A heated debate has been going on in recent Yahoo and Google Webmaster forums..
The participant who started the thread asked regardless of whether Google views shorter content as trivial. He wrote from experience – he’deborah recently changed the format of their website from longer-form articles to help brief articles covering a wider selection of topics.
According to the member, his / her site’s rankings took a strike when he changed over to the new abbreviated style – even though readers cherished being served bite-sized pieces of info instead of large walls of textual content.
So where’s the disconnect? Yahoo and Google talks about thorough content, but can certainly shorter articles do the job equally well? Let’s look at Google’s stance and real users’ experiences to help you to draw your own conclusions about which in turn length is best for your web page.
1 Person’s Experience
The online community member, who goes by the grip “TheBigK,” runs a popular news blog and bases the content for it’s stories on various news sources. In line with his post, the authors on your website began writing longer articles with drawn-out opinions and descriptions after the algo changes.
After receiving feedback from website visitors, however, TheBigK deduced in which members desired shorter content instead these lengthy pieces. They seemed to favour brief articles with bite-sized bits of all the most relevant facts packed tightly into each one.
Just what exactly’s a webmaster to do?
If you guessed “please his visitors” then you actually’re right on the money. Your webmaster moved to 150 – 200 phrase articles covering a much broader selection of topics, and visitors were once once again thrilled. However, Google was not pleased. The member noted that most of the mini-pieces ranked poorly even although they were receiving more loyal visitors than were their longer counterparts.
TheBigK wondered whether Google considers faster articles to be thinner content. He admits that that the data and testing executed by his crew more or a smaller amount confirmed this assumption. Conversely, he thought about whether it would be worth dropping loyal visitors to rank better in the SERPs.
Google’s Take on Written content Length
It seems that Google’s reiterated the mantra, “content should concentrate on users, not search engines” about a bazillion times over the years. Plenty of Webmaster Help videos exist that promote the importance of creating completely authentic content as opposed to regurgitated “us too” posts that users can discovery copies of on hundreds of different sites. Further, Google expresses the need for adding your own voice to the discussion and adding a unique point of view readers cannot find elsewhere.
Big Gary the gadget guy has never released anything mentioning actual word count guidelines, but the tips above lead most to believe in which longer is indeed better. After wholly, when users search for something, many people’re more apt to favor benefits with more on the answers they will seek. This requires one thing first and foremost: words.
Google’s pushing webmasters to provide up more comprehensive posts because this’s trying to provide a better search experience for users. Is the idea possible to furnish that in 250 words or less? That’s uncertain. But in TheBigK’s case, it turned out all about providing what his consumers wanted – not what pleased Google… understanding that worked for him.
Testing
If you’re experiencing traffic fluctuations and you’onal begun to wonder whether the duration of your content is playing a purpose in the changes, try doing precisely what TheBigK did. Add some content of numerous lengths and analyze which ranks best – as well as the number regarding terms for which the content is actually ranking. Don’t just depend online for your feedback, however. Encourage comments from your users as well.
In the event that retaining your loyal visitors is much more of an incentive for you to retain doing what you’re doing, father’t change for Google’s welfare. Instead, adopt a full-scale hyperlink acquisition program that hinges upon creating your network. Reach out to peers in your niche and market by means of guest posting and social networking. You possibly can build a large following without determined by Google to get there.
However, in case ranking is important for generating this traffic you desire, then getting your blog in Google’s good graces really should be priority numero uno for you. If you feel your website is lagging in the actual SERPs, you still have options. Discover which posts rank well and analyze why they’re gaining traction. Consider links to the page in question and carefully review the nuts and mounting bolts of the content itself. Then, manipulation that information to construct more of the kinds of posts. Gauge their good results. Rinse and repeat.
I personally believe that longer is better when it pertains to content on the ‘net. That stated, 1000 words of drivel will still sink your site like a pit if you let it, so make certain your posts pack some heat and also controversy at every twist and convert. Get in front of breaking tales in your niche and deliver something users can’t find elsewhere. It’s bigger than pleasing Google – that’s about creating loyal visitors who will be sure to return time and once again.