Customers Served
Reviews
Enjoy 20% off all custom socks sitewide—limited time only!
Get in touch
If you’ve been making your rounds here on the web for a considerable number of years, you definitely know that the discourse “long copy vs short copy” has been a perpetual one.
Luckily, some conclusions have been made by now, like the fact that long-form content positively affects rankings and conversions, and perhaps better than short-form content.
And it’s not just a question of opinion. Factual data has been put to it.
Now, if you are here for the entire gist on the topic, you just landed on target with this post.
So, the core question is how content length affects rankings and conversions. And you are about to discover it all in this long-form post, just to show you we are leading by example.
But let’s get to the point.
Anyone interested in the long copy vs. short copy discussion has certainly seen this graph from a past SerpIQ study that has made waves over the years.
The study, referenced over and over by innumerable web posts, reported a positive correlation between content ranking and the number of words.
The heart of the findings?
All top 10 posts on Google’s SERP page had over 2,000 words. The #1 ranked post had 2,416 words compared to 2,032 words of the #10 post. In short, the higher a post ranked, the more words it had.
The study, which together with similar ones around the same time has made its fair share of rounds over the years, is now defunct.
Surprisingly, though, new data continues to show that content keeps getting longer over the years.
Check out the latest on average blog length from Orbit Media Studios.
All that makes anyone think, “There must be some benefit coming from long-form content, right?”
But let’s hold on to that thought for a bit and instead tackle this question first.
Exactly how long is long-form content that ranks better on Google?
Again, blogging statistics from Orbit Media Studios show posts with 2000-3000 words deliver better marketing results, followed by those with 3000+ words, then those with 1500-2000 words.
And there’s an extra detail!
The 1500 to 3000-word range seems to be the long-form content that ranks top. Instead, if the word count goes beyond this range, the graph line takes a wavy trend rather than a negative slope.
See what COGNITIVESEO found with regard.
If all this makes you want to hurry and create a 1500 to 3000-word post right now, we say, “You might be jumping the gun!” Read the answer to our next question first.
Just what is it about long content that makes it positively affect rankings and conversions?
You are about to discover that in the next section.
I’ve read blogs whose authors use logic and factual data to demonstrate that ‘long’ isn’t really the trick that rewards content with better rankings and conversions.
But, in all those blogs, there is always a small-print clause that kind of says, “After all this logic, I still have to admit that longer content ranks and converts better.”
Now, if you, like me, are smiling right now, you’ll love the reasons why longer content, between 1500 to 3000 words, affects rankings and conversions positively.
Here they are!
We all know that Google can penalize you for keyword spamming if they don’t fit naturally into the content.
With longer content, you have more space to spread the keywords and include them more than once. That’s why you stand a better chance of an SEO ranking with long-form content.
Think about it this way.
If your related keyword search returns 15 best options and you are writing a 500-word post, you are definitely going to try and force them in. And Google won’t give you a chance to rank.
Instead, it is easier to distribute 15 related keywords organically in a 1500-word post. That should also fit within Suffer SEO’s rule of 1%-2% keyword density in the content.
There’s something I’ve discovered over the years while focusing on matters SEO:
Many marketers and bloggers have this subtle belief that everyone prefers shorter content, including shorter marketing ads.
Well, that is partly true and partly speculative.
Let me explain it with a study I bumped into while on my Google rounds for this post. It’s about the effectiveness of short form vs long form media ads.
It’s true, today’s customers don’t have the luxury of hours and hours searching for info about a product.
However, that does not mean they don’t want to know everything about a product before they bet their buck on its value, and more so if the buck is big.
So, this ads study found that short form ads have a better chance of convincing the buyer to purchase, and watchers remember them more.
But…
Long-form ads have a better shot at making the product appear more relevant and more trustworthy to the customer.
Here’s the summary of that info.
If my guess is right, you’ve deduced from the findings that long-form ads convert better.
And related reasons make long-form posts convert better too.
Here they are!
1 Consumers want to know more about a topic or product they are interested in.
That’s right!
If a consumer cares about a product or topic, they will want to hear everything about it. That counts as longer dwell time and a higher chance of scrolling to the end to get all the info.
Consider that, although Google does not say it officially, ‘time on site’ does suggest content relevance and impacts ranking.
2 Longer content leaves no doubts about a product.
While consumers do want you to break down the details about a product into short, scannable phrases, they also want the info to be conclusive.
