SEO
Does Word Count Really Matter For SEO Content?
In the world of search engine optimization (SEO), the top strategies for copywriting are continually shifting as we adjust to Google’s algorithm updates.
You may have come across digital marketing experts who offer guidance on how to improve your place in the search rankings by following their recommendations for word count range.
There have been multiple debates around whether word count matters in SEO, and it’s time to get to the bottom of it.
Is Word Count A Ranking Factor?
Google’s John Mueller has confirmed that word count is not a ranking factor for the search algorithm.
Specifically, he states that “just blindly adding text to a page doesn’t make it better.”
Rather than looking at the number of words on a page, Google’s algorithms look for relevant, original, and high-quality content.
Why Long-Form Content Tends To Rank Higher
Despite Google’s confirmation that word count doesn’t directly affect rank, you can still find plenty of articles and keyword tools that suggest longer word counts.
So, why do tools like Yoast and Clearscope provide recommended word counts if the numbers on the page don’t directly impact rank?
There are a few reasons a higher word count may improve your ranking indirectly.
Some of these tools are basing word count recommendations on competitive analysis.
Writing longer content makes it easier for Google’s algorithm to figure out what your page is about.
Well-written comprehensive pieces also position you as an authority on the topic and enable you to rank for long-tail keyword variants.
How To Determine The Right Word Count For Your Content
There’s no rule of thumb to follow in terms of the word limit for SEO.
Instead, you can look at your keyword research, competition, and past performance to determine your content’s best word count range.
Start With Your Keyword Strategy
You may create a new piece of content with a single target keyword in mind.
But a study by Ahrefs found longer content is more likely to rank in the top 10 for multiple keywords.
By increasing the length of your article, you can cover your primary topic from various angles, which means you can rank for more keywords.
In particular, longer articles have a higher chance of ranking for long-tail variations of your primary keyword, with lower competition and higher conversion rates.
For example, long-tail variants of “Microsoft Word” might include “Microsoft Word for Mac” and “Microsoft Word resume template.”
So if you’ve identified long-tail keywords that you want to target, consider increasing your word count to address those more specific queries.
Check Out The Competition
You can also use word count as a benchmark metric when comparing your content to the competition.
Many keyword research and content optimization tools provide the word count of the top-performing articles for any given keyword.
If you don’t know how long an article should be, looking at the word count of the current top performers is a good place to start.
Pay Attention To Search Intent
In addition to looking at what the competition is doing, you should always pay attention to the search intent associated with your target keyword.
Intent will help define what makes content useful and relevant to the user.
In other words, think about what your target audience wants when they type a keyword into the search bar.
If they want comprehensive information, you might aim to meet or exceed your competitors’ word count.
Conversely, you might choose to create shorter content that gets to the point faster for keywords where the audience wants quick answers.
As it relates to word count, search intent can help you decide whether you want to follow the competition’s lead or differentiate your content through length.
Review Your Performance
Finally, you can look at your past performance to discover what content length works best for you.
Review your SEO performance regularly and see if trends arise.
Is there a word count sweet spot where you tend to rank higher?
Or maybe you have some shorter articles that aren’t ranking as high as you’d like.
In that case, try going back to your keyword research and figuring out how you can lengthen the content with more useful and relevant information.
Additional Factors That Affect Your Ranking
You can use word count to enhance your keyword research and competitive strategy, but it’s not going to be the ultimate deciding factor for search algorithms.
If you want to improve your SEO performance, here are some additional writing tips to consider:
Content Structure
Google looks at structural elements, such as heading tags, as a way to better understand your content and send the right users to your page.
Formatting your content with a clear, logical structure to your content also improves readability and usefulness for the people searching on Google.
Instead of just stuffing your heading tags with keywords, think about the best experience for your reader.
Use headings to break up large chunks of text and make it easy for someone to find the information they want.
Quality Of Information
Information quality remains a top determining factor for search engine results page (SERP) rankings.
In other words, adding a bunch of fluff to increase your total word count won’t help you.
According to Google, the search algorithm prioritizes reliable information and pages that “demonstrate expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness on a given topic.”
Back up statements and claims with links to relevant external data sources to improve your content quality.
You should also ensure your content is original by doing plagiarism checks and avoiding duplicate content on your domain.
