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How long should a blog post be?
As long as it takes to answer the reader’s question well, and no longer. A focused how-to post often runs 1,000 to 2,000 words (4 to 8.5 minutes of reading); news and updates can be 300.
Work it out
pages, single-spaced, Arial 12 pt, about 500 words a page
- Handwritten pages
- 6
- Reading time
- 6 min 18 sec
- Speaking time
- 10 min–12 min
- Typing time
- 38 min
- Paragraphs
- 8–15
- Sentences
- 75–100
- Characters with spaces
- about 9,000
Write it in the word counter with a goal of at least 1,500 words.
Open the word counterBlog post in pages and minutes
| Length | Single-spaced | Double-spaced | Reading time | Speaking time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 words | 2 | 4 | 4 min 12 sec | 6 min 40 sec–7 min 42 sec |
| 2,000 words | 4 | 8 | 8 min 24 sec | 13 min–15 min |
Estimates for US Letter or A4 with 1-inch (2.54 cm) margins and ordinary paragraphs; reading at 238 words a minute, speaking at 130 to 150.
Length follows the question
Search engines do not reward word count for its own sake; Google has said there is no preferred length. What ranks and gets shared is the post that answers the question most completely and clearly. That is why tutorials and comparisons tend to be long, and why padding a short answer to 2,000 words makes it worse.
Rough guide by type
| Kind of post | Typical length |
|---|---|
| News, announcement, update | 300–600 words |
| Opinion or reflection | 700–1,200 words |
| How-to or tutorial | 1,000–2,000 words |
| Comprehensive guide | 2,500 words and more |
Long posts need help to read: a summary up top, headings every few hundred words, short paragraphs and lists. Check readability in the word counter.
Questions and answers
Is 500 words enough for a blog post?
For an update or a quick tip, yes. For a how-to that people search for, it is often too thin.
How long does a 1,500-word post take to read?
About six and a half minutes at 238 words a minute. Many blogs show an estimate like this at the top.
Do longer posts rank better?
Not because of length. Longer posts often cover a topic more completely, which is what helps.