As long as Google SEO exists, this question keeps on circulating now and then. Does word count matter to Google? Is word count a crucial factor in SEO? Will a larger word count article rank higher? Does word count impact ranking? In the world of search engine optimization, many factors play an important role in search engine result pages and their ranking on Google.
Popular SEO tools website Ahrefs suggests
“Don’t shoot for a particular word count — just make sure you cover a topic in full. Whether that takes 500 words or 10,000, the key is that you are creating the best resource available for your target keyword.”
According to Google, all it cares about is quality over quantity.
A website that provides high-quality, fresh, and relevant content is prioritized. When a user inserts a query on the search engine, Google ensures to provide all information regarding the search query by satisfying the user. And the webpage which carries all that information following Google’s other ranking factors gets the top ranking on the search engine result page.
Google’s other SEO ranking factors are
• On-page SEO optimization
• SEO-friendly website architecture
• User experience
• High-quality backlinks
• Mobile-friendliness
• Page loading speed
• Website domain authority
• Website security
• Social Signals
Then why do longer articles rank higher?
As Google SEO looks for fresh informative website with all ranking factors, longer articles by nature holds all the necessary information required for the particular search term. A webpage that covers in-depth information, and valuable insights for the target topic and if the content is fresh, by default it will have a higher word count compared to the website which holds less information. It also has relevant keywords related to the main keywords. As keywords play a vital part in SEO, it is an added advantage for longer articles. This shows word count is an indirect factor in ranking, which contributes as a secondary factor in a webpage’s success.
Google Ranking and Word Count!
Google’s recent tweet from Google Search Liaison, Danny Sullivan, says
‘word count is not a thing’
Google’s search advocate John Mueller declares,
“We don’t use word count for ranking. It is fine to use a word for ‘yourself’ as a guideline for your content if it encourages better content from your writers”
In his recent news, he explained,
“No ranking factor compensates missing relevance, or missing user interest.”
“It’s easy to forget that a site doesn’t just ‘rank’ on its own, it ranks for what it’s relevant for.”
Google Search Central confirms this statement
This assures that Google is not behind word count, instead, word count accompanies fresh, high-quality, and informative content.
Though word count is not considered a ranking factor, make sure other factors like thin page, plagiarism, or keyword stuffing are not seen on your website. This affects the website’s ranking from an SEO perspective. Well-optimized SEO-friendly articles with high value fresh and relevant content written with the help of SEO experts are a must for website ranking.
FAQs
1. Is word count a ranking factor in SEO?
No, word count is not a ranking factor in SEO. Yet, it is an indirect factor that determines the ranking factor of a web page.
2. Does word count matter for SEO?
Word count is not a matter of SEO. Instead, high-quality, fresh content with detailed relevant information matters.
3. Does longer content rank higher on the search engine result page?
Not exactly. A web page that provides valuable content which, meets user queries has a higher possibility to rank higher on search engine result pages.
4. What are the important ranking factors in SEO?
Factors like on-page SEO optimization, website architecture, user experience, high-quality backlinks, mobile-friendliness, page speed, domain authority, website security, and social signals are important ranking factors.
5. Will word count affect SEO?
Though the word count is not a ranking factor, a longer article incorporates relevant keywords and more content about the topic. This can show a positive sign on SEO.
