Now that we’ve explained the potential benefits of longer word counts (and the caveats), let’s talk about how you can optimise the word counts of your content for SEO.
Quality over quantity
The most important thing to keep in list to data mind is that quality always trumps quantity when it comes to SEO and content marketing. It’s tempting to look for easy answers and aim for 1,500+ words on every post but higher word counts alone aren’t going to help you rank higher in search.
If you’re simply filling pages to hit a quota, you’re not going to get any of the benefits of longer word counts because users won’t engage with your content or return to your website.
Above all, the quality needs to be there on every page – from the opening sentence to the last. And, you also have to recognise that, for some queries, a shorter piece of content may be better for the end user.
Fulfil the purpose of your content (asap)
Every piece of content you produce instructions to nail the email marketing campaigns using essential elements should have a clear purpose – both for you and your target audience. Let’s say you publish a study filled with first-party data and stats. The purpose for you might be to earn links from reputable websites but the purpose for the end user is to get valuable data insights on the topic of your study.
Whatever the purpose of your content is, the general rule of thumb is to fulfil this purpose in the fewest words possible. This applies to every piece of content you produce and every sentence it includes – don’t use 100 words to explain something that only requires 10.
Let’s imagine a different example: an instructional guide to help new users get started with a software product. The purpose of the software company is to maximise the percentage of new users that successfully set up the product and start using it while the purpose for the end user is to get the best use out of the product they’re now paying for. For example, Semrush has a ~3,000-word starter guide to help new users get to grips with its software.
In this case, you want to produce a guide that’s in-depth enough to cover every step of the setup process but also as concise as possible to provide clear instructions without any confusion.
Format pages properly
We touched on this earlier from the chine directory perspective that longer content allows you to include more headings, lists, images and other elements search engines like to see on every page. However, it’s also increasingly important to use these elements properly and format pages correctly as your word counts increase.
Sentences and paragraphs should be short, concise and to the point. Break the page up with plenty of subheadings and include relevant images that add contextual meaning or support for the key points made in your content.
Make sure you understand how to use headings (h1, h2, h3, etc.) and include lists where possible to make key points stand out on the page.