That means you are not leaving any doubts about why the product is excellent in meeting their need. As a result, they don’t need to search for complementary info from other sources.
We are talking about matching content length and search intent.
3 Longer content has the favor of search engine spiderbots.
Search engines tend to skip thin content with fewer words from search results. Instead, web crawlers easily index long-form content, which counts for a higher chance of ranking.
4 Longer content alludes to authority in the topic.
When readers find exhaustive content, they easily presume that the writer knows everything about the product or topic and is, therefore, an authority.
If you were them, would you choose content from a guesser or an authority? Your answer must be as good as mine: an authority!
Another fact that has stood constant over the years regarding the positive effect of long content on rankings and conversions is that it attracts backlinks.
Way back in 2011, SEOmoz established that posts with more backlinks ranked higher on search engines, especially for those with over 200 words.
More recent data still shows that to be true.
In two different analyses, BACKLINKO has reconfirmed that long-form content gets more backlinks and, as a result, ranks better.
In the 2019 analysis of 912 million posts, they established that long-form content gets 77.2% more backlinks than shorter content, especially if the word count is over 3000.
Here’s what that finding looks like on a graph.
In the 2024 analysis of more than 11.8 million Google search results, BACKLINKO found that posts with more backlinks dominate the top position on SERPs, outdoing those with no or fewer backlinks. As a matter of fact, the #1 post on Google SERP has 3.8 more backlinks than the 2nd to 10th posts.
In summary, there are 3 truths to underline here:
Backlinks are important for SEO as they suggest content authoritativeness.
Longer content attracts more backlinks.
Therefore, more long-form content backlinks help it rank better on search engine result pages.
Albeit indirectly and unofficially, social signals impact SEO.
How?
When readers share a post on sites like X and Facebook or mention it on community sites like Quora and Reddit, they signal to search engines that the content is relevant.
And, the long-form content completeness and relevance apply here too.
The BACKLINKO 2019 analysis I mentioned earlier also found that longer content is likely to get more social shares than shorter content. However, the content has to be 2000 or less, or the social shares will start to go down.
See how that plays out in graphics.
There’s one fact that evidences itself from all that we’ve said so far:
Creating long-form posts eventually translates to a higher website word count.
So, here’s another important thing you should know about how content length affects rankings and conversions.
Websites with higher word counts attract more long-tail keyword searches.
And what is it about long-tail keyword search and rankings + conversions?
It seems you and everyone else are searching more long-tail keywords than head terms. Data by BACKLINKO found that, although long tail keywords account for only 3.3% of overall search volume, they constitute 91.8% of search queries on Google.
Check out that data here.
Because long tail queries search for more specific info, they are more likely to send you to long-form posts. That’s because long form posts are more comprehensive, translating to more precise information on a keyword. And don’t forget about content length impact on engagement.
So, if your long form post or copy records more reads for a long tail keyword, it eventually records higher ranking and conversions.
At this point, anyone wonders if they should abandon shorter content altogether.
Check out our take on that in the next section.
Don’t they say every rule has some exceptions?
Well, the long copy vs short copy discourse also has one. Sometimes, shorter content can favor rankings and conversion better or as much as longer form content.
Here are some occasions to choose shorter form over longer form content.
When your copy targets an audience that already knows everything about the product and only needs a little push to decide on a purchase, short-form copy is a great choice.
When you are writing a post on a head keyword about which readers are more likely to be interested in quick answers or definitions.
If you have limited space and can only post a certain number of words, or if the cost of posting increases with words, as with ads.
You are selling a product worth a few bucks and easy to describe in a few paragraphs. As the price of a product fattens, consumers will want more precise answers to their questions about the product in order to justify their purchase.
When you have 100% trust in your summary skills and are sure you can describe a product in a few compelling lines.
You are a widely known authority on the topic or product quality, and the audience already trusts your word.
The bottom line: It’s no hoax that longer content positively affects rankings and conversions. It’s a data-backed fact!
Longer content is more comprehensive and, as such, more likely to attract readers looking to get all their info on a query or product in one post.
Longer content suggests to the reader that the writer is an expert or authority. If it is high-quality, it’s bound to affect rankings and conversions positively due to longer dwell time. So, make every word in long-form content count.
In the long run, content length positively affects rankings and conversions if it comprehensively answers the audience’s search intent. And longer content has proven better than shorter content in thoroughness.