Truth be told, I’ve never fancied myself a writer. I would classify myself as a reader--someone who enjoys reading fiction and non-fiction book, blogs, and stories. I’m not bad at writing, and I don’t dislike the thought of having to write a blog or any kind of content to be put on the internet, I just never thought of myself as a writer in the way I had perceived that title.
However, a few years ago my boss strongly "suggested" I read the book Everybody Writes by Ann Handley. I read the book, and according to Handley, I am, in fact, a writer. I put words together and put them on the internet for people like you to read--thus making me a writer, and a publisher to boot.
What Experts tell Us
Let’s diverge for just a moment and look at what the experts are currently telling us makes good content for your website.
Since the beginning of search engines, we've been hearing that Content is King and that your web content needs to be engaging. It’s still true today, so let’s get a little more granular in the specifics of what content needs to look like today.
Neil Patel, a leader in the internet marketing world, shows us data that says, on average, 60 to 62% of a website’s traffic is generated by their blog. That means if you’re not posting blogs on a regular basis, your traffic numbers potentially will never really grow (and could potentially plummet without new content being added). Unless, of course, you happen to be Amazon, but you’re probably not. It also means that when you do push out content, it needs to be helpful, easy to read, and not overloaded with sales pitches.
Now, according to a study done by Backlinko, a good blog post needs to average of 1890 words to be considered for a Google first page coveted spot. That seems like a fairly lengthy blog, but when you think about how most people only skim blogs, it really isn’t that long. (Yes, I realize you may not have read this entire blog word-for-word.)
Blogs are also a significant value-add to your customers and your potential customers. It allows people to read about features and benefits they can reap from your product or service without being sold to.
What Our Blog Data Reveals
Now let’s check out what my own blogging data is saying. Again, I’ve written about 100 blogs over my time at Tribute Media, which is a very small sample size (side note: Tribute Media as a whole has generated thousands of blog posts for clients, but I’m just using my own blogs as an example).
My best performing blog to-date is one I wrote back in April 2015 titled PPC vs. SEO – The Showdown. As of April 2019, it has received over 24,000 views, which averages to about 17 views per day. Not too shabby for a blog that is only 959 words in length.
My second best-performing blog, The Basics of Geotargeting and Geofencing, was posted about a year ago and only received 2,600 views since it’s been posted. That averages about 7 views a day, and the blog is 803 words.
My third best blog post and fourth best blog post are still ever lower in views and word count. 406 words and 469 words respectively.
Looking at the numbers between the first, second, third, and forth blog performance stats, it would appear that word count is truly a driving factor for success.
Or maybe it isn’t. The blogs above are all ones I have written specifically for Tribute Media, a business-to-business web marketing company. The formula can range depending on whether you are a B2B or B2C business and even depends on your industry.
Let’s look at blog posts I have written for a business-to-consumer company. Look at their top four performing blog post stats:
- Their best performing blog is only 502 words long and has received over 63,000 views since December 2016, averaging 74 views per day.
- The second best blog has 10,610 views since November 2017, an average of 21 views per day, and is 585 words.
- Third best has received 3,642 views since December 2017, an average of 8 views per day and is 543 words in length.
- And finally, the fourth place goes to a blog posted on July 27th, 2017 and has received a total of 2,891 views or 5 views per day. It is 672 words long.
Wait a minute! The fourth place blog that has by far the fewest views per day is the longest in word count? What are we supposed to glean from these two examples?
Important Blog Data and Statistics
The point I’m trying to make is this: write blog posts that are appropriate in length for the subject matter and that is long enough to engage your audience. If you’re writing for a business about more complex and data-driven concepts, then yes, your blog will need to be closer to the 1,000 to 2,000-word count because there will be more to cover to prove a point. If you’re writing about the best family board games, benefits of having a home cleaning service, or what questions to ask a real estate agent, you’ll probably need to keep those a bit shorter in order to keep your audience engaged.
Also, pay attention to the blog posts that have the longest average page view time; these are the blogs that really speak to your audience. How many words are they? What is the subject matter? Tone of voice? Relevancy to your products, services or brand?
Finally, one of the most important data points to pay attention to is what blog posts lead to people filling out a form, downloading information, making a purchase, or scheduling an appointment with you. Those are the posts that are specifically speaking to your customers and potential customers that are getting ready to do business with you.
Blog, Review, Then Blog Some More
The takeaway here is to blog, review how people are engaging or not engaging with your blog, make adjustments where necessary, and blog again. There are tools such as Atomic Reach to get SUPER granular about what title lengths, post lengths, tones, average word length, etc. etc. But no matter what feedback and data you are responding to, just make sure you keep your content authentic, interesting, and relevant. Your readers will appreciate it!
Written by Nikki Wardle
Nikki has a degree in Marketing from Boise State University and worked as an Inbound Marketing Specialist at Tribute Media from 2014 to 2019. She's a Google Whiz and dog lover, now serving as a marketing director for a local veterinary clinic.
