minimum or ideal word count for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Length follows the question you are answering. - Many guides land on roughly 1,500 to 2,500 words for a typical blog post, but that is an observed pattern, not a ranking rule. - A short, direct post can beat a long one if it answers the question better. - Look at the first page of Google results for your topic, then match the depth people expect and add something useful they lack. - Cut filler. Padding hurts readers, and readers are who Google is trying to please. ## What the popular advice says about blog post length Search for this topic and you will see the same range again and again. Semrush suggests 1,500 to 2,500 words for blog posts , though it adds that the right length depends on your goals, your audience and what people are searching for. SearchAtlas, in research updated in 2026, puts standard blog posts at 1,200 to 2,000 words and comprehensive guides at 2,500 to 5,000 or more . Those numbers are useful as a rough map. They tell you that a 400-word post is probably too thin for a big topic, and that a 2,000-word post is not unusual. They do not tell you that 2,000 words will help you show up in Google. Here is how the common figures line up: Type of page Typical length mentioned Where it comes from Quick answer, such as a definition or a single-step how-to 300 to 600 words SearchAtlas, 2026 Standard blog post 1,200 to 2,000 words SearchAtlas, 2026 Standard blog post 1,500 to 2,500 words Semrush Comprehensive guide 2,500 to 5,000 or more words SearchAtlas, 2026 Notice that every source attaches a condition. The numbers shift depending on what the reader needs. That is the real lesson hiding inside the range. ### The one number everyone agrees on There is a floor. Yoast recommends at least 300 words for a standard blog post to avoid what search people call thin content, meaning a page with too little on it to be useful. Yoast is clear that this is a quality floor and not a ranking guarantee. Ahrefs makes a similar point: most posts should be at least 300 words , and if you cannot get there, ask yourself whether you have much to say. So 300 words is a reasonable “don’t go below this” line for a real article. Past that, length is a decision you make post by post. ## Does a longer post rank higher? Not because it is longer. Search Engine Land states that longer content does not necessarily mean higher rankings and tells writers to focus on depth and direct answers. It also notes that Google’s systems look at originality and whether a page satisfies what the searcher wanted, and it warns against using fluff to pad a word count. Why, then, do so many top results look long? SearchAtlas explains that the link between long content and high rankings is a correlation, not proof of cause . Thorough pages tend to need more words, so you see long pages near the top. The depth is doing the work. The word count is just a side effect. Semrush puts it plainly: a 1,000-word page can outrank a 3,000-word article if it meets the searcher’s needs better. So if you wondered whether a 3,000-word post is too long, the answer is no, as long as every section earns its place. It is too long the moment a reader has to dig through filler to find what they came for. The same logic applies to the newer artificial intelligence (AI) answer boxes that now appear on some Google results. SearchAtlas says these tools also look at whether a page fully answers the question , not at whether it hit a target length. ## How to pick the right length for your post Here is a simple process you can follow without any special software. ### Step 1: Write down the question your customer is really asking A homeowner who types “how much does a new roof cost” wants a number and an explanation. A homeowner who types “roof replacement” may want a full overview. The first can be answered in 600 words. The second needs more room. Search Engine Land calls search intent, whether someone wants a quick definition or an exhaustive guide, the main driver of the right length . If you are not sure what your local customers type, our guide on finding the keywords your local customers search for walks through it in plain steps. ### Step 2: Read the first page of Google Type your topic into Google and open the top five to ten results. Semrush recommends studying five to ten first-page articles and noting their common patterns, including length, to understand what people expect. Its content brief guide also suggests comparing the word counts of the top ten results as a benchmark for the minimum depth a topic needs. You are not looking for a number to copy. You are looking for answers to these questions: - What do all of these pages cover that I must cover too? - What do they skip that my customers ask me about every week? - Are they long because the topic is complicated, or because they ramble? That comparison habit is a good one for any technical subject. As a related example, a piece on hiring an AI SEO agency shows how some topics are better served by brief answers, lists or question-and-answer sections than by one long essay. ### Step 3: List every question a customer has Search Engine Land describes good depth as answering all the questions a customer has during the buying or onboarding process. This is where small business owners have an edge over big websites. You hear the real questions every day: how much, how long, what happens next, what if something goes wrong. Put those in the outline. ### Step 4: Write until the questions are answered, then stop Do not set a word target before you write. Build the outline from the questions, write each answer clearly, and count the words afterward. If the post lands at 900 words, publish it. If it lands at 2,400, check each section for repetition and cut what repeats. ## A practical length guide for small business pages These are our own working ranges, based on what we see small business sites need. They are starting points, not promises of any result. What you are writing Starting range Why Answer to one specific customer question 400 to 800 words The reader wants the answer fast Explanation of how a service or process works 800 to 1,500 words Needs steps, costs and what to expect Guide to a big decision, such as how to choose a contractor 1,500 to 2,500 words Many questions, many comparisons Reference page you want people to bookmark 2,500 words or more Only if each section is truly useful A service page, like the page