Visual Support And Imagery
Images and other visual support can help you demonstrate relevance to your target keyword, another primary factor the algorithm uses.
For example, if you’re targeting the keyword “Harry Potter,” Google will look for relevance signals such as pictures of the character or video clips related to the books or movies.
Adding media can improve the user experience by breaking up large blocks of text and catering to visual learners.
High-quality original images also enable you to rank in Google Images.
Optimize For Special Content Blocks
Google continues to make its SERP pages more intuitive and browseable through special content types and featured snippets.
These content resource blocks appear at the top of SERP pages and often give users a quick answer to their queries.
Optimizing your content for featured snippets can elevate your content to position zero, above all other results.
Around 70% of all featured snippets are paragraph types, which could be an excellent place to start experimenting.
Aim to answer the keyword question using 50-250 characters.
Final Thoughts: Why Is Word Count Important For SEO Strategy?
Optimizing content for SEO isn’t as simple as running through a checklist of keyword mentions and article length.
Ultimately, you have to understand the audience of each keyword and publish the content that best serves their needs.
Word count won’t be the factor that pushes your content to the top, but it can help you define what’s “relevant and useful” for a particular keyword.
Use the writing advice and questions above to find your optimal word count starting point, but keep in mind that all your words should provide value to your readers.
More resources:
Featured Image: Wall to wall/Shutterstock
SEO
Google March 2024 Core Update Officially Completed A Week Ago
Google has officially completed its March 2024 Core Update, ending over a month of ranking volatility across the web.
However, Google didn’t confirm the rollout’s conclusion on its data anomaly page until April 26—a whole week after the update was completed on April 19.
Many in the SEO community had been speculating for days about whether the turbulent update had wrapped up.
The delayed transparency exemplifies Google’s communication issues with publishers and the need for clarity during core updates
Google March 2024 Core Update Timeline & Status
First announced on March 5, the core algorithm update is complete as of April 19. It took 45 days to complete.
Unlike more routine core refreshes, Google warned this one was more complex.
Google’s documentation reads:
“As this is a complex update, the rollout may take up to a month. It’s likely there will be more fluctuations in rankings than with a regular core update, as different systems get fully updated and reinforce each other.”
The aftershocks were tangible, with some websites reporting losses of over 60% of their organic search traffic, according to data from industry observers.
The ripple effects also led to the deindexing of hundreds of sites that were allegedly violating Google’s guidelines.
Addressing Manipulation Attempts
In its official guidance, Google highlighted the criteria it looks for when targeting link spam and manipulation attempts:
- Creating “low-value content” purely to garner manipulative links and inflate rankings.
- Links intended to boost sites’ rankings artificially, including manipulative outgoing links.
- The “repurposing” of expired domains with radically different content to game search visibility.
The updated guidelines warn:
“Any links that are intended to manipulate rankings in Google Search results may be considered link spam. This includes any behavior that manipulates links to your site or outgoing links from your site.”
John Mueller, a Search Advocate at Google, responded to the turbulence by advising publishers not to make rash changes while the core update was ongoing.
However, he suggested sites could proactively fix issues like unnatural paid links.
“If you have noticed things that are worth improving on your site, I’d go ahead and get things done. The idea is not to make changes just for search engines, right? Your users will be happy if you can make things better even if search engines haven’t updated their view of your site yet.”
Emphasizing Quality Over Links
The core update made notable changes to how Google ranks websites.
Most significantly, Google reduced the importance of links in determining a website’s ranking.
In contrast to the description of links as “an important factor in determining relevancy,” Google’s updated spam policies stripped away the “important” designation, simply calling links “a factor.”
This change aligns with Google’s Gary Illyes’ statements that links aren’t among the top three most influential ranking signals.
Instead, Google is giving more weight to quality, credibility, and substantive content.
Consequently, long-running campaigns favoring low-quality link acquisition and keyword optimizations have been demoted.
With the update complete, SEOs and publishers are left to audit their strategies and websites to ensure alignment with Google’s new perspective on ranking.
Core Update Feedback
Google has opened a ranking feedback form related to this core update.
You can use this form until May 31 to provide feedback to Google’s Search team about any issues noticed after the core update.
While the feedback provided won’t be used to make changes for specific queries or websites, Google says it may help inform general improvements to its search ranking systems for future updates.
