One of the newest features of my site I’ve worked on over the last year is the collection of acronyms we now have. Not only is it driving a ton of cross-article engagement on our site, but the content is also ranking incredibly well.
That would come as a great surprise to many of the gurus out there that would encourage you to write 1,000+ word posts in order to rank on search engines. The acronyms that I’ve shared that rank well barely have more than a couple of hundred words.
This push for large word counts is a huge problem in our industry, and it’s driving a ton of terrible, long-winded, ridiculous articles that are simply frustrating your readers. If I click on a search result, I want an answer to my question… not a page that I must scroll through for 10 minutes to find the information I need.
At issue here is causation versus correlation. Because many of the best and most linked-to articles on the web are fantastically in-depth, the gurus have taken that to mean that more words equal greater ranking (causation). No, it does not… it’s simply correlation. Great, in-depth content may have greater words and rank better because it’s valued and shared. But that does not mean short content isn’t as valuable and can’t rank great, too! It absolutely can, and my site is evidence of that.
Wordcount and SEO
There is no word count that guarantees optimization for organic search rankings (SEO). The length of an article is just one factor that search engines consider when determining a page’s ranking. Instead of focusing solely on word count, it’s important to prioritize the quality and relevance of your content.
From our point of view the number of words on a page is not a quality factor, not a ranking factor. So just blindly adding more and more text to a page doesn’t make it better.
Search engines like Google aim to provide users with the most useful and informative results. They consider factors such as relevance, user engagement, backlinks, website authority, and overall user experience. While longer articles can provide more in-depth information and have the potential to cover a wider range of keywords, shorter articles can also rank well if they deliver valuable content.
Instead of fixating on a specific word count, consider the following guidelines for optimizing your articles for organic search rankings:
- Content quality: Focus on creating high-quality, well-researched, and engaging content that meets the needs of your target audience. Provide comprehensive and valuable information that addresses the user’s query.
- Keyword optimization: Conduct thorough keyword research and incorporate relevant keywords naturally throughout your article. However, avoid keyword stuffing, as it can harm your ranking.
- Readability: Ensure that your content is easy to read and understand. Use subheadings, bullet points, and paragraphs to improve readability and break up the text.
- Meta tags: Optimize your title tag and meta description to provide a concise and accurate content summary. Include relevant keywords while maintaining a compelling and click-worthy description.
- Internal and external links: Incorporate internal links to other relevant pages on your website and external links to authoritative and reputable sources. This helps search engines understand the context and improves user experience.
- Mobile optimization: With the increasing use of mobile devices, ensuring that your website and articles are mobile-friendly is crucial. Responsive design and fast loading times are important factors for search engine rankings.
- User engagement: Encourage user interaction and engagement with your content. This can include social sharing, comments, and longer time spent on the page. Engaging content is more likely to be shared and linked to by other websites, positively impacting your organic search rankings.
Remember, the primary goal is to provide value to your readers. By focusing on quality, relevance, and user experience, you can improve your chances of ranking well in organic search results, regardless of the specific word count. Rather than spend my time working on more words, I’d rather enhance my articles with imagery, videos, statistics, or quotes… to provide more engagement with my readers.