More than a number, the word count can also determine the success of the online content. If you have never given much thought to the word count of the articles, blog posts, or other digital marketing assets, it is high time that you start learning. You need to understand how the length of the content affects everything from SEO to the audience actions, along with figuring out ways to make the most out of the word count.
Any content marketer would have SEO on top of his mind. After all, you would want to make sure that your target audience is able to find the articles and blogs that you post online. You can take a look at wordcounttool.com to know more about the matter. Following are the things that you need to know about word count and SEO.
Long-Form Content Ranks Higher
If you’ve been tempted to produce a larger number of short pieces of content to improve your SEO ranking, think again. An analysis of Google’s search rankings indicates that the search engine shows a marked preference for long-form content.
In 2014, the highest-ranking content averaged slightly more than 900 words. A year later, the top content had higher word counts, averaging between 1,140 and 1,285 words. If the trend continues, Google will continue to favor even longer pieces of content in 2016.
Longer Content Offers Greater Value
Google’s preferences aren’t only for an arbitrary number of words. Instead, the search engine giant purposely highlights longer content that covers topics in a more comprehensive way. You can take advantage of this distinction by taking the time to write longer pieces that offer more value instead of brief posts that only begin to introduce a complex topic.
What Other Metrics Matter for Word Count?
With digital marketing, SEO is important, but SEO isn’t everything. The following metrics also depend on word count to determine success:
Shareability
Regardless of the content you publish online, chances are you’ll want to make that content shareable. After all, content that warrants sharing gets more views, generates more leads, and grows your audience.
Several digital marketers have found that content with more than 1,500 words typically prompts more social media shares. This finding can probably be attributed to the fact that longer content tends to offer more developed viewpoints that encourage engagement.
Backlinks
Since longer content often addresses more data and has more to contribute to a larger conversation, this content tends to offer readers and experts alike more points of reference. In simple words, the longer your content is, the more comprehensive it tends to be and the higher number of backlinks it will get from authorities. Besides, being able to drive traffic, backlinks can also help with SEO.
Though word count impacts conversion rate and efficacy, it does not mean that you will need to have lengthy content for everything you post on your page. You will have to make sure that you deliver the content that works for your target audience.
