Optimizing your post for best results

A few tips and tricks to get the most traffic for your posts.

Lindsey Ziccardi avatar
Written by Lindsey Ziccardi
Updated over a week ago

Optimizing your title

The best blog post titles are short and to the point, using 55 characters or less.

Use numerals instead of writing out numbers, especially in posts with lists such as "5 Great Ways to Use PostHaste."

Titles should be phrased to highlight any teaching points. For example, great eye-catching titles are "The beginner's guide to PostHaste" and "Learn PostHaste in 4 Simple Steps." Titles using "how to" would seem to fit this convention, but are not as popular. Be specific about what the post teaches.

Sources:
Lee, Kevan. "The Ideal Length of Everything Online, Backed by Research." Buffer.
Widrich, Leo. "A Scientific Guide to Writing Great Headlines on Twitter, Facebook, and Your Blog." Buffer.
Shoor, Iris. "The Dark Science Of Naming Your Post : Based On Studying 100 Blogs." Oribi.

Optimizing your content

While long articles are great, the optimal blog post can be read in under 7 minutes. This averages to around 1,600 words. After the 7 minute mark, the reader's attention starts to drift, often leaving the remainder of the article unread. However, an analysis of search engine data shows that longer articles tend to get shared more often, ranging from a minimum of 1,500 words to around 2,500 words. 

What does this conflicting research mean? Use as many words as you need to to get your point across. Quick reaction articles make for good, short reads but a more in-depth analysis of a topic will be referred back to again and again and shared among peers.

Images, lists, and video increase a post's popularity. Adding an image vastly improves the appeal of a post versus a post without. This content must be relevant to the post content. Everyone loves looking at cute animals, but adding a picture of a cat isn't going to help your post on "5 Ways to Make Your Tax Reform Alert the One People Read."

Still Have Questions?

If there is anything else we can assist you with, you can contact PostHaste Support either by emailing support@clearviewsocial.com or through the Intercom chat button in the bottom right of the site.


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