long content - Express Writers

Long Web Content is Still the Winner, Says Search Engine Journal

January 1, 2021September 12, 2014 by Adam Oakley

The content length debate is one that never goes away, though it does seem to die down every now and then. Once upon a time, many content creators were afraid to write long content because they believed that people wouldn’t read it. Long content is still the winner and it is what will bring and keep people on your site, according to a recent Search Engine Journal article. While it is true that people skim your online content that does not mean they aren’t reading it. We will be referencing this article throughout this post to explain just why longer content is the winner over short pieces. Is Longer Content Really The Best? When someone talks about long content, many of us possibly think that long content is not a winner and people simply will not finish in-depth pieces. Going back to the Slate article, it is titled, “You Won’t Finish This Article.” Regardless of what Slate says, Search Engine Journal has compiled a list of research that shows just how important longer content is. Long content is going to help you rank significantly because Google takes several things into consideration when ranking your site, not just keywords and quality. (Although, quality is one of the most important things, so do not forget to write quality material!) Why Is Longer Content The Winner? It is always a good idea to have information that backs up something such as this, and the Search Engine Journal article referenced earlier gives this information. There are several examples showing that longer content is the best to aim for when writing your web content and blogs, but people are still avoiding it. Let’s take a look at a few things that will be impacted if you write longer content and avoid posting shorter content: 1. People Are Going To Read An Article That Is Longer. In an article by SerpIQ, the researchers point out that longer content will bring more people to your site than a short article. The reason for this is pretty simple and something many people overlook. Think about when you search on Google for an answer to the question, sometimes you are just wondering how tall a celebrity is or what their next project will be, but other times you need information on how to install a sink or why you should write longer content. When you search for those things, you will want to read something that is actually a long piece instead of a short 500-word article. Why? Because, you know that you will get answers in a longer content piece than a shorter one. This is true of your visitors, clients, and readers as well. If someone searches for a question, he or she might only go to your site if you give a lengthy article in answer to the question. 2. Longer Posts Generate More Traffic. The Search Engine Journal article points out that because of people looking for longer content to answer their questions, your longer pieces are more likely to generate traffic. Generating traffic is something you want to do because that could mean more clients and revenue. You will be able to bring in more people with high-quality content and you will have content that establishes you as an authority in your field. This is important for every business, and you can capture this by writing lengthy content. You might be publishing short content that is high quality and should establish you as an authority, but you will find that many people might consider you more of an authority if you have long pieces on the different topics you write about. 3. People Will Stay On Your Site Longer. You will also find that people stay on your site much longer than they would if you only wrote short content. The reason for this is pretty obvious; it takes longer for someone to read a 2,000-word post than it does to read a 500-word post. When it comes to helping your site rank, having people who stay on your site longer is something that Google’s algorithms take into consideration and will combine it with other elements such as the ever-important quality content to determine your rank. Your lengthy content will take customers a bit of time to read through, but it will also make them more likely to look around your site after they have finished reading. This can help your ranks, but can also help bring in great revenue because those who are on your site longer might be more willing to make a purchase from you. 4. Longer Content Can Lead To More Social Media Shares. While people may only seem to share Grumpy Cat or some sort of—brace yourselves—Game of Thrones “Winter Is Coming” meme, many people also like to share content they find interesting. Sometimes they might share short content, but many times, an article that gets shared is one that provides the reader with useful information. All you have to do is click on the link of a certain article shared by a friend and you will most likely see that it is quite lengthy. If you want your content to get shared, you should try writing a few lengthier pieces that provide people with value and information, according to Meltwater.com. Always make sure you break up your long content, though, making it easier for people to skim. Bold sub-headers are a great way to break it up easily while still providing people with great longer content. How Can You Write Long Content? Now that you know longer content is still a winner and how it can factor into helping rank your site, you might be wondering just how to write it. This can be difficult for many people, especially if your market is a niche market. Here are a few handy suggestions that you can use to write longer content and give clients something that they will appreciate: 1. Create Lists And Flesh Them Out. Lists are … Read more

Short vs. Long Content: What’s Better For Rankings, Engagements & More (CASE STUDY)

