SEO

What’s the Best Word Count for Google, Blog Posts & SEO? [Updated for 2022]

Published

2 years ago

February 2, 2022

Entireweb News Bot

What's the Best Word Count for Google, Blog Posts & SEO? [Updated for 2022]

Have you wondered what the optimal word count was for a blog post or web page?

Over the years, that number has been a moving target.

Twenty years ago, I recommended that every page be at least 250 words.

Back then, people considered 250 words “too much content.” “People won’t read it,” folks complained. “I don’t want that many words on my page.”

Now, in 2022, the pendulum has swung the other way. Some companies focus almost exclusively on long-form content — for instance, 2,000+ word, in-depth skyscraper guides.

The myth is that long content is the only way to grab good Google positions – and Google equates a higher word count to a higher quality article.

So, what does this mean for content producers? Is the age of short copy dead?

Well, not really.

Let’s break down the research:

What’s a minimum word count guideline for 2022?

Determining the best word count for blog posts and web pages has everything to do with your topic and reader. Generally, from a content writing perspective, some general word count guidelines are:

Sales landing pages: A minimum word count of 350 words – however the content length depends on the product or service, and what the reader needs to see.
Blog posts: It depends on the search query. Generally, at least 250 words for highly-specific queries. Other queries lend themselves to a longer word count.

It’s important to note that these word count guidelines are not based on Google guidelines – they’re more around what works for readers. That’s an important distinction.

But what about pinpointing the magical word count that makes Google smile? You’re probably wondering…

What’s the best word count for Google?

And the answer is – Google doesn’t care about your blog post or web page word count.

Google’s John Mueller said in August 2019 that “word count is not a ranking factor.”

There’s no magical word fairy who reviews your word count and positions your page accordingly. The Google Quality Raters aren’t counting every.single.word.

Google said back in 2018 that word count does not indicate quality content.

This is good news!

Despite what some “experts” believe, content producers don’t have to create long-form content every time. Nor do writers need to mindlessly add extra content to existing pages to “help the page rank” and showcase content quality.

It doesn’t work that way.

Google’s John Mueller clarified in 2021 that adding additional content won’t necessarily help a page position.

According to Mueller:

“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.”

We can write the right amount of content that satisfies the user’s query and provides the standout answer they want.

This is why, after analyzing the information, Matt Southern from Search Engine Journal declared that content length is not a ranking factor.

But (because there’s always a “but” in SEO…..)

Google may not have an official word count stance, but some research does show that longer blog posts position better.

Let’s break down why that is…

What’s the best word count for a blog post?

It depends on what you mean by “best.”

For instance, a 2020 article by ahrefs stated there was a moderate correlation between word count (up to 2,000 words,) and organic traffic.

What’s interesting is content over 2,000 words had a moderate negative correlation. This means longer content doesn’t guarantee a top ranking. More words won’t drive more traffic.

It doesn’t work that way.

HubSpot, in their 2020 post, said that their blog word count sweet spot was 2,100-2,400 words. However, this is based on their average of 50 of HubSpot’s most-read posts – not a larger study with multiple respondents and search data.

So, the numbers are interesting – but they’re HubSpot’s numbers. They don’t necessarily apply to your site and target reader.

Plus, the article mentions that one-third of their top articles were less than 1,500 words. So, longer content isn’t always a magic SEO bullet.

Having said that, longer content can drive links. Moz ran a survey in 2021 asking, “When it comes to the execution of your idea, which of the following do you find to be the most effective in generating links?”

This result is reinforced by ahrefs, which found a positive correlation between word count and backlinks…but only up to 1,000 words.

Viola Eva discussed this in a 2019 Search Engine Journal article. Her take:

The path to ranking success looks like:

Longer content leads to more links.

More links lead to better rankings (and more organic traffic).

It seems what might be ranking the website is not so much the content length itself (though it for sure helps to be competitive with the Page 1 results), but firstly the amount of links the page received. Guides, skyscrapers, pillar pages, and content hubs make the most interesting link targets.

Eva’s take makes sense – especially when you consider that over 91 percent of content gets no traffic from Google. None. Nada. 91 percent. Ouch.

