The right length isn't "as long as possible" or "as short as possible." It's whatever it takes to cover the topic fully — and no more. But knowing the benchmarks for each format helps you aim correctly from the start.
| Format | Ideal Word Count |
|---|---|
| Short school essay | 250–500 words |
| Standard academic essay | 500–1,500 words |
| University assignment | 1,500–3,000 words |
| Dissertation chapter | 8,000–12,000 words |
| Short blog post | 400–700 words |
| Standard blog post | 800–1,500 words |
| Long-form SEO article | 1,500–3,000 words |
| Business email | 50–150 words |
| LinkedIn post | 150–300 words |
| Tweet / X post | Under 280 characters |
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Open Word Counter →The ideal length for a blog post aimed at Google search is longer than most people expect. Research from multiple SEO tools (Backlinko, HubSpot, Ahrefs) consistently finds that posts ranking on page 1 average 1,400–2,000 words. Longer content tends to cover topics more thoroughly, earn more backlinks and match more keyword variations.
But length only helps if the writing is substantive. Padding an 800-word article to 2,000 words with repetition and filler actively hurts — both readability and rankings. Google's quality signals are sophisticated enough to detect low-density content.
If you're short of a target, don't add filler sentences. Instead: