What Is Word Count?
Word count is the total number of words in the body content of a web article. Word counts are used to measuring the length of an article as opposed to counting the number of characters.
Optimal word count (or content length) is a much-debated topic in the field of search engine optimization (SEO). Some industry experts claim that the ideal word count for an online article is around 1,500 words, while others claim that content with 2,500 words delivers the best ranking results.
However, Google Search officials have publicly stated that the algorithms do not use word count length to judge the quality or relevance of an article for a set of search queries or to rank web pages in the search results.
Although that may be true, there is a strong correlation to the average word count length for the top-raking articles in the search engines for high-competition keywords. Therefore, the best strategy for SEO is to analyze the average word count for the top 10 search results and make sure your written content falls within that range.
Visit the SEO Glossary
Go to the SEO Glossary to find more terms and definitions that relate to the field of search engine optimization.
The Editorial Staff at SEO Chatter is a team of search engine optimization and digital marketing experts led by Stephen Hockman with more than 15 years of experience in search engine marketing. We publish guides on the fundamentals of SEO for beginner marketers.