Is it any wonder why companies think that long-form is the only way to go?

Let’s turn to our friends at ahrefs again. They actually found a negative correlation between backlinks and articles over 1,000 words.

This makes sense. Sure, some general topics lend themselves to long-form content – for instance, an article about [what is b2b marketing].

But if you’re trying to write 1,500 words about [how to sew a button], you’ll throw off your reader. People don’t want to slog through useless, fluffy content to get their questions answered. If the search query only requires 500 words to answer it – then just write 500 words. Especially since…

Shorter content can and does position.

Is there a minimum word count for SEO?

Not really.

For instance, the top-positioned page for the query [how to brew black tea] is 424 words. That’s still a lot of words — but the page has a number one result and position zero.

The top result for [how to restart a Fitbit] is a scant 94 words:

The NASA page answering [what is a solar eclipse] positions number one – and is less than 50 words:

Longer copy isn’t better – and shorter copy positions?

So, what’s the best word count for SEO?

There is no “best word count for SEO.”

Let go of the idea that you have to have a certain word count “for Google” or “for SEO success.”

In fact, the content length depends on the user query and what your reader needs to see.

That means:

Conduct competitive research before you start writing.

SEO writing is more than shoving keyphrases into the content. You also need to check out your top-10 competition before you start writing. Things to look for include:

What’s the search intent for your desired keyphrases? If you’re seeing mostly informational pages, a sales page probably won’t position.
How have other sites approached the content? You don’t want to copy them, but you do want to determine how to make your content unique.
Does the competition link out to other sites? Outbound links to authority sites won’t help your SEO, but they are good for your readers.
How could you create a more clickable page Title than what you see currently positioning?
Are there other positioning opportunities, such as writing a FAQ page?

For more tips about how to research and write SEO content, check out this SEO copywriting checklist.

Throw your assumptions out the window.

One of the biggest SEO writing challenges is dealing with people who “just know” what works for their readers — but they don’t back up their opinions with data.

For instance, many writers think sales pages should be short (under 250 words) because “readers don’t want to scroll.”

However, companies create long sales copy all the time. And it works.

For instance, this sales page from Brooklyn Bedding is almost 1,400 words long, not counting the FAQ page. This HubSpot sales page is around 750 words.

Long copy can indeed clunk and be visually overwhelming. But, that’s true of any poorly-written page. As Seth Godin says, “Please, give me something long (but make it worth my time.)…”

And if you’re still not sure if you should write short or long-form content, check out this guide from ahrefs and this post from the Content Marketing Institute.

Dive into your analytics and roll around in the data.

SEO writers can’t ignore analytics anymore. The information is too tasty, valuable, and fascinating to ignore.

Analytics will tell you:

Which posts get great Google positions?
Is there a “sweet spot” correlation between your most popular posts and word count?
Are posts positioning, but you aren’t getting click-throughs to the page?

Plus, you can always dive into specialized solutions like Serpstat, ahrefs, or SEMrush for more details.

If you’re freelancing, don’t be afraid to ask your clients for their analytics information. The data will help you better understand what’s working — and how to make their SEO content strategy even better.

Write as much as you need to — and not one word more.

“Fluffing up” a page just to meet a specific word-count requirement is horrible for your readers… and it won’t help boost your Google rankings. In fact, Google’s John Mueller said fluffy content, makes “it hard for search engines to figure out what you’re trying to say.”

Later, Mueller discussed fluffy copy in a 2022 video hangout, saying “Just filling extra text on a page – I would not do that.”

Plus, since we’ve seen that shorter copy can still position, there’s no percentage to adding more content “just in case.” Focus on answering the query instead.

Content expert Ann Smarty wrote a great post about how to improve an article without fluffing out your word count.

Finally, think about this when you’re writing the copy:

Did I fully answer the search query?
Have I overcome all objections?
Have I showcased the product or service?
Is the keyphrase usage seamless?
Does the copy encourage the next conversion step?
Have I connected with my reader?
Have I written the content in a voice that clicks with my readers?
Am I open to making changes to the page as additional data rolls in?

