Never more so than right now, content is definitely king In the world of search engine optimisation (SEO), as Google and Bing get smarter with AI to identify good, unique, readable and engaging content. However, creating good quality content isn’t just about the words you use; it’s also about how many words you use. The length of your content can impact its visibility and performance in search engine rankings. In this article, we will explore the optimal word count for website pages and blogs.
Additionally, we’ll introduce a potentially useful keyword tool, the Wiser IT Solutions Keyword Density Checker, which is currently in beta mode, and may help you monitor and improve your content’s keyword density and length in terms of word count.
Why Word Count Matters for SEO:
Improved Search Engine Rankings:
Search engines value content that is comprehensive and provides value to users. Longer articles tend to have more in-depth information, making them more likely to be considered authoritative by search engines. Consequently, well-researched and longer-form content can contribute to higher search engine rankings.
Enhanced User Engagement:
Longer content has the potential to engage readers for a longer duration. When users spend more time on your website, it signals search engines that your content is valuable and relevant, leading to improved rankings. Moreover, comprehensive content encourages users to explore your website further, reducing bounce rates and increasing conversions.
Opportunity for Targeted Keywords:
By increasing the word count, you create more opportunities to incorporate relevant keywords naturally into your content. Keyword optimisation is crucial for SEO, as it helps search engines understand the context of your page and rank it accordingly. However, it’s essential to strike a balance to avoid overstuffing keywords, which can harm your rankings.
Finding the Ideal Word Count:
The ideal word count for a page or blog post depends on several factors, including the purpose of the content, target audience, and industry standards. However, here are some general guidelines to consider:
What is the Ideal Word Count for SEO?:
If you search online for this, you will read everything from 200 words, up to 2500 is best for SEO. And while we would say that anything below 300 words probably means you simply don’t know enough about a subject to be writing about it, there is not an ideal set number of words that will ensure a page ranks well on the search engines.
Studies have shown that pages with somewhere between 1000 and 2000 words per page tend to rank better overall across the web, but if you are in a niche with less competition there is nothing to stop you from ranking high on Google or Bing with much less content than that, as long as it’s good, accurate, informative and readable content to educate and engage the reader, and ideally more than your competitor’s pages do too!
Quality Over Quantity:
While word count matters, it should not come at the expense of quality. Creating content that is valuable, informative, and engaging should always be the priority. Focus on providing comprehensive information that addresses the needs of your target audience.
Research Industry Standards:
Analysing competitors and industry leaders can provide insights into the content length that performs well within your niche. Examine high-ranking pages and blog posts to identify trends and patterns. This will give you an idea of the expectations and preferences of your target audience.
Analyse User Intent:
Understanding user intent is essential for crafting effective content. Some search queries require detailed, long-form content, while others may be better suited for concise answers. Align your word count with the user’s intent behind the search query to deliver the best possible experience.
Using the Wiser IT Solutions Keyword Density Checker:
To optimise your content further, Wiser IT Solutions offers a powerful free tool, the Keyword Density Checker. This tool allows you to measure both the number of words on a page, as well as the frequency of specific keywords within your content. Here’s how to use it effectively:
Enter Your Content:
Copy and paste your content into the text box provided on the Wiser IT Solutions Keyword Density Checker page. Ensure that the visible text content represents the specific page or blog post you want to analyse. If you have already published the page, you can simply add the page URL.
Analyse Word Count and Keyword Density:
Click on the “Check Keyword Density” button, and the tool will display the number of words on the page, and also calculate the keyword density of your content. It will display a list of the most frequently used keywords and their respective densities, this will show 1-word, 2-word phrases, 3-word phrases and 4-word phrases by density percentage.
There is a lot said about keyword density online, and even Google themselves have said that this is no longer a ranking factor, but it is still a useful tool simply to get a quick visual and percentage idea of how much or how little your chosen keywords are showing on a page. If your chosen keyword or variations of it are barely mentioned then it’s unlikely that your page will rank well for it, and likewise, if it’s repeated too many times it may mean that your content is a victim of keyword stuffing, and that can certainly be a negative ranking factor, and will mean that your content may not be as readable or as engaging as it should be, since using natural language you would not constantly be repeating the same words or phrases that often.
As a guide, if you have a keyword Density much over 4% then it needs to be reviewed. This either means you have repeated a word or phrase a bit too much, or it could just mean that your content overall needs to be longer to dilute the keywords more into the body of the text.
Optimise Your Content:
Based on the results, you can make adjustments to your content to optimise keyword usage. Ensure that keywords are used naturally and in context, avoiding excessive repetition, and keep the content fresh, interesting and engaging.
Maintain Readability:
While optimising keyword quantity and density is essential, it should never compromise the readability of your content
NEED SOME HELP WITH YOUR SEO CONTENT?
If you are working on a new or existing website, and need some help to refine, re-write or re-engineer your website content, and want to ensure that it’s going to work both for engaging visitors and for SEO to help you rank better in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERP) then feel free to contact Wiser IT and we will help in any way you would like.
Even if you are a fan of AI writing tools like ChatGPT, human intervention to improve upon the content is still (at least currently) essential to strike the balance between making the content more readable for your target audience and better for SEO.
From writing content for you, to training your internal teams to do a better job of it themselves, we can help you at any level or with any aspect of content writing or SEO.
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Wiser IT is an SEO company in the UK, we perform SEO tasks and audits for companies across the UK. We specialise in technical SEO, SEO analysis, link building, and helping internal web and marketing teams to understand how to weave SEO into their everyday online marketing to help businesses grow by making their websites found easier on Google and Bing.
If you are looking for an SEO consultant to help your business call Wiser IT today on 07941 783434 or fill in the contact form