January 1, 2021February 20, 2014 by Adam Oakley

At Express Writers, we serve nearly a thousand international clients monthly by providing content pages that are 99% web-based (utilized on blogs, as landing pages, website articles, etc.). This means that we have to keep up on the latest and greatest know-how to provide our clients with the best, highest quality content possible—closely tied in to how well the content will perform on Google and search results. If you’re an Internet Marketer, you most likely know very well by now that the Internet is ever-changing, and Google’s guidelines for ranking web content have significantly re-formed in the past 12 to 24 months. Big names in algorithm updates were Google Panda, Penguin, and Hummingbird. Since these algorithm updates, we’ve seen some solid trends favoring specific attributes of content that were previously overlooked in rankings. Specific attributes now being favored by the SERPs include: Long content is given preference above shorter content Less focus on keyword-optimization in the content and more of a real-world, researched, and reader-friendly oriented focus Well-formatted and visual-oriented blogs that get shared Let’s delve into the first attribute. Why and how, exactly, is longer content preferred and given a front row seat by the SERPs versus the previous standard of short, 1-page content? What Is Longer Content? Before we can successfully make an educated comparison of long versus short content, we need to fully comprehend just what long content is. Copyblogger first put a finger on it by writing a blog, “How to Write the In-Depth Articles that Google Loves,” in mid-2013. They called it “cornerstone content.” Cornerstone, or longer content, is the kind of content that is both thoughtful and in-depth. It is well researched and presents a battery of proven facts, much like an essay. Long content comes in different styles, strongly dependent on the company or brand creating the content. It is primarily conversational, educational, and informative. Some of the most SEO successful long content pieces range from 2,000 to 2,500 words, which is approximately a 5-page piece of writing. Let’s see what some experts think about long vs. short content. The Conundrum: Long vs. Short According to the Rank Correlation 2013 Study on ranking factors in 2013, published by SearchMetrics.com, “Content factors correlate almost entirely positively with good rankings and were apparently – when compared with the previous year – partially upgraded.” This fact proves that Google’s updates did indeed change, or upgrade, the system for ranking web content. A good percentage of ranking factors in 2013 went to quality content. According to SearchMetrics.com, the average number of words in the text was 576, which was up from 2012. The trend of rising word count in content has continued into 2014. A QuickSprout.com contributor, Neil Patel, decided to test out the new waters favoring long content. He swam to the newly popular deep end of the pool and created a test homepage of 1,292 words versus a second homepage of a mere 488 words. Both pages had a fill out form at the bottom. Although he initially thought the longer content would decrease his conversion rate, the results of his test were intriguing: The long content converted 7.6 percent better than the shorter. The leads resulting from the long content proved to be of better quality. The long content boosted conversions and SERPs. Patel concluded, through his research and case study, that longer content is indeed better for rankings, engagement and more versus short content. He also concluded that in 2014, content truly is king and if we’re wise, we’ll invest in the creation of well-written, authoritative, and engaging content. The Express Writer’s Long Content Case Study After identifying the trend to longer content and seeing what the experts had to say, we decided it was our turn to join the deep end of the pool. We put this trend to a wheel-grinding test just before Christmas 2013, by writing 2,000-word, highly researched, niche topic content blogs, and posting them on our blog. The results were phenomenal: Google loved our content and we gained significant keyword rankings that grew steadily. Screenshot of our rankings Dec 2013: Screenshot Jan 2014: The rankings were closely tied to the actual blogs we posted, for example this blog on how to deliver compelling content, that was ranking for the keyword web content writing tips: Lastly the Feb 2014 Rankings: How Can You Jump Into The Deep End? Now that the experts have waded into the deep end and shared proven results, the rest of us can jump right in. But how? Where’s the diving board? One of the most common questions we hear businesses asking is how do I write long content without overdoing it (being wordy, boring, etc.)? If you’ve asked this question, you’ve pinpointed the biggest obstacle to long content: HOW THE HECK do we come up it? Even Internet Marketers are asking this question. SearchEngineLand.com published eight means of creating what they refer to as long tail content for SEO. The article drives home the point that while SEO isn’t dying, it is evolving. You cannot create content merely for the sake of keyword searches and traffic. You have to “shift toward a more user-content-centric view of the world.” You can accomplish this feat and generate great long content by: Gathering your best people and brainstorming. You know whom we’re talking about. Those elite few within your fold who have a talent for brainstorming fresh, cutting-edge ideas. Pull these folks together and start brainstorming content ideas. Let creativity get a foothold, and then move to the research phase. Become familiar with the needs of your audience. Pinpoint the top 5 to 10 needs of your audience. Then, brainstorm topic ideas that allow you to cover each need and the solutions you offer in a lengthy, well-researched piece of content. When you delve deeply into the needs of your audience, you’d be amazed at how quickly you’ll compile pieces that exceed 2,000 or so words and need to be trimmed back or split into two … Read more