While searching for tips on SEO and copywriting, you probably came across a debate over whether word count plays a significant factor in improving your web ranking and traffic. For some, 250 blog posts are enough. However, some argue that a seat will only rank if it has more than 2,000 words.
And so, you asked yourself, does the perfect word count matter? To give you an answer, yes, word count does matter. However, it varies on what type of publication or niche you are writing for.
This article will discuss why word count matters for your SEO and teach you the perfect word count for each type of content or post. Let’s jump right into it!
What is a word count?
To put it simply, word count is the defined number of words contained within a body of text in a document. Listing word count usually includes titles, headings, summaries, citations, quotations, markings, and more.
Following a word count is unnecessary for some texts, such as personal letters and journals. However, documents like academia, journaling, advertising, marketing, and legal proceedings are required to follow a word count. Likewise, everyone can also use word count to measure one’s ability to read or type in a limited time.
4 Reasons Why Word Counts Matter in Your Content
As mentioned earlier, there are multiple debates around whether word count matters in SEO or copywriting. According to Google’s Search Advocate, John Mueller confirmed that word count is not a ranking factor for the search algorithm. Instead, as long as the content is relevant to the keyword or search intent will create multitudes in the ranking.
Nonetheless, there are still a lot of explanations that suggest more extended word counts. Here are some explanations as to why well-written and relevant long-word content matters.
1. SEO Loves Length
Despite the confirmation of Google, that word count does not directly affect SEO, it has been proven that longer content is excellent for SEO and performs well. A long word count makes it easier for Google’s crawler and algorithm to figure out what your page is all about. It is mainly because longer articles establish your content relevance and authority and have more keyword placement.
Likewise, Google also records the length of every visitor’s stay on your site to measure ranking. Having longer articles have more chances of visitors staying on your website.
2. Long-form content keeps your readers engaged
The average attention span of an individual is around 8 seconds. And it’s not solely because of social media and technology. Because we are repetitively barraged with data, our brain can’t process it all.
Thus, in this age of short attention spans, it can be hard to keep people’s attention long enough to read an article in its entirety. That’s where longer word count comes in. Long-form content is the best way to keep your readers engaged. It also allows people to focus on one thing instead of simultaneously being pulled in different directions.
3. Impress your reader and not just search engines
You should be doing long-form content if you want to impress your readers and not just google.
Long-form content is writing that goes more in-depth with a particular topic, exploring the subject thoroughly and in greater detail than shorter forms of content. It’s also known as “evergreen” or “everlasting” content because it stays relevant for a more extended period, which means it will always have an audience.
Moreover, longer articles are typically more engaging than shorter ones because they can explore topics in greater detail. It can also provide readers with more information about their subject matter.
4. Enhances content authority
When it comes to content marketing, there is a lot of pressure on creating quality content. So much so that people are even willing to pay for it. But what if you could produce high-quality content without too much effort?
The answer is long-form content. It’s important because it can help you rank higher in Google search results and drive more traffic. Moreover, a longer word count allows you to stand out from the competition.
What’s the perfect word count?
There are various SEO guidelines on creating valuable content in a longer format. In one study conducted by Backlinko, he claimed that the best word count for SEO was 1,447. Generally, you will think that writing 1,000 to 1,500 will automatically rank your content first in Google Search Results.
However, this does not generally apply to all forms of writing. Word count depends on a handful of factors such as audience target, type of content, and goals. Likewise, let’s look at which length is best for specific types of content.
1. Blog Posts
Based on a study by HubSpot, the ideal blog post length should be 2,100 to 2-400 words based on their top 50 most-read blog posts in 2019. Nevertheless, 16 of these 50 blog posts were under 1,500 words.
So, for blog posts, it is safe to say that you can write 1,200 to 2,000. It will rank as long as you accomplish SEO best practices such as proper keyword placement, alt-text, media-rich content, and proper backlinking.
2. Landing Pages
According to LinkedIn, a landing page should generally have up to 500 words per page as this is usually adequate to provide valuable information and make your case. In addition, shorter landing pages work best for potential customers who already know what they are looking for. A page with fluff, fillers, or unnecessary information may result in a higher bounceConclusionConclusion rate.
3. News Article
News-based content needs to be accurate, straightforward, and concise. This content should not contain opinions or commentary and should be well researched. Likewise, news articles ideally should have at least 500 to 800 words, depending on the topic.
4. Product Page
As mentioned earlier, the number of words in the content will heavily depend on the client, the product, KPI, and more. And for a product page, 300 woConclusionrds is more than enough for you to convert customers into buying your products. A 300-word content should be able to contain your product description, selling point, main features, and critical attributes.
However, you can go up to 600 if you need to offer more information about your product. https://turtleverse.com/top-10-ways-to-defeat-writers-block/After all, having more information on your webpage is suitable for search engines crawling your website. The more relevant information and keywords are on your product page, the more Google will understand it and rank your pages in SERP.
5. Customer Review or Story
A customer review or story content is a great place to convince potential customers how your product can help them or improve their lives. This is also an excellent place to answer FAQs or primary questions of customers.
A good word count for customer reviews or stories should generally be around 800 to 1,000 words. This word count will give you a leeway to properly convey the customer journey and how your product or services helped them or their company.
Conclusion
Creating SEO-optimized content is not just about having the proper word count. You also need to create quality content with the correct detail and relevance. If the word count hampers your creativity and the quality of your content, then you shouldn’t focus on it.
Always go for higher quality than quantity and use tools which improve your writing. We hope that this article benefits you in your future writing endeavor.
Author – Flexisource IT is your best gateway to top-caliber fully managed IT teams dedicated to servicing Australian businesses and startups to scale up and grow rapidly.