A blog on blogging, computers and such

Search engine optimization (SEO) can be a lot of work. But a number of easy steps can take you a long way towards search engine visibility and drive a lot of traffic to your blog. Writing postings with an optimal length is one of these.

While there is a lot of speculation among people discussing search engine optimization that maybe postings that are too short are passed over by the search engines, there is no hard evidence of this. But there is, on the other hand, research that shows that longer articles have a steep drop off rate in readers after the text gets below the end of the first screen.

Also, there is considerable evidence that frequent posting affects ranking positively. And it is pretty easy to figure out that with short postings you will be better able to direct a reader to exactly that one little piece of information that will solve her problem through your keywords. Furthermore, longer posts also make it difficult to keep keyword density up. These insights imply that postings should be short, to the point, and frequent, rather than long and trying to make several points simultaneously.

There is no science as to what the ideal length is. The ideal length to me is somewhere in the region of 200 to 300 words. That means my postings can have substance - the “meat” readers want - while still being focused and tight. I may write shorter or longer, but overall that is my target length!