Google has no preferred word count. Make a post as long as its query needs: check what ranks, match that depth, and answer in the first two sentences.
LLaunchScaler·Published ·7 min read
A blog post should be as long as its query needs to be answered completely, and no longer; Google says outright that it has no preferred word count. Backlinko's analysis of 11.8 million search results found the average page-one result runs 1,447 words, but no direct link between word count and rank, so use the top results for your own query as the guide and match their depth, not their length.
That turns "how long" into a method you can repeat for every post. This guide shows the method, the typical depth for each kind of post, and how to put the answer where snippets and AI answers can use it.
Does word count affect SEO?
Word count does not affect SEO directly. Google's guidance on helpful content lists, among its warning signs of search-engine-first content: "Are you writing to a particular word count because you've heard or read that Google has a preferred word count?" Its answer, in the same line: "(No, we don't.)"
What Google's guidance does ask is whether the content gives "a substantial, complete, or comprehensive description of the topic," and whether a reader leaves "feeling like they need to search again to get better information from other sources." Both questions are about coverage. A 600-word post that fully answers a narrow question passes them; a 3,000-word post that circles the answer does not.
Google repeats the point in its guidance on reviews: "focus on the quality and originality of your reviews, not the length." The same logic applies to any post.
What is the average length of a page-one Google result?
Backlinko's study of 11.8 million Google search results found that "the average Google first page result contains 1,447 words." The same study found word count "evenly distributed among the top 10 results" and "no direct relationship between word count and rankings." Pages with more words had the same chance of ranking highly on page one as pages with fewer.
Read that number carefully. It is an average across millions of different queries, from recipes to software comparisons, so it tells you what page-one results tend to look like, not what your post needs. It is also a correlation study; Backlinko's own reading is that long content may help a page reach page one without helping it climb once there. The page was last updated in April 2025, so treat it as a rough description of results, not a target.
The useful takeaway is narrower: across a huge sample, pages that rank are usually substantial. That supports writing complete answers. It does not support padding a short answer to reach 1,447 words.
Questions, answered
What people ask about this
01
How long should a blog post be for SEO?
As long as the query needs and no longer. Google says it has no preferred word count, so check the pages that already rank for your query, cover what they cover plus what they miss, and cut anything that does not help the reader.
Find the right length by studying what already ranks for your exact query. List what the top results cover, cover all of it plus what they miss, and write each part as briefly as it can be written. The length comes out of that; you never set it in advance.
Search your exact query in a private window and open the top five organic results.
For each one, write down the subtopics it covers as headings: definitions, steps, comparisons, examples, caveats.
Mark the subtopics that appear in three or more of the five. Those are what searchers expect.
Note what none of them cover well: a missing step, an outdated setting, your own data. That is your reason to exist.
Check the People Also Ask box for the same query and add the questions that fit.
Outline your post with one H2 per question, write each section to answer it fully, then cut anything a reader would skip.
Compare your finished draft to the top results on coverage, not word count. If it answers everything they do, plus something more, it is long enough.
If the top results are all long guides and your query is narrow, that can be an opening: a shorter page that answers the exact question first can serve searchers better. If they are short and your draft is long, check whether you have drifted into a different query. The SEO blog post template gives a structure that keeps each section tied to one question.
How long should each type of blog post be?
Different kinds of posts need different depths, because the questions behind them need different amounts of explanation. A troubleshooting fix can be complete in a few hundred words; a comparison of several products usually cannot. The ranges below are working ranges from applying the method above, not thresholds from Google.
Post type
What it must include
Working range
Troubleshooting fix ("error X after Y")
The cause, the exact fix, how to confirm it worked
400 to 900 words
Definition ("what is X")
A one-sentence definition, an example, when it matters
600 to 1,200 words
How-to guide
Every step in order, settings, screenshots, what can go wrong
1,000 to 2,000 words
Comparison ("X vs Y", "best X")
Criteria, each option on each criterion, a verdict per use case
1,500 to 3,000 words
Hub page for a topic
A short answer to the broad question, then a section per subtopic linking to each spoke
1,500 to 2,600 words
Comparisons run longer because the reader needs every option described on the same criteria, usually with a table, before they can choose. A troubleshooting reader wants the fix and nothing else; burying it under background is a worse page, whatever its length.
