Word Count Is Not A Quality Factor – Mueller

Some SEO experts and webmasters strive for a higher word count in their SEO content development, believing that the more words a piece of content has, the higher it will rank in Google search results. In an episode of the SEO Office Hours, Google’s John Mueller confirmed whether or not this SEO content strategy is actually effective.

An SEO told Mueller that they add as much relevant content as they can to a piece of published content with the interest of their users in mind. They asked if Google automatically sees a specific webpage as better than others if there is more relevant text.

The person who asked the question was not clear about their definition of “relevant content”. In the SEO industry, it could mean a lot of things. A piece of written SEO content can be relevant to user intent, to keywords, or to the people; meaning, there are many ways in which content can be relevant. Moreover, some types of content relevance can be more useful in terms of ranking purposes than others.

Nevertheless, the person who asked the question held the idea that they can enhance their rankings by simply adding more text to a piece of published content, and Mueller was quick to deny this SEO myth. He replied, saying that updating content is not a simple process.

It is commonly believed by many SEOs that quality articles should be comprehensive, which also gives them the impression that a piece of content must be inherently longer. And since quality is usually equated to comprehensiveness, many people believe that their webpage will rank higher if the content has a higher word count.

However, Mueller went on to explain the idea of word count in the context of ranking and quality factors.

Mueller said that in Google’s eyes, the word count of webpage content is not a quality factor nor a ranking factor. Therefore, a webpage does not get any better just by blindly adding more and more text to it.

He then goes on to compare the situation to an example of a book and a brochure, and what the readers feel is more useful between the two.

One could give readers a short brochure or a huge book filled with detailed information. In some cases, people will choose to read the more comprehensive book, while others may want something short and sweet. This situation is similar to search.

Mueller also added that if SEOs have adequate information for indexing so that Googlebot and their readers would understand what the webpage is all about, then keeping a short version is fine – as long as they get the message across.

Some people think that longer pieces of written content are crucial because Google does not rank “thin” content – content that is too short. However, lack of word count does not accurately define thin content; a more precise definition is that it is content that lacks usefulness.

Making quality news and blog articles is important in SEO content development, but it is not always simple or easy. It takes a work of an expert in the SEO industry to make a website’s content successful.

Here at Position1SEO, we have the experience, knowledge, and skills necessary to come up with the best strategies to drive your site and search rankings forward. We will first assess the focused topic of your webpage and how well it fulfils the needs of your readers. Based on that, we will then work to improve your webpage content, targeting the right keywords and making it more relevant to your target audience.

We bank on up-to-date SEO strategies that comply with Google’s algorithm systems to make your content shine on the search engine results pages. If you are interested in working with us, get in touch today! Dial 0141 846 0114 or write to us at office@position1seo.co.uk.