Does it Really Make a Difference?
HOW MANY WORDS ARE ENOUGH for Good SEO?
This subject of Word Count for SEO has been discussed ad nauseam. Simply search Google for that and you’ll see many SEO experts claiming that SEO content needs to be pages or blog posts that contain a minimum of 1400 words. Some are now claiming 2000. Still others are saying it doesn’t matter at all.
Those facts are 100% true except for the parts that are 100% made up! Haha.
Those facts are 100% true except for the parts that are 100% made up! Haha.To be clear, there are many considerations when it comes to what makes a website well ranked, and what pages or content on a website drives the best rankings.
We DO believe that content is KING; but what is the best word count for SEO?
There isn’t one.
Copy or subject content should NEVER be totally dictated by word count. It should be as long as it is needed to help convey the message of the page and allow users to complete their desired actions on that page.
So, can we COMPLETELY ignore word count; and be lazy and only write 300-400 words? No we cannot, because some subjects need more word count to properly cover the material.
That might mean that some SEO pages could be great at 600-700 words, while others may need 1500-1600 words or more.
Misunderstanding Case Studies
Google doesn’t really tell web developers or SEO firms anything. There are some general recommendations, but even when followed precisely, those recommendations don’t automatically ensure a well-ranked website.
You also have to be careful when Googling “SEO WORD COUNT” because any article dated older than 2021 would be obsolete. For example, most studied dated back to 2018-2019 would tell you that 600-700 words per page were all that was needed for great rankings.
There have been SEO case studies released as late as April 2021 that cited that the “average first page result contained 1450 words”. In other words, firms searched numerous keywords, pertaining to numerous industries, located in various cities and found that – on average – any website that ranked on the first page AVERAGED around 1450 words.
…but here’s the thing. Try making every page on your website an average of 1450 and see if that moves the needle and makes your website rank better. Let us save you some time – there’s no guarantee and it won’t always work.
Ten Times Out of Ten, Google is Smarter than You (and I).
If it were only about creating small novels of content per page to gain top ranking, then every website on Earth would be so long and boring that nobody would pay it a second visit. Google never intended for the website with the most words to rank the best.
So how in the WORLD are we to know when enough words…is enough words?
Use Common Sense. Write for the reader. Make your content read-worthy.
Summing Up…
It is important to remember that copy on a page should be there to aid the human visitor, not a search bot.
So, can we COMPLETELY ignore word count; be lazy and create pages with one paragraph and expect to beat the competition for first page, Google rankings. Nope.
As a general rule – think/work backwards. When you post content on a given page, when you are done writing, ask yourself, “If someone comes along and reads that page, will they feel that they got the answers they were looking for?” Would the reader feel your page was a good (best) resource for your services, within your coverage area and industry?
Whether the word count on that page was 400-600 words, 800-1000 words or more than 1450 words – if you can answer “YES” to the previous question, then it was enough words.
If you don’t feel you’re a good judge of that – then just mix up the word count on various SEO pages of your website. If you were to add 10-20 pages of content, make some of them 600-800 words; other 1000-1200 words and write a small novella (1800-2000 words) on a few of them. Average: 1300-1700 words.
Until Google shows us different!
Want to learn more about SEO? Click here> Top Ten Search Engine Ranking on Google
Here another good resource for Word Count