Google also updated its help documentation on “Debugging drops in Google Search traffic” to help people understand ranking changes after a core update.
Featured Image: Rohit-Tripathi/Shutterstock
FAQ
After the update, what steps should websites take to align with Google’s new ranking criteria?
After Google’s March 2024 Core Update, websites should:
- Improve the quality, trustworthiness, and depth of their website content.
- Stop heavily focusing on getting as many links as possible and prioritize relevant, high-quality links instead.
- Fix any shady or spam-like SEO tactics on their sites.
- Carefully review their SEO strategies to ensure they follow Google’s new guidelines.
SEO
Google Declares It The “Gemini Era” As Revenue Grows 15%
Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, announced its first quarter 2024 financial results today.
While Google reported double-digit growth in key revenue areas, the focus was on its AI developments, dubbed the “Gemini era” by CEO Sundar Pichai.
The Numbers: 15% Revenue Growth, Operating Margins Expand
Alphabet reported Q1 revenues of $80.5 billion, a 15% increase year-over-year, exceeding Wall Street’s projections.
Net income was $23.7 billion, with diluted earnings per share of $1.89. Operating margins expanded to 32%, up from 25% in the prior year.
Ruth Porat, Alphabet’s President and CFO, stated:
“Our strong financial results reflect revenue strength across the company and ongoing efforts to durably reengineer our cost base.”
Google’s core advertising units, such as Search and YouTube, drove growth. Google advertising revenues hit $61.7 billion for the quarter.
The Cloud division also maintained momentum, with revenues of $9.6 billion, up 28% year-over-year.
Pichai highlighted that YouTube and Cloud are expected to exit 2024 at a combined $100 billion annual revenue run rate.
Generative AI Integration in Search
Google experimented with AI-powered features in Search Labs before recently introducing AI overviews into the main search results page.
Regarding the gradual rollout, Pichai states:
“We are being measured in how we do this, focusing on areas where gen AI can improve the Search experience, while also prioritizing traffic to websites and merchants.”
Pichai reports that Google’s generative AI features have answered over a billion queries already:
“We’ve already served billions of queries with our generative AI features. It’s enabling people to access new information, to ask questions in new ways, and to ask more complex questions.”
Google reports increased Search usage and user satisfaction among those interacting with the new AI overview results.
The company also highlighted its “Circle to Search” feature on Android, which allows users to circle objects on their screen or in videos to get instant AI-powered answers via Google Lens.
Reorganizing For The “Gemini Era”
As part of the AI roadmap, Alphabet is consolidating all teams building AI models under the Google DeepMind umbrella.
Pichai revealed that, through hardware and software improvements, the company has reduced machine costs associated with its generative AI search results by 80% over the past year.
He states:
“Our data centers are some of the most high-performing, secure, reliable and efficient in the world. We’ve developed new AI models and algorithms that are more than one hundred times more efficient than they were 18 months ago.
How Will Google Make Money With AI?
Alphabet sees opportunities to monetize AI through its advertising products, Cloud offerings, and subscription services.
Google is integrating Gemini into ad products like Performance Max. The company’s Cloud division is bringing “the best of Google AI” to enterprise customers worldwide.
Google One, the company’s subscription service, surpassed 100 million paid subscribers in Q1 and introduced a new premium plan featuring advanced generative AI capabilities powered by Gemini models.
Future Outlook
Pichai outlined six key advantages positioning Alphabet to lead the “next wave of AI innovation”:
- Research leadership in AI breakthroughs like the multimodal Gemini model
- Robust AI infrastructure and custom TPU chips
- Integrating generative AI into Search to enhance the user experience
- A global product footprint reaching billions
- Streamlined teams and improved execution velocity
- Multiple revenue streams to monetize AI through advertising and cloud
With upcoming events like Google I/O and Google Marketing Live, the company is expected to share further updates on its AI initiatives and product roadmap.
Featured Image: Sergei Elagin/Shutterstock
SEO
brightonSEO Live Blog
Hello everyone. It’s April again, so I’m back in Brighton for another two days of Being the introvert I am, my idea of fun isn’t hanging around our booth all day explaining we’ve run out of t-shirts (seriously, you need to be fast if you want swag!). So I decided to do something useful and live-blog the event instead.
Follow below for talk takeaways and (very) mildly humorous commentary. sun, sea, and SEO!
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