Scour the net and you will find countless:
1. Reasons why longer content is better (for example here, here and here)
2. Logic on why longer content is better for rankings (for example here, here and here)
3. Statistics / case studies with evidence on why longer content is better (for example here, here and here).
But here is 3 easy-to-understand reasons why longer content is better to ‘motivate’ you to take action on your content marketing and maximise return on investment (what matters).
1. Longer Content Allows Greater Topic Focus
By focusing on longer content, it’s easier to ‘narrow your focus’ to the:
- Hot (e.g. Google Hot Searches)
- Trendy (e.g. Google Trends)
- Big picture topics in your market (that matter).
Because you can no longer just:
- Open your keyword spreadsheet (eyeballing it)
- Choose a highly searched keyword (most likely with low competition)
- Pump out a blog post on that keyword (and then rank for it).
Then wash, rinse and repeat.
No – that’s not the way – that’s old school SEO.
Topics are the next evolution of SEO, and by focusing on topics (as opposed to keywords), you can build:
- Trust
- Expertise
- Authority (the holy grail of SEO) quicker.
But what are topics?
A topic is what it sounds like = a broad concept.
A keyword = a component of that concept.
Just think of your local grocery store as an example.
You have:
1. Produce, meat and dairy (at the highest level)
Then within ‘produce’ you have:
2. Fruit and vegetables (as sub-topics)
And within the sub-topics:
3. Apples and oranges (are the keywords).
If the difference is still not clear between ‘keywords’ and ‘topics’ – check out this comprehensive explanation by MarketMuse.
But why focus on topics?
Simple. The consumer is always changing.
Therefore, by focusing on ‘topics’ (rather than ‘keywords’), it’s easier to go to:
The top of a bushy-tree (by focusing on what matters – the big picture topic).
Rather than your competitors, who are more likely to focus on the branches (the keywords – less important).
And the result is that by broadening your ‘focus’ on a topic, you can create:
- Better content that (that is likely to rank for more keywords too)
- Resourceful content (that your customers love)
- Authority content (key to high rankings in Google).
2. Longer Content Solves More Problems
Every word / sentence / paragraph (provided it’s not fluff) gives you another chance to solve a problem.
Any by ‘solving more problems’ you’re more likely to be seen as an authority (by your prospects).
And more authority increases conversions.
But stop.
Because just going ‘long’ (with content) does not mean you are solving the right problem.
As the great Albert Einstein said: “If I were given one hour to save the planet, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it.”
According to Time (read more here) you need to consider the following, when solving the right problems:
Why does the problem need solving?
Establish reasoning first.
Is there a clear need to solve this problem?
This will ensure time is not wasted.
What is the context of solving the problem?
From approaches tried to what others have done to constraints on the solution.
What is the problem statement?
Take answers to all and layout the problem (including scope, requirements of a solution and who will be involved).
But (from a big picture), always go straight to the root cause of a problem.
Mind Tools (in this great resource) outline 5 steps for doing this and they are:
- Step one: Define the problem
- Step two: Collect data
- Step three: Identify possible causal factors
- Step four: Identify the root cause(s)
- Step five: Recommend and implement solutions.
For brevity purposes, the ‘root cause’ of a problem goes beyond this blog post – but here is more on the process (if interested).
Note: As Forbes states in this resource – solving the problem ‘permanently’ is key.
Because when you solve problems permanently:
- You learn from it (as a business)
- Alter (the way you do business) to avoid the same problems in the future.
Takeaway: Longer content gives you a greater chance to solve more problems, but it’s only when you combine longer content with solving more of the right problems, and ideally (permanently), that you can succeed with your long content marketing strategy.
3. Longer Content Creates Evergreen Content
The beauty of evergreen content is that it’s not ‘time sensitive’ and will remain relevant regardless of the ‘time’ or ‘date’ in the future.
You can read more on the benefits of evergreen content here, but its number 1 benefit is that it’s valuable long after it’s released.
This is much like a plant that keeps its green leaves all year around (how the ‘evergreen’ name came about).
And longer content has a greater chance of becoming evergreen content.
But, only when you have mastered:
- The ‘80% art of copywriting’ (discussed in this top blog post)
- Followed the ‘3 golden keys to success in copywriting’ (discussed in this top blog post)
- Solved the ‘right problems’ (discussed earlier in this blog post).
But what does the data say?
Neil Patel summarises in this data-driven guide about why 3,000+ word blog posts not only get more traffic but:
- Set you up as the authority (to win)
- Generate leads (for a longer timeframe)
- Create ‘beautiful’ and ‘timeless’ evergreen content.
And as Neil Patel says (again in this data-driven guide) long-form content allows you to:
- Go further (beyond just scratching the surface of a problem)
- Beat your competition (who only focus on short-form content)
- Provide enormous value (without ‘wasting’ any words).
How do you craft great evergreen content?
Any piece of content can be evergreen but some great examples of ‘evergreen content format’ (in this guide by Backlinko) are:
- Ultimate guides (covering the most important elements of the topic)
- List posts (top 3, 5 or 10 for example)
- Case studies (evidence something happened)
- Videos (can accumulate more views for many years after going live)
- Checklists (an extremely valuable resource)
- How-to guides (always work).
These formats are a great starting point in creating evergreen content, but any piece of content:
- Short
- Long
- Whatever format (can be evergreen).
But remember (and this is a biggie):
Just because you ‘hit’ publish and have spent hours (on your content piece) does not mean parts of your ‘evergreen content’ will never go out of date.
Note: Ensure you do a content audit at least every 3-6 months (as recommended by Portent in this resource) to maximise your content marketing success.
Conclusion
Short, medium or long content – it doesn’t matter.
Because (as discussed in this blog post) what matters is fulfilling user intent with your content.
But if you choose to go for ‘long content’ it’s about making an impact and not going long for the ‘sake’ of it.
And author / speaker / marketing consultant John Jantsch summarises this beautifully, saying: “Your impact is measured not by what you do, but by what happens to other people when you do it.”
Over to You…
Do you agree with 3 Reasons Why Longer Content is Better? Or is there something missing, or you would like to add?? Would love to hear from you in the comments – any feedback is greatly appreciated.
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