“Is there an optimal number of characters for SEO?”
“Does the number of characters affect search ranking?”
If you are creating articles with SEO in mind, you have probably wondered about this at least once.
Some of you may have tried desperately to increase the number of characters after hearing things like “Long-form content is better for SEO” and “If you have to write at least 1,000 characters per page, you won’t be able to rank higher.”
In conclusion, the number of characters does not directly affect search ranking.
This means that the ranking will not go up or down depending on whether the number of characters is large or small.
The same goes for the number of characters in the main text, title, and meta description.
It is certainly understandable that it would be easier to write articles if there was a clear standard such as “at least XX characters are required for higher rankings,” but thinking about SEO in terms of the number of characters is itself deviating from the essence.
As long as the content satisfies the reader, you don’t need to worry about the number of characters at all.
This time, we will explain in detail the relationship between SEO and character count.
Table of contents
What is the relationship between SEO and character count? [Is it advantageous to have more characters?]
The number of characters is not a factor that directly affects ranking.
This means that even if you increase the number of characters compared to competing pages, it will not rank higher or give you an SEO advantage.
Google determines rankings based on the quality of the content, not the number of characters.
Even if the number of characters is small, if it is high-quality content that satisfies users, it can be ranked higher.
It is true that as a result of creating high-quality content that satisfies users, it is often the case that content with a larger number of characters naturally ranks higher.
However, word count is only a “byproduct” of creating content.
Even if you focus on the number of characters and increase it, it is not a factor that will improve SEO performance.
[Google’s opinion] Number of characters is not a ranking factor
In fact, Google’s John Mueller commented on the reddit message board in 2019 that “word count (character count) is not a ranking factor.”
reference: How to find word count in SERP? – reddit
Also, during office hours in 2016, he said the following:
We don’t have algorithms that count the words on a page and say, “Anything less than 100 words is bad.” They don’t look at things like, “Any content between 100 and 500 words is OK,” or “If it’s over 500 words, you need 5 photos.” We look at the entire page to make sure the search results are truly engaging and relevant to the user. If so, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s long or short, whether it has a lot of images or not.
Quote source: English Google Webmaster Central office-hours hangout
As you can see from this statement, Google does not link the number of characters to the quality of content, nor does it have an algorithm that allows the number of characters to affect rankings.
If you need a lot of information or explanation to make your content attractive to users, you can write a voluminous article, and if you don’t, there’s no need to forcefully increase the number of characters.
[Conclusion] There is no “optimal number of characters” or “minimum number of characters” for higher ranking display
Of course, there are no standards such as “○ characters are the best” or “more than ○ characters are required on one page.”
In fact, Google warns against “writing articles to have a certain number of characters.”
Are you writing articles to be a certain number of characters because you heard or read somewhere that Google has a preferred number of characters (no such setting exists)?
Quote source: Creating useful, reliable, user-focused content | Google Search Central
In the first place, what users want differs depending on the search keyword, so the amount of information required to meet their needs also differs.
If the keyword is “Tokyo weather”, a minimum amount of text will be enough, and if the keyword is “how to file a tax return”, you won’t be able to provide a convincing explanation without a certain amount of text.
Never get attached to the number of characters, and always try to provide just enough information to help users achieve their goals.
Why is character count considered to have an impact on SEO?
Still, the reason why many people think that “content with a large number of characters is advantageous” is probably because some people view the “correlation” between the number of characters and SEO as a “causal relationship.”
In overseas research, many correlational studies regarding word count have been published.
For example, research by Ahrefs shows that there is a strong positive correlation between the number of words on a page and the number of referring domains (backlinks).
reference: How Long Should Blog Posts Be? [The Real Answer]
Simply put, pages with a large number of characters tend to receive backlinks from more domains than pages with a smaller number of characters.
It has also been found that there is a moderate correlation between “number of words on page” and “organic traffic.”
reference: How Long Should Blog Posts Be? [The Real Answer]
This means that pages with more characters tend to receive more traffic than pages with fewer characters.
When looking at these data, it is easy to think that “the number of characters affects SEO,” but the data only shows a “correlation” and not a “causal relationship.”
In other words, it cannot be concluded that “because the number of characters is large → SEO performance is high (high backlink traffic)”.
