If you think keeping your content short and sweet is the recipe for success, think again.
Long-form content is the Internet's gold standard. It's the best way to rank well on Google, increase your online visibility, and grow your audience.
No matter the type of content you're creating, if there’s not enough meat and potatoes to satisfy your audience, no one is going to want to stick around for dessert.
So, what’s good about long-form content?
Read on to discover what could be your new secret weapon.
What Long-Form Content Is (and Isn’t)
To break it down, long-form content is content that's comprehensive and in-depth. It provides a deep dive into the subject matter, providing a full reading experience that leaves your audience feeling satisfied.
The Best Long-Form Content:
- Is easy to scan
- Uses plenty of headings
- "Chunks" content by using images, infographics, and other visual information
- Uses bullet-point lists that are informative and easily digestible
- Has no spelling or grammatical errors
- Is 2000+ words
What to Avoid:
Now that we’ve given you some tips on what long-form content is, it’s important to point out where it would be easy to go wrong.
Avoid the following:
- Content between 500 and 800 words is where information perishes forever. Keep content short, or flesh it out with factual information. But either way, stay away from the middle ground.
- Avoid useless or weak information that only exists to increase your word count. A plump article stuffed with fluff is a waste of everyone’s time. Don’t do this.
- Don’t bury the good information deep in your content. Give readers an executive summary upfront (see our first bullet list in this article), so they know what to expect and can skip to the answer to their question if they’re short on time.
Benefits of Long-Form Content
Now that you’re aware of the dos and don’ts, let’s take a deeper look at the benefits of long-form content:
- It’s a great way to build trust and authority
- Social media analytics have proven that platform users love to share long-form content
- You can tinker with on-page SEO to see what Google’s algorithms prefer more
- Long-form content invites a larger supply of backlinks
- Informative articles that are on the longer side can boost conversion rates if you can answer your audience's questions
Conclusion: Should All Content be Published in Long-Form?
You might be asking yourself, should all content be extended to its longest form?
No way!
Not every topic needs to be addressed with a lengthy article. Some information can be conveyed with concise reports that hover well below the 500-word zone.
With that said, if your current articles are barely gaining any traction, and you haven’t yet explored the benefits of writing delightful and information-rich text for the people who love to read, the evidence shows there is no better time to start than now.
Did these tips help you re-think your content strategy? Let us know what’s working for you by dropping a line or two in the comments below.
