In a recent Forum discussion on Mastodon, Google's John Muller said to everyone's surprise that Word count is not a Google algorithm ranking factor.

In his words he said:

"FWIW there's nothing in Google's algorithms that focus on a certain number of words per section." John added that for users, sure "it can make sense to help with readability," "but it's definitely not an SEO factor, he added"

What does that mean for you as a content writer?

It is welcome to go into detail with your copy, but if you can be helpful to your readers by being simple and straight to the point, it will be better.



In some cases, it increases engagement to go long form, but that should be only when it is necessary to convey the message.

Source: Mastadon