If your answer is “yes,” you’ve done your job.

It’s as simple as that.

(Note: This post originally ran 14 years ago! Wow! So much has changed since then.)

Now, you can get the latest SEO writing tips sent straight to your inbox. Sign up for the SEO Copywriting Buzz newsletter today.

Related Topics:blog Count Google posts seo Updated Whats Word

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SEO

How To Write ChatGPT Prompts To Get The Best Results

Published

18 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Max

How To Write ChatGPT Prompts To Get The Best Results

ChatGPT is a game changer in the field of SEO. This powerful language model can generate human-like content, making it an invaluable tool for SEO professionals.

However, the prompts you provide largely determine the quality of the output.

To unlock the full potential of ChatGPT and create content that resonates with your audience and search engines, writing effective prompts is crucial.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the art of writing prompts for ChatGPT, covering everything from basic techniques to advanced strategies for layering prompts and generating high-quality, SEO-friendly content.

Writing Prompts For ChatGPT

What Is A ChatGPT Prompt?

A ChatGPT prompt is an instruction or discussion topic a user provides for the ChatGPT AI model to respond to.

The prompt can be a question, statement, or any other stimulus to spark creativity, reflection, or engagement.

Users can use the prompt to generate ideas, share their thoughts, or start a conversation.

ChatGPT prompts are designed to be open-ended and can be customized based on the user’s preferences and interests.

How To Write Prompts For ChatGPT

Start by giving ChatGPT a writing prompt, such as, “Write a short story about a person who discovers they have a superpower.”

ChatGPT will then generate a response based on your prompt. Depending on the prompt’s complexity and the level of detail you requested, the answer may be a few sentences or several paragraphs long.

Use the ChatGPT-generated response as a starting point for your writing. You can take the ideas and concepts presented in the answer and expand upon them, adding your own unique spin to the story.

If you want to generate additional ideas, try asking ChatGPT follow-up questions related to your original prompt.

For example, you could ask, “What challenges might the person face in exploring their newfound superpower?” Or, “How might the person’s relationships with others be affected by their superpower?”

Remember that ChatGPT’s answers are generated by artificial intelligence and may not always be perfect or exactly what you want.

However, they can still be a great source of inspiration and help you start writing.

Must-Have GPTs Assistant

I recommend installing the WebBrowser Assistant created by the OpenAI Team. This tool allows you to add relevant Bing results to your ChatGPT prompts.

This assistant adds the first web results to your ChatGPT prompts for more accurate and up-to-date conversations.

It is very easy to install in only two clicks. (Click on Start Chat.)

Screenshot from ChatGPT, April 2024

For example, if I ask, “Who is Vincent Terrasi?,” ChatGPT has no answer.

With WebBrower Assistant, the assistant creates a new prompt with the first Bing results, and now ChatGPT knows who Vincent Terrasi is.

Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023

You can test other GPT assistants available in the GPTs search engine if you want to use Google results.

Master Reverse Prompt Engineering

ChatGPT can be an excellent tool for reverse engineering prompts because it generates natural and engaging responses to any given input.

By analyzing the prompts generated by ChatGPT, it is possible to gain insight into the model’s underlying thought processes and decision-making strategies.

One key benefit of using ChatGPT to reverse engineer prompts is that the model is highly transparent in its decision-making.

This means that the reasoning and logic behind each response can be traced, making it easier to understand how the model arrives at its conclusions.

Once you’ve done this a few times for different types of content, you’ll gain insight into crafting more effective prompts.

Prepare Your ChatGPT For Generating Prompts

First, activate the reverse prompt engineering.

Type the following prompt: “Enable Reverse Prompt Engineering? By Reverse Prompt Engineering I mean creating a prompt from a given text.”

Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023

ChatGPT is now ready to generate your prompt. You can test the product description in a new chatbot session and evaluate the generated prompt.

Type: “Create a very technical reverse prompt engineering template for a product description about iPhone 11.”

Reverse Prompt engineering via WebChatGPT

Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023

The result is amazing. You can test with a full text that you want to reproduce. Here is an example of a prompt for selling a Kindle on Amazon.

