James, who writes a wonderful blog on writing tips, blogging and SEO shares a very insightful thought.

Do short posts offer much value? Should a blogger write detailed blog posts that spread over a thousand words or should they concentrate on writing short stories that saves the reader’s time?

According to James, long articles are good because the reader can get detailed information all at one place. But sometimes you have to say it fast, without using much jargon. Short blog posts can be used to quickly share a thought which hits your mind while long blog posts can be used to discuss a thought in detail.

An excerpt from the article:

In fact, some people have asked that I shorten posts down. That I deliver fast bites with impact, that I publish quick messages they can grasp in an instant. They want to hear what I have to say… they just don’t have the time to read it all.

In the age of micro blogging and instant sharing, tumble logs are picking up speed. People don’t have the time to read your 800 word story, however informative or versatile it may sound.  If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may have noticed that I do publish short posts, which do not require a detailed explanation. It’s a great way to increase your blog archive and accumulate favorite links, videos, or snippets of information.

A detailed commentary is not necessary for every single article you write. Link [Men With Pens]

Long Posts are Better with SEO And Linkbait – They Get More Traffic

However, there is an interesting pattern I have noticed so far on this blog.

1. The articles which have a lot of text do better, as far as search engine optimization is concerned. I get a lot of traffic on longer articles, when compared to short ones. One of the possible reasons for this might be the fact that longer articles have a lot of text and phrase combinations which gets spidered by the search bot and helps them rank the page for more keywords and queries.

2. Short articles do better with social media audience. My direct friends and followers prefer reading short tutorials than a long analysis because most of us are too busy on the Internet and there is so much to do yet so less time.

3. Short articles are easy to deliver. As a blogger, you can deliver a couple of quick posts before leaving for office while save the bigger ideas for weekends.

4. Short posts have fewer grammatical and spelling mistakes than longer ones. The more you write, the more mistakes happen

5. Long articles are going to stand the test of time and it helps in establishing your blog as an authority on the subject. Imagine the situation when a reader finds only 200 words on each and every article. It creates an impression that this blogger is always in a hurry and never devotes time or energy to write a detailed and full featured piece.

6. Long blog posts gets more links while short ones are not considered as good linkbait.

Different webmasters have different experience and analysis of whether short posts or long posts are preferred in terms of search engine optimization. I would like to share my viewpoint on this

1. Do whats best for the user. Never write something keeping the search engines in mind.

2. When you think that I have to write at least 800 words on this topic, your article will read a little robotic. This creates a really bad user experience.

3. If your article is only 200 words but it solves a problem, go ahead and publish it. Don’t try to stuff your post with unnecessary analysis if not required.

4. Avoid jargon. Write as if you are explaining to a standard 6 student.

5. Nobody reads line by line. if your blog post is really long and has a lot of different thoughts, lists and research, it makes sense to break the story into headings and make the article little more scannable.

Also read: Why writing daily might not improve your writing skills