Long-Form Content: 6 Steps to Writing Amazing Long-Form Blog Content
You are writing a blog and you want to make sure your blog ranks on the first page of Google to help your product or service get found. If you hustle to write an amazing article but no one can ever find it, what’s the point?
In addition to choosing a topic to write on, you have one important question to answer:
How long should my blog post be?
Key findings of the benefits of long-form content
Long-form blog posts are more likely to rank in search results, be shared on social, earn backlinks, and increase your domain authority.
Why is long-form content better?
Here is the thing:
A small percentage of articles and blog posts, roughly 1.3%, receive 75% of all social shares.
94% of content on the internet has zero social shares or backlinks. source
The fact is, longer content gets 72% more links than short-form content making it ideal to get new backlinks. source
A HighRise optimization case study showed that long-form content also increased conversion rates by 37%. source
According to Crazy Egg, when they switched to using a long-form content marketing strategy, which was 20 times the length of the shorter content they were used to creating, their conversion rate jumped up to 30%. source
This means a few people are doing things that most people are not. Why? Because it’s harder. But the results are well worth the effort.
What is the difference between long-form and short-form content?
Okay, okay, so how long and short are we talking here? The results are a bit mixed, but if we average them out we have a good idea of what should be considered long-form content and short-form content.
How long is short-form content?
Quartz editor Kevin Delaney reported that 500-800 word articles are the most common. Therefore if you can cover a topic in under 500 words, especially for social media you should do it. source
How long is long-form?
The average word count for results on the first page of Google is 1,447. Meanwhile, another study found that the SERP position of results on the first page of Google only included content with more than 2,000 words. This led sites like Backlinko.com to suggest publishing content with at least 1,800 words. source
From the social sphere, Neil Patel conducted his own experiment by doing an audit of his 327 blog posts on Quick Sprout, a blog aimed to help digital marketers. Patel found that blog posts that were over 1,500 words were much more likely to be tweeted about and liked on Facebook. source
How long is too long?
A simple rule of thumb is that if you can cover a topic in under 500 words then you should either use it as a sub-topic of a longer form blog post or use it as a social post. There is not a limit to how long your content is, as long as it is adding value and staying on topic.
It is important to not “fluff” your content just for the sake of making it long. Readers can tell when you are doing a filibuster for the sake of word count.
How do you write long-form content?
In-depth, high-quality content has a few key traits that are worth breaking down. These include:
Compelling headlines.
Adding value right away.
Keeping people on the page.
Using relevant sources.
Compelling Visuals.
Proper formatting.
Improve RankBrain to get the most out of the Google Algorithm
According to Moz, RankBrain is part of Google’s core algorithm that uses machine learning to match content with search engine queries.
RankBrain is one of the three primary factors used in the Google Algorithm to help determine which content deserves to appear on the first page of Google. The primary way that RankBrain works is through measuring the click-through rate and the bounce rate, also known as dwell time.
Here are the steps to make your content more clickable and to keep people on it longer.
1. How do you write headlines for long-form content?
It’s important to remember that certain things work really well for social sharing, while certain things work really well for search findability and… certain things work well for both.
Use questions and lists in your headings and subheadings
People go to search engines to have their questions answered. Using the exact questions that people are asking in Google is a great way to make sure that your content is fully covering a topic and that it is actually helpful to the people you are writing for.
This also holds true with social. Headlines that end in a “?” get 23.3% more social shares than headlines that don’t end in a question mark.
A free way to find the questions people are asking in record time is through AnswerThePublic.com. Here you can type in a primary keyword like “long-form content” and AnswerThePublic will scrub search engines to pull all the questions people are asking.
A paid way to do this is through Clearscope. You can type in your primary keyword topic and it will create an outline with questions around your topic that you can use to drive your content. I love this tool because it also turns me on to questions and even citation sources that I would not have considered otherwise.
Cover your topic completely with lists
Lists are fantastic because they give us a relative idea of the length of the content, make us feel like we are getting a complete understanding of the topic, and drive the reader down the page.
