As a copywriting company, we get a steady stream of orders for short articles – 300, 400, 500 words – those are standard. They’re easy to write, they keep website content fresh, and they’re easy to monetize. We know why you want them, and we’re happy to write them.
Yes, keeping a steady flow of fresh content helps SEO, but only for sites that are already ranking high. To get there and to see good, long-term rankings, Google requires more. There are no shortcuts, and that applies to your content.
Why Long-Form Content?
The best way to optimize your rankings with Google is to present a variety of content. Short articles are fine, but if you want to stand out as an expert, you need to be willing to go big (or long – take your pick).
From a copywriting standpoint, it might seem strange, but it is easier to write more than it is to write less. This is true for almost any subject. The problem with a 500-word article is that even a simple subject is going to feel rushed if you try to deal with it in that short a form. However, if you use that content to supplement long-form articles, they make a lot more sense.
Let’s say you’re maintaining a website about high-performance vehicles. The best way to keep your readers coming back is to present a long-form article on a specific subject, like high-performance transmissions. You can write a long article that outlines all the basic functions of a specific high-performance transmission, then keep a blog of shorter articles about specific aspects of the transmission or cars that use it.
From there, you can just repeat the process over and over: Write a long-form article about popular engine mods and shorter articles on the individual parts that make up the mod. This serves two purposes: It keeps a steady stream of keyword-rich content flowing through your site and gets Google to recognize your site as one that provides in-depth articles.
Presenting a Long-Form Article
The key to long-form articles, like anything else, is engagement. Never write a long article for the purpose of creating a long article. The content needs to be engaging, and it needs to hold the reader’s interest. You accomplish this by incorporating various elements, like segment titles, videos, images, and clear calls to action.
Imagine how much value it would add to your article on engine mods if you incorporated some videos that give the reader a visual demonstration of the process. If that’s a little too pricy to produce, still images work well, too. Anything that you can do to get the reader to read the next segment or click the “next” button can only help. That brings me to the next point.
Paginating Long-Form Articles
Many marketers shy away from long-form articles because they’re afraid that people will look at the length of the article and not want to read it. I think they have a point, to an extent. It is definitely possible to present an article in a way that gets great engagement on one page, but it is easier to deliver long content in short bursts.
Most WordPress themes allow you to create what are called Split Posts. Split Posts and paginated articles are the same: Blog articles that are split up virtually into shorter “pages” that the reader needs to click through each segment to read. You’ve probably seen these before, but here’s an example.
The best part is that Google reads Split Post articles as a single unit, so they look short to the reader but long to the search engine. They also trick the brain into thinking it’s absorbing small amounts of content when, in reality, the reader is consuming a lot of content.
Examples of Long-Form Topics
Here are just a few of the kinds of topics you should consider expanding to long form:
• Product Reviews
• How-to Articles
• Comparison Articles
• Social Issues
• Informational Pieces
• Evergreen Content
The next time you sit down to assess your content strategy, see if any of the above enter the equation and consider how going big with long-form articles can enhance user experience on your site.