Does Word Count Matter? Prepare to Read (and possibly learn?)
Then I realized that I have a wealth of knowledge in certain areas that I haven’t shared. Am I part of the problem? I’d rather be the solution.
So, in order to rectify this, I’ve decided to offer some much additional value (hopefully) to this forum as recompense for all that I’ve learned lurking over the years.
I’d like to cover blog word count and how it may influence the amount of traffic a site receives. Obviously, this will differ depending on the particular niche, but one thing is abundantly clear; people prefer content that is entertaining and full of info. Longer blog posts tend to deliver while shorter posts leave readers less than satisfied.
As a content provider, I often get requests for 500-700 word blog posts (some even as low as 300). Why? What thoughts can you possibly convey in such a short amount of writing?
I dare you to look at your favorite blog (whatever niche it may be in). Don’t worry, I’ll wait…
I guarantee that you will not find a post under 1,000 words. We’ll even take it a step further. Plug the url of your favorite blog into Buzzsumo to see the most popular posts via social signals (I love this app).
Take a look at the most popular posts over the last 6 months and copy / paste the content into a Word Doc. Now, I have no idea what your favorite blog is or what niche it is in, but I can all but promise that the most popular post is 1,200 words or more.
Popular marketers like Pat Flynn, Mathew Woordward, Neil Patel, (insert anyone else) have all made their name from content.
Based on Pat Flynn’s income reports (which he posts monthly), the majority of his income comes from affiliate referrals from links located throughout his content. Obviously, people come to his site for the content. They’re actively reading it and purchasing through his affiliate links.
Mathew Woodward creates some of the most in depth free guides you’ll find. In the post that outlines his journey to becoming a Top 100 Blog, he explicitly states that his popularity skyrocketed dramatically after creating guest posts for sites like Search Engine Journal and other influential blogs. Oh yeah, his posts are always over 1,400 words in length.
Believe it or not, there is a direct correlation between the length of a post and the overall rankings within the SERP’s and the amount of links that point to that piece. Don’t believe me?
The two graphs below were originally posted by Moz, but guys like Neil Patel and Brian Dean have also featured them on their sites.
Moz analyzed all of the content on their site to find out whether there was a relationship between the overall length of their posts and the amount of backlinks they received. The graph shows the amount of posts vs the amount of content. As you can see, Moz creates some insanely long posts (one apparently is 35k!).
Now take a look at the graph below. It shows the amount of links that point to those posts in graph 1. Notice any similarities? There’s clearly a trend between the amount of backlinks posts receive and the overall length of the post
So what does all of this mean? People are more likely to read, share, and link to longer, comprehensive blog posts. This is not only how you establish yourself as an authority amongst your audience, but it’s also favorable to Google as well.
Quick experiment:
Google ANY relevant keyword phrase in your niche. I’d be willing to bet my weight in gold that the majority of the pages returned in the top 10 are longer than 1.000 words in length. This isn’t always true, but from my experience of having done a ridiculous amount of research on countless topics for clients, I can confidently say that it probably is not a fluke.
Longer, more in depth posts do extremely well. This doesn’t mean that you should take a topic and drag it out. You’ll need to find your sweet spot that allows you to provide the valuable information your audience desires without going overboard. I want to make it crystal clear that word count alone will not help your business grow. More importantly is the substance, style, frequency format, purpose, audience, and medium you choose. Without these, the words you write will not resonate.
What do you guys think? What niche do you operate in and what seems to be your word count “sweet spot”?
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Thomas Edison
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