Nobody wants only 5 out of the 7 tips that make their website convert better, especially if the first 5 tips were truly helpful.
List posts on social get 203% more shares than infographics and 218% more shares than how-to articles. source
In other words, explain how to do something on your long-form blog post, and give the summary list with a link to your blog post on social. This will improve the click-through rate of your content.
2.How to keep readers on your blog post
So someone clicked on your content. Awesome. Now you need to keep them there. How do you create content that your readers don’t want to leave?
Here is the thing:
The average time spent on a site for content on the first page of Google is 2.5 minutes.
Websites that have a longer “time on site” tend to rank higher in Google.
If you can increase time on site by as little as 3 seconds this can correlate to ranking a position higher in search results. source
By following a few simple practices you can create a wormhole of value that makes your readers lose track of all time and space.
3. Hook readers in and add value right away
Everything interesting has a problem. If you understand your readers’ top questions then you have already tapped into their tension.
What is the problem you are trying to solve?
How will it make their life better?
How can they be sure you know what you are talking about?
If you answer these questions you are guaranteed to create a compelling hook. Take this post:
How long should my blog post be? (Problem.)
Using long-form blog posts is more likely to get your website to rank on the first page of Google. (Solution.)
Other companies have done this to great success, increasing their conversion rate by also increasing their content length. (Authority and Proof.)
See what I mean?
4.Use the Hilltop algorithm with relevant sources
A hilltop hub is a post or article that links to quality and relevant content using outbound links. This shows people that you have done your homework and that the information is actually true.
How many sources do you need?
Most expert content marketers agree that you need at least 3 quality and relevant sources for every piece of content that you produce.
When looking for sources for your article you can do a quick Google search of the topic, use recommended sources from an outline like Clearscope, or research and reach out to top influencers in the field to contribute quotes and drop some knowledge.
I like to use SparkToro to look up subject matter experts for specific pieces of content. Here are the steps to make sure your outreach is well received:
Make sure your LinkedIn page is robust so that when an influencer looks you up they can tell you are legit.
Do a bit of digging to ensure that they are indeed experts and connected to your topic. It’s super frustrating to receive an invitation to contribute to something you have no experience or interest in.
Personalize your message and talk like a real human person.
Be short and brief.
Link to the content you would like a quote on, ask for a URL to the website they would like backlinks to, and ask for their preferred headshot to include.
Don’t ask them to share on social, but tell them that you will let them know when the post goes live in case they would like to share with their following.
5.Use compelling visuals to keep people scrolling.
A wall of text is intimidating and boring.
We crave color.
Use it.
Try to have an image at every scroll depth. Images help to explain information in a more complete or interesting way, summarize a topic or idea, and categorize concepts to make them more simple.
Just make sure that every image you use adds value. Also, remember that every image you create can and should be repurposed on social media. Opt-out of memes and stock imagery; instead use charts, diagrams, graphs, and infographics.
A plus to this is that your visuals may also make your content more shareable. Well-produced infographics become a great source for backlinks should someone want to share them. Use Canva or Visme to create beautiful and simple graphics even if you are not an expert designer.
Use video to reduce bounce rate on your blog posts
Embedding a video on your page will definitely help keep people on your content longer. All that time that someone spends watching a video on your post counts toward your readers’ dwell time. Plus, using video toward the top of your post can also reduce the bounce rate.
What kind of videos should I use on my blog posts?
Video of any kind are going to add value to your content. We all digest information differently and explaining concepts in written and video format only ensures that you increase the effectiveness of your communication.
In fact, people retain 95% of a message in video form compared to just 10% when reading from text. source
If you’re a B2B company you should know that 59% of executives say they would rather watch a video than read text. source
In social media, video wins every time too. In fact, social media posts get 48% more views when they are videos, and generate 1,200% more shares than text and image content combined. source
So we know video is helpful for both our blog and our social media, but what kind of video should we create? When creating video, there are two go-to types that will be extremely easy to adapt to your blog post. The first is long-form video.
What is long-form video?
