A blog post should be as long as it takes to answer the search it targets, and the search sets the range. On 3 November 2026 I measured the pages that rank on Google for nine questions small-business customers ask. A single question with one answer ("how long does a roof last") was covered in about 700 to 1,000 words. Cost guides, an "X vs Y" comparison and a money explainer ("what is net 30") ran about 1,750 to 2,150. Only the "best software for..." roundup went past 3,000.
So if you've been told every post needs 1,500, 2,000 or 2,450 words, you can drop that rule. Look at what already ranks for your topic and match the job those pages do. The rest of this post shows the numbers and a five-minute way to size your own next post.
What I measured
I picked nine searches a plumber, contractor, accountant or software company might write a post for: quick answers, how-tos, a cost question, comparisons and one "best of" list. For each one I pulled the top 10 organic Google results (United States, English), downloaded each page, and counted the words in its main content, without the navigation, footer or comments.
That gave 90 results. Fifteen were Reddit threads, YouTube videos, a Facebook video or PDFs, which don't have an article length to compare. Fifteen more blocked or failed an automated download, and three returned under 150 words of readable text, which looked like a page built with JavaScript rather than a short article, so I left them out. That left 57 measured pages, with at least five for every search.
Three things the numbers show
The type of question sets the length. The three searches with one short answer (unclogging a drain, roof lifespan, HVAC service frequency) had medians between 678 and 1,028 words, and the handbook how-to 1,498. The comparison, the two cost questions and the net 30 explainer, where the reader is weighing options, a budget or payment terms, sat between 1,751 and 2,156. The CRM roundup, where pages cover eight to ten products each, had a median of 3,114. Nobody needs 3,000 words on how often to change a filter, and nobody can compare ten CRMs in 600.
Pages on the same search vary a lot, and length didn't line up with position. For "what is net 30," ranking pages ran from 737 to 3,725 words. For "how to unclog a drain," the three highest-placed articles I could measure were 493, 678 and 1,125 words. The 3,905-word page was ninth. Across the nine searches, longer pages ranked a little higher in four and a little lower in five, and none of those relationships was strong. Five to eight pages per search is a small sample, but it gives no sign that adding words moves a page up.
Some answers aren't articles at all. A Reddit thread was in the top 10 for all nine searches, and YouTube for three. For a local service question, a short post that answers it plainly, with a photo of the real job, is competing with forum replies as much as with 2,000-word guides.
Where the usual numbers come from
The current top results for "how long should a blog post be" disagree with each other. One says to aim for 600 to 1,500 words, Mailchimp says 1,500 to 2,000, and Wix names a "sweet spot right at 2,450." Most of these figures come from averages across many blogs or from studies of what ranks for competitive marketing searches. That isn't the same as what your customers' questions need.
For a sense of what other bloggers actually publish, Orbit Media's 2026 survey of bloggers puts the average post at 1,312 words, down from a peak of 1,427 in 2023. Google's own guidance on creating helpful content lists this as a warning sign: "Are you writing to a particular word count because you've heard or read that Google has a preferred word count? (No, we don't.)" If you draft in SEO writing software, the same rule applies: match the search, don't pad to a target.
Size your next post in five minutes
- Write down the exact question. Use the customer's words, such as "how much does a bathroom remodel cost in Denver", not "bathroom remodeling insights."
- Search it and open the top three articles. Skip forums and videos. Don't count their words. List what every one of them covers: the direct answer, the factors, a price table, the steps. That list is the minimum your post has to cover.
- Note what all three miss. It might be your local prices, a photo of your own work, or the mistake you see customers make every week. That is the reason your post should exist, and it is where your extra words should go.
- Pick the kind of post from the table below and use its range to plan the draft, not to pad it.
- Draft, then check the count. Paste the draft into any word counter. Compare it with the range for that kind of post, then cut padding before you add anything.
The ranges from my sample, by kind of post:
| Kind of post | Searches from the sample | Median of ranking pages | What makes it longer |
|---|---|---|---|
| One question, one answer | Unclog a drain; roof lifespan; HVAC service | 678 to 1,028 words | Exceptions: "it depends on the material", "unless you have a heat pump" |
| How-to with steps | Write an employee handbook | 1,498 words | One short section per step, plus what to include |
| Comparison, cost guide or money explainer | LLC vs sole proprietorship; kitchen remodel cost; net 30; website cost | 1,751 to 2,156 words | Price tables, pros and cons, "which one is for you" |
| Roundup of products | Best CRM for small business | 3,114 words | A paragraph or more for every option reviewed |
When the draft comes out long or short
If it's much longer than the pages that rank, look for the usual padding first: an introduction that explains why the topic matters, a definition the reader already knows, and a closing summary that repeats the post. Cut those before you cut anything useful. If it's still long, you may have two posts. A plumber writing about drain clogs and about when to replace old pipes is answering two searches, and each will do better as its own page linking to the other.
If it's much shorter, check it against the list from step 2. If every point is covered, publish it. A short post that answers the question is fine, and in my sample it was competing with pages of 450 to 700 words. If something is missing, add that. A worked example with real numbers, such as a sample invoice with net 30 terms or a cost breakdown from a recent job, usually adds more than another paragraph of general advice.
If a colleague reviews your posts, ask them one question about length: "Did you skim anything?" Whatever they skimmed is what to cut.
How I measured, and the limits
The nine searches were: how to unclog a drain, how long does a roof last, how often should you service your HVAC, how to write an employee handbook, LLC vs sole proprietorship, how much does a kitchen remodel cost, what is net 30 payment terms, how much does a website cost for a small business, and best CRM for small business. Results came from a Google search results API (United States, English) on 3 November 2026. Word counts are of the main text as extracted by the open-source library trafilatura (version 2.3.1), which strips menus, sidebars and footers. Its counts can differ from what a person counts by hand, especially on pages with large tables or product grids.
Nine searches and 57 pages are enough to show the pattern, not enough to give you a precise target for every topic. Results also change from day to day, so search your own topic before you write. Length is also not the only way those pages differ. Their sites differ in age, links and reputation too, and this kind of count can't separate those effects.
Once you know how long a post needs to be, the next question is how often you can publish one. Work that out from the hours you actually have, not from a "posts per month" benchmark.
I run JustBlogged, a blog platform, and this is the measurement I do when someone asks me for a word-count target.
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