What’s the Perfect Blog Post Length for Your WordPress Site’s SEO?
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Our WordPress Agency for Development knows that a lot of content creators are constantly digging the web to find the answer to one very important question and that is – does the number of words or the total length of a blog post affect SEO, and if yes, what can we all do to improve our writing?
For as long as search engines have existed on the Internet, the question of whether there is an optimal blog article length for SEO has been debated. However, when it comes to SEO, site owners and copywriters alike are most eager to learn what Google has to say on the subject. After all, Google Search is the most widely used search engine.
So, what is Google’s answer to the burning question concerning blog post length? Well, our WordPress development agency hopes we don’t disappoint you but, as with many other things regarding SEO, the answer is “it depends”.
In today’s article, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about the ideal blog post length for your WordPress SEO, so you can up your content creation strategy and rank higher on SERPs. Let’s begin!
Long-Form Content vs. Short-Form Content: Which Is Ideal?
When determining how long your postings should be, there are two key factors to consider, and these are the subject matter and the searcher’s intent. To understand this point a bit clearer, you should have in mind that the ideal blog post length depends almost entirely on the topic you’re covering in your article.
For instance, a blog entry about how to install a free plugin will be different in length than one on the history of WordPress website development. You may be wondering why is that?
For starters, in order to offer a thorough answer, one topic requires more information than the other. Just think about it for a second – the process of a free plugin installation does not demand as lengthy of an explanation as chronicling the major events of WordPress website development. There is simply more to discuss when it comes to the latter subject.
What’s more, like we already mentioned, the length of a blog article should take into account the searcher’s intent. The question that comes to mind here is – what is more important for web users – to read a short or a long article?
To answer this question, let’s, once again, use the example from earlier. If you’re eager to dive deep into the history of WordPress website development, you’ll probably want to read a longer and more in-depth article than if you want to learn how to install a free plugin on your site.
With that being said, our WordPress development company has noticed that at the end of the day, long-form content still does extraordinarily well in search, despite the fact that global attention spans are shortening.
However, here’s the other side of the coin – short content may easily rank alongside lengthier content in search results. What this means is that one isn’t always superior to the other. You should know that hundreds of different elements go into determining how search results are ranked.
So, is blog post length a true ranking factor? And, if that’s the case, what’s the optimal word count? Let’s take a look at some statistics to gain a better understanding of the subject at hand.
Stats Hold the Key to the Truth… or Do They?
Our WordPress Agency for Development loves to seek answers in statistics, but we’re also aware that they can be easily manipulated in some instances.
So, let’s get one thing straight right away: the truth is that blog post length can never be the main ranking factor. Why? Because there is always going to be both good and bad content out there.
You must understand that, oftentimes, studies that come out with statistical results examine thousands of pages of content, but (and this is a big BUT) they rarely take into consideration the quality of said content.
In this context, our WordPress development agency wants you to keep in mind that when you’re looking at SEO statistics regarding blog post length, you likely won’t find out which content is really good, which is really bad, and which is mediocre.
Most often, these types of statistics base their results on practicality. So, the length of an article becomes an indicator of how good or bad the content is.
When you start brainstorming blog post ideas after you complete your WordPress website development, shorter content will undoubtedly be easier and faster for people to read – there is simply no arguing with that.
Is that one-word response, however, sufficient to address the user’s question or query? We’re aware that some questions can be answered with just a few words, but this can almost never qualify as top-notch content.
More often than not, these types of short blog posts are one-word responses with no context or citations. For Google, this kind of content cannot be viewed as high-quality, informative, and useful.
Of course, there are certain one-word replies that could be considered beneficial and earn you Google’s featured snippet spot, also known as Position Zero.
Furthermore, our WordPress development company reminds you that high-quality content comes in many shapes and forms. Good content should be engaging and easy to digest. This can be achieved through using proper sourcing, rich media, and logical formatting.
Above all, what Google is looking for comes down to substance, proof, and facts from authoritative sources on any given subject. Long-form content usually happens to include all of these components.
This is exactly the reason why longer blog posts tend to rank better in organic search, as opposed to shorter content that struggles to reach the top positions.
Our WordPress Agency for Development can tell you that according to some of the latest studies, the perfect blog post length for your site’s SEO should be around 2,100-2,400 words.
As you can see, this is a lot longer than the typical 200- or 500-word blog articles that some webmasters still believe to hold value.
All in all, we urge you to understand that the search results on Page 1 don’t necessarily fall into the category of blog-style content. On the contrary, Page 1 shows the content that will be regarded as beneficial by users.
If you create high-quality blog-style content that answers search queries, Google will probably see it as well-constructed and meaningful and will thus rank you higher on its SERPs.
