Quick Question about Google Algorithm

1. 93

   Natalie Frankposted 6 years ago

   I know that in general a higher word count is looked upon favorably by the Google algorithm. Does anyone know if and when that reaches a point of diminishing returns where extra word count doesn't help any more?  I make my articles at least 1200 words because I heard way back when that was the minimum to shoot for (I'm sure it's probably different now).  Would google be more likely to notice your article if you were at 1300 words?  1500? 2500? Any ideas as to how high before it no longer matters?  (ex. Is it better to have one 4000 word article or to cut it into 2 2000 word articles).  Thanks!

   replyreport
   1. 82

      Marketing Meritposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I think this will vary, depending upon which article you read. However, 2,416 words is what one site suggests. Unfortunately, no source is provided to verify this.
      
      Also, I really think it depends upon your niche. Quite often, readers want answers and not waffle. Recipes is probably the best example of this.

      replyreport
   2. 84

      Georgie Loweryposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      My best hubs are around 3000 words and packed with info, no fluff. And, by best, I mean the hubs that pay me the most. This is what I’ve been told that Google looks for and repeated use of specific keywords is a no no. Someone here mentioned that you need to provide sources for your photos, and it’s always an extra brownie point to add other media, too. If you can also add a call to action, like a question, at the end to get folks to comment, even more Google brownie points come your way.
      
      It’s a combination of many things, not just word count.

      replyreport
      1. 100

         DrMark1961posted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Hi Georgie it is great to see you around! I was not even sure if you were participating in HP anymore. I hope all is going okay up that way.

         replyreport
2. 77

   jackclee lmposted 6 years ago

   No need to be too wordy. My experience is that you can get featured as little as 300 words. But most articles I write is between 1000-1500 words, along with a few well chosen images.

   replyreport
3. 96

   Kierstin Gunsbergposted 6 years ago

   This is just my experience, but there aren't too many words for Google. Some of my older Hubs are maybe 1000 words long and have little traffic. My newer articles that range between 2500-5000 words get much, much more traffic and do exponentially better in Google.

   replyreport
4. 96

   Kierstin Gunsbergposted 6 years ago

   And yes, I think it's a good tip to have at least 3 top quality, source-credited images within the article too. Too many photos can mess up readers' experience though. I've gone on articles that have like 30 pictures (the real click baity ones that show up in my newsfeeds) and OMG I can't get the dang page to load and give up. So to keep my click-through-rate safe I don't go over 5 images.

   replyreport
5. 85

   Marisa Wrightposted 6 years ago

   We're talking about two things here.
   
   One, readers.  Readers today have a short attention span and they're impatient.  You need to convince them, in your very first paragraph, that you can answer the question or solve the problem they've got. So you can't afford to waffle!
   
   But the other thing is Google.   If you don't please Google, then readers won't even see the Hub.  Google likes length.   The "sweet spot" used to be 1,500 words.   Recently, Paul posted to say it was worth going up to 2,500 words - but any longer than that, and the benefit starts tailing off.   
   
   If you have more material than 2,500 words, then chances are you are ranging over more than one aspect of your topic, and there's an opportunity to split the information into two articles, giving your material double the chance of ranking.   Note, I don't mean splitting it in half and writing #1 and #2, I mean creating two Hubs, each one concentrating on a different aspect of the topic and titled accordingly.

   replyreport
   1. 100

      DrMark1961posted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I thought he had said 2000. Do you remember which forum post that was in?

      replyreport
      1. 85

         Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Ah, you've made me doubt now.  Maybe it was 2000.

         replyreport
         1. 100

            DrMark1961posted 6 years agoin reply to this

            That is the number I have been shooting for. If an article is 2500 I doubt most of my readers are really going to go through the whole thing.

            replyreport
6. 93

   Natalie Frankposted 6 years ago

   Wow, I've been shooting pretty low i guess.  Not sure where I got 1200 from.  Next round of updates I guess I could stand to add so.e material.  Thanks for all the feedback.  It was really helpful.

   replyreport
   1. 85

      Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Like I said, the recommendation was "800 to 1500 words" for years and years.      So really, it's not surprising if that figure of 1200 stuck in your head!
      
      It's only in the last year that anyone has recommended going over 1500 words.  Up till then, it was always believed that once you got over 1500 words, you'd be better off splitting the Hub.

      replyreport