Why don’t people write short posts? Google has changed all the rules so it is time for you to change. The number of words no longer count
A brief history of writing posts to suit google
Back in the early days, the SEO experts like Yoast and AIO thought that 300 words were enough to satisfy readers’ demand.
And that may still be the case if the answer is simple.
Gradually we were encouraged to write much longer posts and in fact, 3000 words were the favourite blog length.
However, readers became attention deficit and it was decided that an Average of 1400 words was the prime number.
The recent Google upgrade took yet another position that turned the world on its head.
The current rule is a 5-minute read. Not words, but the time that the average reader will hang around.
Why has a blog length changed?
Google has now changed its whole attitude to Keyword searches and all but dropped its importance. They now want to satisfy user intent.
That is, what does the reader really want and how can we give it to them?
Is it a request for directions?
Do I want to buy something?
Is it to make an appointment, a booking or find a location
Or answering a general question ( affiliate sites)
The type of request will dictate the length of a blog.
It should be noted at this point that Bing and Yahoo still live in the world of exact-match Keywords so you need to answer to two masters for maximum effect.
What do you want your blog to do?
This is the starting point and in fact where your answer lies for the reader.
The question: How far from Joeville to HenyHill? Answer 5 miles or about 8 km
- Why does..
Can I..
Should I
Is it ok style questions to broaden the subject and allow for a longer post?
The reasons why short posts went out of style
Short posts were considered taboo for the last few years when the average length recommended was 1400 words. This suited Google and Bing and was supposed to keep the readers on the page for longer. Because we used exact match Keywords the fight for first-page position was based on your ability to conform to the rules.
We were encouraged to write longer posts and insert more keywords in subheadings to draw in readers. Short posts were considered a NO-No.
Why short posts are now in fashion
The reason for shorter posts is the change by Google to a time-based readership. They recommend five minutes as the premium time which is just under a thousand words. Some high achievers are having great success with 500-600 word blogs and forgetting SEO altogether.
Certainly, you can produce the same readership results by trimming the waffle in your posts and sticking to an answer-based solution
Readers want answers in a concise and understandable manner and the better you provide that the greater your results will be.
We wrote long posts because they ranked higher
One sure thing about the internet is that change is consistent and is always trying to make the user experience a lot better.
We try things because the rules are made to follow and we are generally afraid to break out of the mould.
Sometimes a bit of adventure may achieve better results than following blindly along a trodden path.
It is also a matter of keeping up with the rule makers and the supreme being is Google. So when Google calls Jump it is what you must do.
However many will blindly follow the old path because they are unaware of the change.
That is why I am a member of Wealthy Affiliate because all new rules are given in training or forum posts
It is time to change and ensure you stay ahead of the game.
Conclusion
When I started writing blogs it was hard to fill in three hundred words. Now it is hard to backpedal from 1500 down to less than a1000 in an article.
A benefit is that you can write more blogs at the same time and still get page positions.
Change is trying to make the web search a better place to be.