Type: “Reverse Prompt engineer the following {product), capture the writing style and the length of the text :
product =”

Reverse prompt engineering: Amazon product

Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023

I tested it on an SEJ blog post. Enjoy the analysis – it is excellent.

Type: “Reverse Prompt engineer the following {text}, capture the tone and writing style of the {text} to include in the prompt :
text = all text coming from https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-bard-training-data/478941/”

Reverse prompt engineering an SEJ blog post

Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023

But be careful not to use ChatGPT to generate your texts. It is just a personal assistant.

Go Deeper

Prompts and examples for SEO:

Keyword research and content ideas prompt: “Provide a list of 20 long-tail keyword ideas related to ‘local SEO strategies’ along with brief content topic descriptions for each keyword.”
Optimizing content for featured snippets prompt: “Write a 40-50 word paragraph optimized for the query ‘what is the featured snippet in Google search’ that could potentially earn the featured snippet.”
Creating meta descriptions prompt: “Draft a compelling meta description for the following blog post title: ’10 Technical SEO Factors You Can’t Ignore in 2024′.”

Important Considerations:

Always Fact-Check: While ChatGPT can be a helpful tool, it’s crucial to remember that it may generate inaccurate or fabricated information. Always verify any facts, statistics, or quotes generated by ChatGPT before incorporating them into your content.
Maintain Control and Creativity: Use ChatGPT as a tool to assist your writing, not replace it. Don’t rely on it to do your thinking or create content from scratch. Your unique perspective and creativity are essential for producing high-quality, engaging content.
Iteration is Key: Refine and revise the outputs generated by ChatGPT to ensure they align with your voice, style, and intended message.

Additional Prompts for Rewording and SEO:
– Rewrite this sentence to be more concise and impactful.
– Suggest alternative phrasing for this section to improve clarity.
– Identify opportunities to incorporate relevant internal and external links.
– Analyze the keyword density and suggest improvements for better SEO.

Remember, while ChatGPT can be a valuable tool, it’s essential to use it responsibly and maintain control over your content creation process.

Experiment And Refine Your Prompting Techniques

Writing effective prompts for ChatGPT is an essential skill for any SEO professional who wants to harness the power of AI-generated content.

Hopefully, the insights and examples shared in this article can inspire you and help guide you to crafting stronger prompts that yield high-quality content.

Remember to experiment with layering prompts, iterating on the output, and continually refining your prompting techniques.

This will help you stay ahead of the curve in the ever-changing world of SEO.

More resources:

Featured Image: Tapati Rinchumrus/Shutterstock

SEO

Measuring Content Impact Across The Customer Journey

Published

2 days ago

April 23, 2024

Max

Measuring Content Impact Across The Customer Journey

Understanding the impact of your content at every touchpoint of the customer journey is essential – but that’s easier said than done. From attracting potential leads to nurturing them into loyal customers, there are many touchpoints to look into.

So how do you identify and take advantage of these opportunities for growth?

Watch this on-demand webinar and learn a comprehensive approach for measuring the value of your content initiatives, so you can optimize resource allocation for maximum impact.

You’ll learn:

Fresh methods for measuring your content’s impact.
Fascinating insights using first-touch attribution, and how it differs from the usual last-touch perspective.
Ways to persuade decision-makers to invest in more content by showcasing its value convincingly.

With Bill Franklin and Oliver Tani of DAC Group, we unravel the nuances of attribution modeling, emphasizing the significance of layering first-touch and last-touch attribution within your measurement strategy.

Check out these insights to help you craft compelling content tailored to each stage, using an approach rooted in first-hand experience to ensure your content resonates.

Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or new to content measurement, this webinar promises valuable insights and actionable tactics to elevate your SEO game and optimize your content initiatives for success.

View the slides below or check out the full webinar for all the details.

SEO

How to Find and Use Competitor Keywords

Published

2 days ago

April 23, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

Competitor keywords are the keywords your rivals rank for in Google’s search results. They may rank organically or pay for Google Ads to rank in the paid results.

