Is Longer Really Better? How Focused and Comprehensive Content Ranks Better

Source: Neil Patel If you read this entire article, it will take you 10 minutes and 13 seconds. But guess what. It took me 21 times that long to wr

If you read this entire article, it will take you 10 minutes and 13 seconds.

But guess what. It took me 21 times that long to write it.

When you stop and think about it, really good long form content takes a lot of time to produce.

There aren’t many people who can plop in their chair, bust out a 2,000-word article in an hour, and get on with their day.

For most of us, it takes a solid two or three hours to create a piece of good content that hits the 2,000-word mark.

So let me ask you a question. Is it worth it?

I’m being totally serious here because you might just be wasting your time. Have you thought about that?

Could it be that your 2,000-word articles aren’t even worth the time and effort that you put into them?

That’s kind of a depressing thought, I know. So here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to answer the question head on. No pulling back. No hesitation.

Is longer really better? Is it worth it? Are you wasting your time?

Then, I’m going to give you a surefire formula for not wasting your time when you write articles — a powerful method that will make your articles rank on top.

This article isn’t for the faint of heart. It wasn’t easy to write, and it might not be easy to read.

But if you’re ready to stop wasting time, start ranking high, and move your content marketing method to the next level, read on.

How long does it take to write a long form article?

Let’s do some calculations.

Let’s say you write an article that is is 2,300 words long. That’s the average length of my articles.

The average typing speed is 40 words per minute.

If you type without stopping, you’ll be wrapping up the article in just under an hour — 57.5 minutes to be exact.

But obviously it doesn’t work like that.

You’re not writing a bunch of words! You’re writing a well-researched article!

According to Wordstopages.com, 2,300 words comes out to about 5 pages.

A well-researched, five-page article requires exponentially more time.

According to research from Estipaper, it would take almost seven hours to write a paper of that length!

And since the average worker is only productive for three hours a day, producing an article like that could take all day Monday, Tuesday, and part of Wednesday!

In my experience, there are some great writers out there who can produce content in way less time.

Their “secret” is using a combination of raw skill, intense focus, and a familiarity with the subject matter.

There’s a helpful thread on Inbound.org that discusses the topic.

Here’s the question: How long does it take you to write an in-depth article (1,500+ words)?

The people who responded to the thread are probably somewhat experienced with writing and marketing.

I went through the responses and boiled them down to just the numbers, summarized below.

Keep in mind that without all the discussion and context within people’s answers, these numbers can easily be misunderstood.

There are so many variables (native language, distractions, subject matter, research level, knowledge level, etc.) that looking at raw numbers can paint a false story.

However, it does help to look broadly at how long it takes people to create long form (1,500 words) content. (When a respondent says “days” in their reply, I calculate a day as 8 hours.)

Here are twenty-nine individual answers to the question, “How long does it take to write 1,500 words?”

4-8 hours
2-3 hours
7-9 hours
11-12 hours
1.5-47.5 hours
16 hours
2-3 hours
2 hours
4 hours
3 hours
2 hours
2 hours
4-40 hours
7-8 hours
28-56 hours
6-12 hours
20 hours
8 hours
2 hours
2 hours
12 hours
3-5 hours
4-5 hours
2-8 hours
2-3 hours
3 hours
6-8 hours
8-12 hours
2 hours

Keep in mind that most of these numbers include the whole process — research, writing, editing, posting, etc.

For some of these, the research phase is the most time-consuming. In order to write a great article on a deep topic, you have to really master that topic.

Doing so requires a lot of research. For some of the writers in the discussion, that phase takes them days.

The average writing time (calculated by maximum time) is 10 hours.
The average writing time (calculated by minimum time) 7.6 hours.

Some people are a lot faster, obviously. But some — including some of the most respected professionals in the field — are slower.

There is an interesting summary of responses at AuthorityMarketing.com.

Kevan Lee at Buffer can bust out a long form article in 2 hours and 58 minutes. Here are some of his times:

A blogger like Jon Morrow takes two hours just to write his headline! One of his best articles took him over 50 hours to write!

Brian Dean spends 20 hours on a post. He suggests that you shouldn’t be trying to spend less time writing your articles, but more.

Seth Godin, marketing god that he is, writes his articles in 15 minutes (they’re really short). But research? That takes him 16 hours!

So how do you know if you’re wasting your time? Maybe it takes you 10 hours to write a 1,500-word article. Maybe it takes you two hours. Maybe it takes you 100 hours.

The most important question is not how long does it take?

The real question is, are you spending your time wisely?

If you write really long articles, are you wasting your time?

Answer: You might be.

I’ll explain why in a minute.

But obviously, it depends.

No two articles are the same.
No two writers are the same.

In order to figure out whether you’re wasting your time or not, you need to understand the goal of your article.

What is the goal?

At a high level, you want to make money.
At a more realistic level, you probably want to get a lot of the right kind of traffic.
At an even more detailed level, you want high rankings for relevant keywords.

Asking how long it takes to write an article is a good question, of course, but we also have to understand the goal.

If you are spinning out 2,000 words without the right focus, you are wasting your time!

You’ve probably heard people like me explain how important it is to write long form content.

In response, you may write really long articles, expecting that’s all it takes to get high rankings.

But it doesn’t work that way.

Let me explain.