Long-form video is typically described as any video lasting longer than 10 minutes. This is also the type of content that YouTube prefers in its algorithm. Why? Well, because it keeps people on their platform longer. source
When creating long-form video content for your blog, I am all about doing the easiest type of video possible. I imagine everything I am blogging about being used as a video too.
Use long-form articles as the script of your long-form video. That’s right, just read your blog post. You can film yourself on your phone, load up your blog on a teleprompter app, and read away. You already have a great script.
If you have a podcast or a past webinar this can also be a great thing to keep people on your page longer. Embed it just like you would a long-form video.
The goal is to increase people’s attention span, so as long as your content educates, entertains, or informs it has a home on your blog post.
When to use short-form video content
The second type of video you can create is short tutorials. Here you can take a section of your blog and create a specific video that you would like to explain in greater detail or in a more visual way.
Once you’ve created a long-form video, you can also chop it up and subtitle it to use on social.
Remember, most social platforms have some limit on the amount of time a video can be, so short-form video dominates this space.
Also, try to keep these short-form clips 1 minute or under to be seen in their entirety across every platform. Just be sure to add subtitles because you want your content to be accessible to hearing-impaired individuals, plus studies show 85% of people watch their social videos on mute. source
By now you might be catching on that if you do long-form content right, you have a ton of things that you can repurpose for other mediums. You have images, video, and even expert contributor quotes.
What is short-form content and when should I write it?
There are a few great places to use short-form content, or content under 500 words. The first is in the description box of your YouTube videos. YouTube videos also have the ability to rank on the first page of Google for search queries.
If your YouTube description is detailed and filled with SEO-optimized keywords, then you have a much bigger chance of ranking for your video and getting some organic evergreen traffic and subscribers.
The second place to write short-form content is in the description of your images for your social media posts. All social channels want the same thing. People’s attention.
Video is a compelling medium that helps people stay glued to your post and does the heavy lifting for people’s attention. Here, short snippets will do.
However, when you are posting an image from your blog, then having a short-form, value-adding explanation is a great way to help your content be viewed more favorably by the platform.
The best part is you can literally copy and paste the words from the section of the blog image that is featured. Think of it like a long-form post.
6.How to format your blog posts to make them more scannable
This part is simple.
Keep your paragraphs no longer than 3 lines. Make the enter button your friend. Remember, 3 lines on desktop is up to 6 lines on mobile.
Use bullets and numbered lists (like this one) to break up information.
Use bolded words to direct the reader's attention.
Following these 3 things will make your emails, your advertisements, and your long-form blog posts way easier and more fun to read.
Is it worth re-doing or repurposing old content to make it into long-form content?
Yes! One hundred times yes. Following the guidelines above is guaranteed to help your content perform better. Have a blog post that is slowly falling in ranking? Give it a makeover by adding some video and some images.
Have a post that is on the verge of ranking on the first page? Get some expert quote contributors and change up the formatting. Keep the URL slug the same but freshen up the content.
Upgrading your content is one of the most low-effort things you can do that can have a huge impact on your digital marketing and bottom-line metrics.
Reposting your blog on LinkedIn
Taking your long-form piece and reposting it on LinkedIn is another way to get the most mileage from your blog post. Think about your LinkedIn profile like a web page. You want it to be filled with valuable information that gives insight into who you are and what you know.
Having your long-form content directly on LinkedIn allows people to consume your post or whitepaper right where they are. No need to click on another site.
This also increases your credibility when you reach out to influencers. I have noticed that when I am doing outreach for an article my LinkedIn profile gets a ton of hits. Having quality content on your profile helps people know that you actually are currently producing quality content.
What are the best long-form content marketing articles for further reading?
I recommend the following terrific blog posts for more in-depth information on long-form content:
This content study and this article on search engine ranking by Backlinko.
The SEO And User Science Behind Long-Form Content by Search Engine Land.
How to Write a Blog Post: 22 Actionable Tips by Quick Sprout.
The WriterAccess and Orbit Media blog.
Hey, I'm Clint.
I love to create content that helps businesses and agencies get better results faster