Knowing your competitors’ keywords is the easiest form of keyword research. If your competitors rank for or target particular keywords, it might be worth it for you to target them, too.

There is no way to see your competitors’ keywords without a tool like Ahrefs, which has a database of keywords and the sites that rank for them. As far as we know, Ahrefs has the biggest database of these keywords.

How to find all the keywords your competitor ranks for

Go to Ahrefs’ Site Explorer
Enter your competitor’s domain
Go to the Organic keywords report

The report is sorted by traffic to show you the keywords sending your competitor the most visits. For example, Mailchimp gets most of its organic traffic from the keyword “mailchimp.”

Since you’re unlikely to rank for your competitor’s brand, you might want to exclude branded keywords from the report. You can do this by adding a Keyword > Doesn’t contain filter. In this example, we’ll filter out keywords containing “mailchimp” or any potential misspellings:

Filtering out branded keywords in Organic keywords report

If you’re a new brand competing with one that’s established, you might also want to look for popular low-difficulty keywords. You can do this by setting the Volume filter to a minimum of 500 and the KD filter to a maximum of 10.

Finding popular, low-difficulty keywords in Organic keywords

How to find keywords your competitor ranks for, but you don’t

Go to Competitive Analysis
Enter your domain in the This target doesn’t rank for section
Enter your competitor’s domain in the But these competitors do section

Hit “Show keyword opportunities,” and you’ll see all the keywords your competitor ranks for, but you don’t.

You can also add a Volume and KD filter to find popular, low-difficulty keywords in this report.

How to find keywords multiple competitors rank for, but you don’t

Go to Competitive Analysis
Enter your domain in the This target doesn’t rank for section
Enter the domains of multiple competitors in the But these competitors do section

Competitive analysis report with multiple competitors

You’ll see all the keywords that at least one of these competitors ranks for, but you don’t.

Content gap report with multiple competitors

You can also narrow the list down to keywords that all competitors rank for. Click on the Competitors’ positions filter and choose All 3 competitors:

Selecting all 3 competitors to see keywords all 3 competitors rank for

Go to Ahrefs’ Site Explorer
Enter your competitor’s domain
Go to the Paid keywords report

This report shows you the keywords your competitors are targeting via Google Ads.

Since your competitor is paying for traffic from these keywords, it may indicate that they’re profitable for them—and could be for you, too.

You know what keywords your competitors are ranking for or bidding on. But what do you do with them? There are basically three options.

1. Create pages to target these keywords

You can only rank for keywords if you have content about them. So, the most straightforward thing you can do for competitors’ keywords you want to rank for is to create pages to target them.

However, before you do this, it’s worth clustering your competitor’s keywords by Parent Topic. This will group keywords that mean the same or similar things so you can target them all with one page.

Here’s how to do that:

Export your competitor’s keywords, either from the Organic Keywords or Content Gap report

Paste them into Keywords Explorer
Click the “Clusters by Parent Topic” tab

For example, MailChimp ranks for keywords like “what is digital marketing” and “digital marketing definition.” These and many others get clustered under the Parent Topic of “digital marketing” because people searching for them are all looking for the same thing: a definition of digital marketing. You only need to create one page to potentially rank for all these keywords.

Keywords under the cluster of "digital marketing"

2. Optimize existing content by filling subtopics

You don’t always need to create new content to rank for competitors’ keywords. Sometimes, you can optimize the content you already have to rank for them.

How do you know which keywords you can do this for? Try this:

Export your competitor’s keywords

Paste them into Keywords Explorer
Click the “Clusters by Parent Topic” tab
Look for Parent Topics you already have content about

For example, if we analyze our competitor, we can see that seven keywords they rank for fall under the Parent Topic of “press release template.”

Our competitor ranks for seven keywords that fall under the "press release template" cluster

If we search our site, we see that we already have a page about this topic.

Site search finds that we already have a blog post on press release templates

If we click the caret and check the keywords in the cluster, we see keywords like “press release example” and “press release format.”

Keywords under the cluster of "press release template"

To rank for the keywords in the cluster, we can probably optimize the page we already have by adding sections about the subtopics of “press release examples” and “press release format.”