for your plumbing or dental practice, is a different job from a blog post. It needs to say clearly what you do, where you work and how to reach you. If that takes 500 clear words, that is enough. Padding a service page to look “bigger” only buries your phone number. ## How to make a post better without making it longer Sometimes the fix is fewer words, not more. Search Engine Land advises making content more direct when it is complicated or padded to reach a word count, answering customer questions and gaps in the search results, and using a format that fits, such as question-and-answer sections or bullet lists. Here is what that looks like in practice: - Answer first. Put the answer in the first paragraph, then explain. Readers who get what they need stay longer. - Use short paragraphs and clear headings. A reader scanning on a phone should be able to find their section in seconds. - Cut the warm-up. Delete any sentence that only announces what you are about to say. - Add a real example. One specific local example is worth more than three general sentences. - Link to your own related pages. Yoast notes that longer content creates more room for related keywords and internal links , but you can add helpful links to a short post too. Our on page SEO checklist lists the other basics to check before you publish. Yoast also warns that filler can hurt the reading experience, and that writing to hit a number can reduce clarity and trust . A customer who feels like you are stalling will click back to the search results. ### When length does help A longer post makes sense when the topic really has many parts. Think of a post comparing three ways to pay for a kitchen remodel, or a full guide to preparing a business for a website redesign. Our article on protecting your search visibility during a redesign is long because the job has many steps. A post on “what is a robots.txt file” would not need to be, although our robots.txt launch checklist goes deep because skipping a step there can accidentally hide a whole site from Google. If you want posts that stay useful for years, look at our evergreen content examples for small businesses . Evergreen posts are the ones where taking the time to be thorough pays off, because you write them once and keep them current. ## Our view: stop counting words and start counting questions We get asked about word counts a lot, usually by owners who have been told they need a 2,000-word post every week. We think that advice sends small businesses in the wrong direction. We have been building and writing for local business websites in Michigan since 2011, and the pattern we see is simple. The pages that serve customers best are the ones that sound like the owner talking across the counter. They state the price range, explain the steps, say what can go wrong and tell you what to do next. Some of those pages are 500 words. Some are 2,500. What we do not do is promise that a certain length will move you up Google. Nobody honestly can, and the sources above say the same thing. What we can describe is the work: find out what your customers ask, answer it plainly, make the page load fast, and make it easy to call or fill out a form. If you have time for one good post a month rather than four thin ones, take the one good post. One more thing we tell every client. Before you write a long post, ask whether you can say it in half the space. If you can, do that. — Eric ## Need help with your website or your writing? If writing posts is not how you want to spend your evenings, we can help. Blue Lake Web Design is owner operated by Eric Plotts in Novi, Michigan, and we serve Metro Detroit and Oakland County. A three page website is $899 and an eight page website is $1,999, and anything larger gets a fixed quote, so you know the cost before we start. You can see what is included on our website design pricing page , or look at our content creation and SEO writing service if you want help with the words. You can also call us at (248) 800-1855. ## Questions business owners ask about blog post length ### What is the best blog post length for SEO? There is no single best length. Many guides point to 1,500 to 2,500 words for a typical post, but they also say the right number depends on your topic and what searchers want. Match the length to the question, and check what the top results for your topic cover. ### Is a 3,000-word blog post too long? Not if every section helps the reader. A long post is a problem only when it repeats itself or buries the answer. Semrush notes that a 1,000-word page can outrank a 3,000-word one when it serves searchers better, so quality decides the outcome more than length does. ### Is there a minimum word count for a blog post? There is no official minimum from Google. Yoast and Ahrefs both suggest that 300 words is a sensible floor for a standard post, mainly so the page is not too thin to be useful. Treat it as a quality check, not a target. ### Should I make my older posts longer? Only if they leave customer questions unanswered. Read the post as a customer would and ask what is missing. Add those answers, remove anything out of date, and leave the rest alone. ### How many words should my service pages have? Enough to say what you do, where you do it, what it costs or how pricing works, and how to contact you. For many local businesses that is a few hundred clear words, plus a phone number and a simple form. Our guide to contact form basics covers what to put on the page so people can reach you. For more plain-language guides, browse our web design and SEO articles . ## Sources - Content length, depth and SEO: Everything you need to know, Search Engine Land - Word count and SEO: how long should an article or page be?, Yoast - How Long Should Blog Posts Be?, Ahrefs - How long should a blog post be?, Semrush - What is the best content length for SEO?, Semrush - SEO Content Brief Guide, Semrush - SEO Content Length: Optimizing Blog Posts for AI Overviews, SearchAtlas ## Recommended - On Page SEO Checklist: 13 Checks for Search, AI, and Core Web Vitals - Evergreen Content Examples for Small Businesses, From Guides to Tools - How to Find the Keywords Your Local Customers Search For Written by Eric Plotts Web designer and SEO consultant in Novi, Michigan. Building websites for small and mid sized businesses since 2011. More about Eric . Get started ## Want this handled for you? Call (248) 800-1855 for a free quote. 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