In recent years, short-form content has dominated the market specifically on social media such as TikTok and Instagram. However, despite this, the trend of long-form content is rising. It’s due to customers’ demand for in-depth information and value. Long-form content is strategically created for the target audience and provides value to them. It also helps in enhancing engagement and content marketing.
Also according to a study, content with more than 3,000 words gets 77.2% more backlinks. When customers are investing in a product, they require in-depth information that affirms their decision
Many creators find creating long-form content daunting and require time and resources. In this blog, we will discuss what long-form content is, its benefits, and its characteristics.
What is long-form content?
Although long-form content is very simple to understand, multiple people have multiple definitions of it. For example, for some people articles longer than 600 words are longer while for some people articles longer than 2,500 words are considered long-form content. For convenience, let us assume long-form content refers to articles of 1,800 words or more.
It doesn’t mean that every article of yours should be 1,800 words or longer. However, it is a good benchmark for creating a blog strategy. Your content should provide useful and relevant information to your readers. Hence the number of words does not matter but the content of your article should matter. Some types of content are how-to guides, tutorials, written interviews, case studies, reviews, etc.
Benefits of long-form content
Long-form content has many benefits as well. Some of the benefits are
- Authority: When you write long-form content, it helps in establishing you as a thought leader in that niche. It is because when writing long-form content, you study the topic in-depth, and explore all the related aspects of the topic. It also reflects your expertise in the niche. If your content is engaging, chances are users will return to your website. They can also share your content with others.
- SEO: Long-form content also helps in securing a high rank on the search engine result pages (SERP). This is because search engines prefer longer articles when ranking content in search engines. Longer articles contain more keywords, search engines can use this to understand the information of the content and rank it. It also helps in creating backlinks which again enhance your search engine rankings.
- Bounce Rate: It is the percentage of users who leave your website after viewing a single page. A bounce rate is not good as it means your content is not engaging enough or relevant to the users. Long-form content helps in reducing the bounce rate as it offers more information and options to the users. If a user engages with one article of yours, you can direct them to more such articles. Similarly, articles can hyperlink to other articles or similar pages.
- Traffic: According to a study by HubSpot, articles greater than 2,500 words get more traffic from Google. Similarly, articles with 3,000 words get 3x more traffic than articles between 1,000 to 1,500 words.
- Social Media: Longer articles get more social shares as compared to short articles. It is because people feel they will get more value from the content. It helps in increasing web traffic and enhancing brand awareness. Many social media channels cater to short content and value it. Users of these websites prefer content that is easy to consume. However given the popularity of longer content, they are introducing features to promote longer content posts. For example, Facebook Notes, LinkedIn Publishers, etc are providing space for longer posts. At the same time, X had also increased its word count.
Characteristics and features of long-form content
Writing long-form content is not easy, it requires proper planning and understanding of the niche and target audience. Let us understand what are some of the important features of long-form content
- Headline: It is the first and most important aspect of your article. It helps in determining whether a user will click on your article or not. Ideally, a headline should be attention-grabbing and resonate with users. Use the core keyword in your headline that your article is ranking for. It is good to convert your headlines and questions and make them more interactive. Your headline should reflect the information that is contained in your article.
- Introduction: You should begin your article with engaging and thought-provoking content that compels users to read your article. They should understand what the article is about and what they should expect from it. Your introduction should be short, crisp, and engaging. Nowadays people have shorter attention spans so make sure you grab their attention and compel them to read more.
- Information: Make sure all your information is backed with data and is accurate. Research your topic in-depth before beginning the writing process. Also, ensure that your content is free of grammatical errors.
- Visual Content: People engage more effectively with content that contains images, videos, infographics, etc. Longer sections of text can look dull and make the user bored. Adding relevant graphics breaks your content and makes it more interesting. Images also help in simplifying the information. Also, visuals have more chances of being shared on social media and increase brand awareness.
- Call-to-Action: A CTA helps encourage the user to perform a desired action. An ideal CTA depends upon the brand and its purpose. Some of the most used CTAs are “Buy Now”, “Order Now”, “Learn More”, etc.
- Search Engine: There is no point in creating content if its visibility is low. Ensure that you use relevant keywords in your article. The keyword should define your content and reflect the queries used by the internet. However, avoid keyword stuffing. If Google detects keyword stuffing then they will penalize your website. Specialists advise on adding 1-2 keywords per 100 words of content.
Writing long-form content is not an easy task. It requires research and planning. Also, you won’t receive quick results from your long-form content. You will have to wait for it to deliver the desired results. Lumia 360 is there to guide you on how to create successful long-form content. We have created successful content for our clients across the market. To know more about our services, email us at info@lumia360.com or call us at 514-668-5599.
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