Content writers are often asked to create blog posts and articles, but what exactly is the difference between articles and blogs?
Of course, the difference doesn’t matter to everyone — you probably wouldn’t care much if you’re reading a blog or an article, as long as you’re getting the information you’re after — but understanding the key differences can be crucial for a good writer.
After all, in order to create quality content, you need to fully understand the purpose of each piece, and being able to distinguish a blog from an article can definitely help.
So, if you’ve ever found yourself asking what the difference is between articles and blogs, I’m here to help shine some light.
Writing style
One of the first major differences between a blog and an article is the writing style.
In general, articles tend to follow a more formal writing style, while blogs can range from very formal to very informal, depending on the owner of the website.
But there are some other writing style differences.
Articles focus on the facts of a particular subject, introducing longer sentences to elaborate on a topic and come up with a well-rounded conclusion. They’re also far more objective and not quite as personable, with less colloquial or emotive language and grammar styles.
Blogs, in contrast, are much more casual and open to using very creative expression. They’re also more conversational in tone, so you, as a reader, are likely to get the impression that the writer is really talking with you. The language used can include slang and figures of speech, as well as broken syntax, more casual grammar and punctuation conventions, and popular abbreviations, if desired.
Content length
Generally speaking, articles are longer than blog posts, but this isn’t always the case, especially as SEO conventions change.
To explain this better, let me quickly go back to giving a brief overview of the latest SEO updates.
Google has always looked at certain on-page SEO elements to determine how well a site should rank in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Page). Average blog post lengths started from around 500 words, but slightly longer posts generally ranked better as there would be more opportunities for including keywords and other on-page SEO elements. As attention spans have been decreasing, though, slightly shorter blog posts have started becoming more popular.
But due to the advent of AI and an increase in spam content, Google introduced the helpful content update in the 2023–2024 period, which measures primarily how useful a piece of content is in order to influence rankings. In order for content to be helpful, it has to be long enough to provide a comprehensive overview of a topic.
Brian Dean, one of the leaders in SEO content marketing, ran a study that showed most first-page results averaged around 1,447 words. But this is an average, and in a guide on producing the best-ranking content, he argues that actually even longer content, roughly 3,000+ words, performs even better. Research by Contently, however, argues that over 70% of the public prefers reading blogs under 1,000 words, while Medium has shown that engagement drops if the reading time is longer than 7 minutes.
So the general gist remains that blog lengths of around 1,000–1,500 words are ideal, but anything from 500+ goes.
Articles, in contrast, usually end up on the longer side, starting from around 1,500–3,000 words or longer.
So, while blog posts and articles could theoretically be the same length, it’s more likely for an article to be longer than a blog post.
Depth of research
Another notable difference between articles and blogs is the depth of research required for each.
Blogs can be quite in-depth, especially if they’re positioned as pillar content or fulfill SEO requirements, but they don’t have to be. You can find very in-depth blog content, like the Brian Dean Backlinko ones, but you’ll also find very short blog content by Jane, the beauty blogger, giving her opinion on the latest mascara.
And while the content of a blog can be helpful and educational, it doesn’t necessarily have the same scholarly tone as an article.
Articles, in contrast, usually require a lot more research. They’re positioned as informative pieces of content meant to educate readers, so article writers tend to conduct thorough research on each topic and relevant sub-topic to present in-depth information and justify conclusions with data.
This doesn’t necessarily mean an article has to rely on statistics and numbers — many articles, especially those you’ll find in popular online magazines, also rely on expert opinions or case studies to back up their claims.
Writer’s perspective
Blogs and articles also differ in terms of their narration.
Articles, due to their more formal nature, will usually be written in the third person, using pronouns like it, he, she, they, and them.
The third-person perspective gives the content more of an objective (rather than a personal) tone. This is particularly important if writing for academic journals or online databases.
Blogs, however, due to their more personal nature and casual tone, can be written from a first- or second-person perspective. You may also find third-person blogs, but this is less common.
Since blog authors tend to write as if they’re speaking directly to their readers, using pronouns like I, me, you, and we is common. This also exemplifies the more subjective and opinion-based stance of blog posts.
Writer’s opinion
This is somewhat related to the points above, but it’s worth reiterating that articles tend to be more objective and blogs tend to be more subjective.
That is, in an article, the author is not encouraged to give their personal opinion on a matter. Instead, it’s the objective information, the facts, and the data that count. While there may still be some level of author bias, this is less evident with articles than with blogs.
Blogs are all about subjective opinions. After all, many blog writers form a following where readers head to the blog precisely to hear what that writer’s thoughts are on a specific topic. This gives a blog author the freedom to express their thoughts on multiple topics.
Of course, there are overlaps.
Some articles have quite a strong personal opinion, which is particularly true for travel and food content. Similarly, blogs in certain industries also become more fact-based. But, in general, one can say that blogs are more open to sharing the writer’s opinion than articles are.
Post schedule
There is also a difference between blogs and articles on the admin and scheduling side.
Since articles are usually produced as long-form pieces by a particular company, journal, or publishing house, they follow a much stricter publishing schedule, even in the online sphere.
A monthly content calendar may be set, and new articles released once a week or every two weeks, or even less frequently, depending on the company’s preferences.
Blogs don’t necessarily follow a set content calendar, but they can. Some bloggers post every day, and others post once a week or even less frequently. Those working on their Google rankings, though, are more likely to post consistently.
Articles and Blogs for Engineering
Both blogs and articles have their place in the content marketing world, and there is more and more of an overlap between the two.
But, in general, these guidelines will help you figure out if you should be focusing more on blogs or more on article content.
Like I mentioned above, it heavily depends on the industry.
For an engineering target audience, both blogs and articles are generally more formal since engineers require (and very much prefer) specific, to-the-point answers and information. While there is some room for personalized writing, for example, a short anecdote from personal experience on the factory floor to help describe a complex point, generally, in engineering blogs, personal commentary or opinions are limited. After all, we’re mainly discussing technical info, which is, by nature, very black and white.
At Engineering Copywriter, from a high-level perspective, we generally consider shorter content under 1500 words as a blog post, providing short-medium length information on an engineering topic, to be posted on our clients’ blog section.
Longer, more informative, and detailed content is generally considered an article. For example, a 2500-word ‘Pillar Article’ for a larger topic that links out to shorter blog posts, or a long form 3000-word article that a client may turn into a downloadable e-book/guide as a lead magnet.
If you need help deciding which content is best suited for your target engineering audience, reach out today for a free, no-obligation strategy call here. Our team of engineering writers is here to help take your digital marketing to the next level.
Articles and Blogs FAQs
There can definitely be an overlap in terms of target audiences, but blogs usually attract more casual readers, while articles are generally aimed at readers seeking more in-depth or factual content. Some industries, like engineering and technical industries, are exceptions.
Blogs are more likely to feature multimedia content, but this does really depend on the purpose of the publication. An article published on a website may follow more on-page SEO conventions, including adding images, while an article published in an academic journal may tend to be more text-heavy.
While the full word — weblog — has been in use since 1997, the short form “blog” was first used by Peter Merholz, who turned the full word into “we blog” on his personal blog in May 1999.
