SEO text length – How long is the optimal SEO text?
SEO text length – How long is the optimal SEO text?
Why write (or have someone write) 2000 words when 300 will do? And are 300 words really enough for Google to find my website? Over the years, I've collected my clients' questions about SEO text length. In this article, I explain the role text length plays in search engine optimization, how many words an SEO text needs to perform well, and what you should pay attention to regarding text length.
Why write (or have someone write) 2000 words when 300 will really do? And are 300 words for Google to find my website? Over the years, I've collected my clients' questions about SEO text length. In this article, I'll explain the role text length plays in search engine optimization, how many words an SEO text needs to perform well, and what you should pay attention to regarding text length.
What to expect in this article
Why is SEO text length important for Google?
Imagine you invest 10 million euros. You put 7 million into real estate, 2.5 million into precious metals, and only half a million euros into stocks. From this investment strategy , I can conclude that real estate is most important to you, precious metals are relatively important, and stocks are more of a secondary consideration.
The same principle applies to SEO text length: if Google a high-quality text with 2,000+ words on your website, it knows you have a lot to say on that topic. This topic is therefore important to you and your company because you've dedicated so much space to it on your website. And it's significantly more important than a topic you've only written about in 300+ words.
If Googlebots find a particularly long, helpful SEO text on your website, Google knows: You are an expert in this topic, this topic is important to you.
Monika Weber, SEO copywriter
Based on the length of your SEO content (and other criteria*), Googlebots assess where the focus of your website lies, what you are an expert in – and what is more of a peripheral topic for your company.
These are the SEO text lengths that exist – and they are suitable for the following formats
SEO texts can range in length from zero to several thousand words or more. As a long-time SEO copywriter, I regularly work with different text lengthsto various goals . I've categorized my most frequently used SEO text lengths for you.
<300 words: Function instead of information
In the industry, among content SEOs, we consider texts with fewer than 300 words to be "not SEO-relevant." Does Google even recognize the content of these texts? It's unknown. The fact is, pages with little content certainly have a functional justification. Contact forms, for example, are for user-friendliness (usabilityfunctionally important, even if they contain little text.
For what?
I write text for pages with fewer than 300 words if they don't contain SEO-relevant content but are essential for website visitors. For example, this might include the homepage, the contact page , or wiki articles—if they peripheral topics for which my client doesn't want to be explicitly searched, but which are important for understanding the site.
However, it's difficult to make a blanket statement: even contact pages can be SEO-optimized in some cases. It always depends on the overall picture, the SEO content strategy.
300+ words: SEO text minimum length
300 words is the minimum text lengthrequired to be found on Google. I typically write SEO texts of this length, covering secondary topics or relevant topics with low search volume.
Especially with long-tail keywords (very specific, often longer search terms) for which there is little or no competition, you can rank on page 1 of Google with short SEO content that just meets the minimum length for SEO texts. Also for cost reasons – for example, if a shop needs many SEO-optimized product descriptions – I often recommend an SEO text length of 300+ words to my clients.
For what?
SEO texts with a minimum length of 300+ words are best suited for short blogposts, product descriptions and possibly subordinate landing pages .
600+ words: Solid SEO content
The optimal text length for solid SEO content, which will serve you well for most relevant search terms and topics. With 600+ words, the most important points are covered for many topics. If you complement the high-quality SEO text with meaningful images and, if applicable, videos or graphics, your customer will be fully informed. You can link to further information using cleverly placed internal links.
For what?
A good SEO text length for blog posts and landing pages of all kinds, as well as product category pages in online shops, with which you want to rank well on Google & other search engines.
900+ words: Cornerstone content
Good old cornerstone content. Every company has its core content areas – which should also be reflected on its website. We content SEOs capture these thematic "cornerstones" in what we call cornerstone content. These are particularly informative, high-quality texts for your most relevant keywords. I generally recommend three such SEO texts, each over 900 words long.
For what?
Cornerstone texts fit well on a landing page or, of course, in a blog. A customized SEO content marketingstrategy will tell you where best to place each type of content.
2,000+ words: XXL Cornerstone content
Google loves pages with more than 2,000 words – provided they contain information that helps your target audience. In this case, these "XXL cornerstone content" pages, as I like to call them, can become real visitor magnets. For several of my clients, a single such "super text" receives about two-thirds as much traffic as the entire blog.
This SEO text length is therefore a truly worthwhile investment. Even clients whose website is not otherwise SEO-optimized can rank with a single page of 2,000+ search results and attract new visitors.
Attention! Google interprets pages with an SEO text length of 2,000+ words as the most important pages on your entire website. Therefore, you should carefully consider which keywords you optimize these 2,000+ words for. Make sure they are informative, relevant, balanced, and varied.
Monika Weber, SEO copywriter
For what?
Use this long SEO text format wisely and only for your most important topic (or, for larger websites, for several core topics). Suitable text formats in the 2,000+ word range include, for example, an FAQ page, a particularly important landing page , or a relevant blog post .
SEO text length isn't everything
To ensure your website ranks highly for specific keywords, the appropriate length of your SEO text is crucial. However, there are many other points to consider if you want to acquire customers through organic SEO :
- The quality and uniqueness of your content (unique content)
- Your on-page optimization
- The relevance of your topic to your target audience (search intent optimization SIO)
- Your competitors' SEO activity
Summary: SEO & the optimal text length
Whether it's 300, 600, 900, or 2000+ words – the optimal SEO text length is individual and depends on the content strategy. Generally speaking, the longer (and more helpful) your content, the more important Google considers it. To give Google the best possible indication of which topics are important to you and your business (and which might be less so), you should utilize the full range of text lengths on your website.
On this topic: In my article “CREATING AN SEO CONTENT STRATEGY – IN 5 1/2 STEPS” you will find more information about what else is important besides SEO text length to rank on Google.
SEO content – my services
- comprehensive keyword research
- SEO-compliant design of websites and online shops
- Creating an SEO content strategy
- Optimization of existing metadata or texts
- Creating unique SEO texts
