Beware the Long-Form Blog

Date Published: 2019-11-21 Thursday

There I have said it. And yes, I am aware that all the research shows that the long-form blog is the best format of blog and that it is the most shared form as well.

For those who don't know, a long-form blog is a blog that contains between 1 200 and 2 000 words and can contain up to 10 000 words. These types of blogs regularly perform better in Search Engine Rankings. This is because Google's algorithm sees them as having better quality content.

A long-form blog can also show that your business or blog is the authority on a certain topic. This can grow your brand's reputation.

The problem is, your content may not be engaging enough to capture your readers attention for that period of time. I know a lot of people who will open a long-format blog and only read the 1st paragraph. This is either due to the fact that the information that they need is provided already in the 1st paragraph or the content is just boring.

If a long-form blog is going to have this reaction from your readers then it's important to remember not to write one just because of Google or any other statistic. Your content as a business owner is to help solve a problem for your readers.

However, if you do choose to write a long-form blog, here are some tips to help you not lose any readers:

1. Provide the number of words upfront.
2. If you can run the article through a tool that will provide an estimated reading time and provide that.
3. Do not answer the reader's problem in the 1st paragraph. Use this paragraph to catch the readers' attention instead.
4. Don't allow your scroll bar to include any adverts at the bottom of the page.

Remember Grey Squirrel Content is equipped to help you write blogs and content in any format. Contact us today for more information.