Search engines, including Google and Bing, have repeatedly said that word count is not a ranking factor. What ranks is content that satisfies the query. In practice, though, thorough answers to competitive questions tend to be long — and quick answers to simple questions tend to be short.
Try it: Word counter — free and private, right in your browser.
Word counts by post type
| Post type | Typical length | Reading time |
|---|---|---|
| News update / announcement | 300–600 | 1–3 min |
| Quick answer / definition | 600–1,000 | 3–4 min |
| Standard blog post / opinion | 1,000–1,500 | 4–6 min |
| How-to guide / tutorial | 1,500–2,500 | 6–10 min |
| Listicle | 1,500–3,000 | 6–13 min |
| Pillar page / ultimate guide | 3,000–6,000 | 13–25 min |
| Product review / comparison | 1,500–3,000 | 6–13 min |
Reading times assume 238 words per minute. Estimate yours with the reading time calculator.
Does length matter for SEO?
Length is a side effect, not a goal. A better process:
- Search your target query and read the top five results. Note what they cover and roughly how long they are.
- List the questions a reader would still have after reading them. Answering those is how you add value — not padding.
- Answer the main question early. Put a clear, direct answer in the first 100 words; both search snippets and AI answer engines tend to quote it.
- Cut ruthlessly. If a paragraph doesn't help the reader, remove it — even if the post gets shorter.
Thin pages (a few hundred words with nothing unique) and bloated pages (3,000 words to answer a yes/no question) both underperform.
Titles and meta descriptions
| Element | Recommended length |
|---|---|
| Title tag | 50–60 characters (≈ 600 px) |
| Meta description | 120–155 characters |
| URL slug | 3–5 words, kebab-case |
| H1 headline | Under ~70 characters |
Check titles and descriptions with the character counter, and turn a headline into a clean slug with the case converter (kebab-case).
Make long posts readable
- Keep paragraphs to 2–4 sentences (40–80 words) — check them with the paragraph counter.
- Aim for an average sentence length of 15–20 words — the sentence counter flags long ones.
- Use a descriptive subheading every 200–300 words so skimmers can find their section.
- Add a table of contents to anything over 2,000 words.
- Show reading time near the title so readers know what they're committing to.