It is natural to think that the reason for the high performance is not because of the large number of characters, but because the content has been created to cover the search needs.
When users create highly comprehensive content that can resolve 120% of their questions and concerns, it is common for the number of characters to increase as a result.
The number of characters is only a result.
What if you really want to know the ideal number of characters? 【guideline】
Although there is no direct relationship between ranking and number of characters, some people may want to have a guideline for the number of characters when creating an article.
For example, if you outsource your articles to external writers.
Before outsourcing, it is often necessary to have a rough guideline for the number of characters.
If you want to know the approximate word count, refer to the top competing pages.
The amount of information required to satisfy users varies depending on the search keyword, so it is appropriate to use the pages that are actually ranked high as a guide.
3 factors more important than word count in SEO
When it comes to SEO, creating content that has the following three elements is far more important than the number of characters.
If you are having trouble improving your rankings, consider reviewing your content with these three factors in mind.
1. Comprehensiveness of search intent
Google highly rates content that directly responds to user needs.
Therefore, it is most important to deeply understand the purpose of a user’s search (search intent).
- what kind of person
- for what purpose
- What kind of state are you aiming for?
- On the other hand, clarify what kind of situation you are searching for and want to avoid.
When it comes to SEO, it is often said to “increase comprehensiveness,” but this does not mean “just try to cover a wide range of information and create voluminous content.”
This means “increasing the comprehensiveness of search intent” and “including comprehensive information that can properly resolve search users’ concerns.”
If you don’t know the search intent, no matter how much content you add, it will have the opposite effect because you’ll end up with more information that doesn’t meet your needs.
Google also advises the following in its document on useful content:
When a user finishes reading your content, do they feel like they have enough information about a topic to fulfill their purpose?
Quote source: Creating useful, reliable, user-focused content | Google Search Central
The article below provides a detailed explanation of how to investigate search intent, so please refer to it.
What is search intent that is important in SEO? How to accurately understand and utilize it in content -webma-
2. Aloneness
Particularly recently, Google has placed an emphasis on the “uniqueness” of content.
As AI-generated content increases, it is predicted that more original content will be given preferential treatment in the future.
Here are some ways to increase your uniqueness:
Check to see if any of the content on your site provides unique value.
3. reliability
Nowadays, anyone can send out information, and Google also places importance on whether the information in the content is trustworthy.
It is important to properly demonstrate the “trustworthiness” of your content to both Google and users by using the following methods.
Trustworthiness is the highest ranking element among the “E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness)” that Google includes in its search quality evaluation guidelines.
Be aware of ensuring the reliability of information not only for the site as a whole, but also for each piece of content.
Frequently asked questions about the relationship between SEO and character count
We have compiled answers to frequently asked questions regarding SEO and character count.
1. Are articles with a small number of characters considered low quality? Should it be deleted?
Just because it has a small number of characters doesn’t mean it’s considered “low-quality content.”
Even if the number of characters is small, there is content that provides value to users.
You should carefully decide whether to remove it or not, depending on whether it provides value to users.
There have been cases where content with a small number of characters was arbitrarily judged to be “low quality” and deleted, resulting in a loss of more than 60% of traffic.
Check out the article below to understand Google’s definition of “low-quality content.”
What is low quality content? Explaining Google’s definition, its impact on SEO, and how to tell the difference -webma-
2. Is it better to create one article with a large number of characters or to divide it into multiple articles?
Both of the following cases exist, so the optimal method will differ depending on the conclusion and the keyword you want to target.
- Cases where segmenting pages increases traffic with niche keywords
- Cases of increasing traffic for commonly searched keywords by combining them on one page
Generally speaking, in the early stages of SEO, a niche “long tail keywordsIt tends to be easier to rank higher if you aim for “.
However, be careful not to divide your content into thin, low-quality content, as this will lower your ranking on Google.
[Summary] “Number of characters” is not a factor to be aware of in SEO
It is not appropriate to approach SEO by focusing on the number of characters.
This is because Google does not evaluate the number of characters and reflect it in rankings.
Instead of worrying about word count, focus on improving the quality of your content.
There was a time in the past when long-form SEO was said to be advantageous, but users don’t really want to read long texts.
It’s true that comprehensive content is good, but don’t forget that what users are originally looking for is content that easily answers their concerns and questions.