And so, after you’ve completed your WordPress website development and as you start brainstorming content ideas for your blog and other written on-site content, your goal should be to, first and foremost, satisfy search queries.
What Does Google Have to Say About the Length of Blog Posts?
Bringing our attention back to Google once again, we can assure you that according to the company’s experts, word count is not a ranking factor.
For example, the quantity of words on a page is not taken into account when ranking search results, according to Google’s Martin Splitt. What that means is Google does not count the number of words on a page and use that quantity to determine the content’s quality.
Our WordPress development agency reminds you that just because a page with 1,000 words has twice as much content as a page with 500 words, it is not automatically considered to be of greater quality.
When Google professionals are questioned about word count, which is an issue that comes up quite frequently, they always respond in the same way.
So, for Google, quality is not determined by the number of words used. There are a lot of words on some pages that don’t express anything valuable. At the same time, some sites feature a small number of words that are extremely important and that relate to search queries.
Once you finish your WordPress website development, it is important to understand that although Google considers the word count meaningless on its own, its algorithm is meant to meet user intent. In this context, the search intent can sometimes call for a longer article over a shorter one.
The lesson to be learned from Google’s stance on blog article length is to prioritize satisfying users’ search intent. So, if a brief post answers the inquiry, there’s absolutely no need to make it longer just to please Google.
Your Blog Post Length Should Consider Your Target Audience
If you want to create good web content after you complete your WordPress website development, you need to have a specific objective or a target.
This is why studying your target audience is imperative. Ask yourself, who will be looking for and consuming your content?
You should also think about that person’s degree of intent. For example, they might be seeking basic discovery information, or they might want to buy a product or a service in as few clicks as possible.
Remember that your site’s content should be tailored to that individual and their various levels of user intent.
Our WordPress development company believes that good content should be planned out before it is written. Ideally, you should strive to link the objectives of your website/business and the information you’re posting to the goals of the people who are searching for it.
Here’s a pro tip if you’re still not sure how long your blog posts should be after you’ve done your audience research – just look at what content your target audience is already engaging with.
We suggest you look up the content on the first page of SERPs to identify the keywords you want to target in your own blog posts. Our WordPress Agency for Development reminds you that the length of the articles you see on Page 1 of Google is usually a good indicator of how many words are required to answer users’ queries.
Think Outside of Written Page Copy
When you finalize your WordPress website development, you should not think of quality content as something that is restricted only to written text. This is indeed not the case.
Quality content is more than just words on a page. The finest content combines rigorous research and professional writing. All of this is created with the user’s interest (or their search query) in mind.
For example, if you focus on video content, you should always accompany that with some high-quality written text that describes the video and its concept. You should also include any other resources that might assist in a better understanding of the content.
Our WordPress development agency reminds you that, as a content strategist, your ultimate objective is to provide users with the finest information, in the most suitable manner, and on the most appropriate platform.
Remember that a blog post may not even be the best way to communicate information to searchers for some topics. In this context, a video presentation could be way more suited for a lengthy explanation. Similarly, audio content, such as an interview with an industry expert, may be more appealing to listen to than plain text.
There are certain situations in which the written word is the most effective means of conveying information. However, other subjects are better complemented by visuals, such as photos and videos.
With that being said, when you complete your WordPress website development, it is advisable to always pair visual or audio content with written information that can help your audience make better sense of your content. This will also make it easier for users to discover your posts.
Google also appreciates the practice of putting out visual content+written text. Although the number of words doesn’t matter, some textual information is still essential to give context to photographs, videos, and audio presentations.
Don’t Count Words, Focus On Quality and Intent if You Want to Boost Your WordPress Site’s SEO!
And so, once your WordPress website development has been completed, you’ll quickly discover that your content can take a variety of forms, and it can be consumed in different ways.
Having that in mind, you should never aim to write a 2,500-word blog post just because this appears to be the “ideal length” for ranking high in organic search.
Whatever you do, don’t become too fixated on meeting the ideal blog post length for SEO. If you do that, you risk missing the point completely.
Our WordPress development company reminds you that your objective should be to provide your target audience with the greatest, most valuable (and optimized) content that meets their unique intent.
We can assure you that this tactic will be well received by your audience, and the results will be soon reflected in your website analytics.
Still don’t have a website for which you can create top-notch content that converts visitors into actual customers of your products and services? We can help!
Vipe Studio offers a world-class WordPress website development service that has already been trusted by hundreds of successful businesses around the world.
So, if you’re looking for an expert agency that can become your long-term WordPress partner, get in touch with us today. We’re awaiting your inquiry!
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