Why should the answer come in the first two sentences?
Put the direct answer in the first two sentences because that is what a searcher needs first, and it is the passage most likely to be quoted. Google says snippets are "primarily created from the page content itself" and are "designed to emphasize and preview the page content that best relates to a user's specific search." A clear answer near the top gives it that passage.
The same applies to AI answers. Google's guidance for AI Overviews and AI Mode says there are no special requirements: a page must be indexed and eligible to be shown with a snippet. You cannot mark a passage for a featured snippet either; Google says its systems "determine whether a page would make a good featured snippet" for a search and, if so, show it. What you control is whether a clean, self-contained answer exists on the page.
Two habits make that answer quotable:
Write the first sentence so it answers the question on its own, without "this" or "it" pointing back to the title.
Under each H2, open with 40 to 60 words that answer that heading's question completely, then give the detail.
How do you cut padding without making a post thin?
Cut sentences that repeat the question, restate the previous section, or add background the reader did not ask for, and keep every step, number, example and caveat. Padding and depth are easy to tell apart: padding can be deleted without the reader losing anything they need to act.
Common padding to remove:
An introduction that explains why the topic matters before answering it.
A recap at the end that repeats each section.
Definitions of terms the reader typed into the search box.
Transitional paragraphs between sections.
Lists of tips too general to act on.
Thin is the opposite problem: a page missing what the query needs, whatever its length. If a post is stuck under "Crawled - currently not indexed" or earns impressions but no clicks, compare it again with what ranks. The guide to thin content and word count covers how to tell a short page from a thin one.
Should you make old posts longer to rank better?
Make an old post longer only if it is missing something its query needs. Adding words to an existing page does nothing by itself, and Google's helpful content guidance warns against the related habit of freshening pages for show: it asks whether you are "changing the date of pages to make them seem fresh when the content has not substantially changed."
Before you expand a post, open Search Console's Performance report, filter to that page, and read the Queries tab. If the page earns impressions for questions it never answers, add a section for each one. If it ranks for its main query but sits on page two, compare it with the pages above it on coverage and fix the gaps. If neither is true, the length is not the problem; the title, the intent match or the internal links around it are the better places to look.
Get drafts at the depth each query needs
Working out the right depth for every post is the slow part of a content plan. LaunchScaler's content engine plans a month of articles from your own Search Console queries, the searches you already rank for just off page one, and writes one a day for the searches your site can win, from your product and in the way your existing pages read. By default, every draft waits in your workspace for you to edit, trim or scrap before it publishes. Finished drafts go to WordPress, Webflow, Ghost, Shopify, Notion, Medium or a signed webhook. It is $99/mo per website with 3 days free. Start the engine and edit for depth, not word count.
No. Google's helpful content guidance asks whether you are writing to a particular word count because you heard Google prefers one, and answers: 'No, we don't.' Backlinko's study of 11.8 million results also found no direct relationship between word count and rankings.
03
What is the average word count of a page-one Google result?
Backlinko's analysis of 11.8 million Google search results put the average first-page result at 1,447 words. It found word count evenly distributed across the top 10, so the average describes the pages, not what makes them rank.
04
Can a short blog post rank on Google?
Yes, when the question has a short answer. A troubleshooting fix or a definition can be complete in a few hundred words. It is too short only when a reader would need to search again to finish the task.
05
Are long posts better for AI answers?
Length alone does not help. Google says snippets are built from the page content that best relates to the search, and AI Overviews link to pages that are indexed and eligible for a snippet. A clear answer near the top, in a passage that stands on its own, is what can be quoted.
A content brief template with every field filled for a sample article: queries, intent, the two-sentence answer, sources, question headings, links and CTA.
Refresh posts that lost clicks over the last 3 months first, then posts ranking 4 to 20. How to find both in Search Console and what an update must change.
