What Is Long-Form Content? How Can It Help Build Your Practice?
It’s long been believed that the best content online is short and succinct. We’ve been told that online consumers want quick answers and won’t take the time to read anything more than a few paragraphs. Instead, they’ll hit the back button and look for web content that answers their questions in a few sentences. Turns out it’s more complicated than that.
Let’s look at some statistics compiled as part of the State of Content Marketing 2020 report:
- Longer content (3,000+ words) gets twice as many page views as average-length content (900−1,200 words) and is shared by users more often (24% of the time) than average-length content.
- Very long content (7,000+ words) generates nearly four times as much traffic as average-length content.
- Short content (< 900 words) sees only about 80% of the traffic that average-length content does and, more importantly, gets only about a quarter of the backlinks of average-length content.
It’s no surprise that longer content improves search engine results—one report found that the top 10 results of the average search were each longer than 2,000 words. Although the precise algorithms are unknown, most online marketing experts agree that search engines place a significant amount of weight on context. With longer content, it’s much easier to provide comprehensive and detailed discussion of a specific topic and to connect to a wider range of topics. Google consistently rewards content with depth and breadth and often ignores or downgrades content that is too narrow or unsupported.
An additional bonus—long-form content is typically more “evergreen,” so it can be easily updated but doesn’t need to be completely replaced by more timely and topical content.
Long-Form Content Can Lead to More Business
A number of studies have also shown that long-form content can increase conversion, as well as traffic. In a survey conducted by moz.com, digital marketers considered long-form content to be the single best tool for generating links, with 57% citing its benefits. Here are some of the reasons given for that conclusion:
- Longer content suggests greater knowledge and authority.
- Longer content is richer and easier for Google to crawl and comprehend.
- Longer content allows you to target a broad range of keywords across a larger topic.
- Longer content, by ranking well, can be cited by other marketers, increasing links and relevancy.
- Longer content can involve stories, anecdotes, and other highly engaging content.
- Longer content keeps the web visitor on your site longer. And the longer they are there, the more investment they have and the less willing they are to leave.
Let GetLegal Help You Grow Your Practice with Long-Form Content
At GetLegal, we have been leading providers of digital marketing solutions for attorneys and law firms for more than 20 years, providing attorneys nationwide with a broad array of tools to reach new clients online, from website development and search engine optimization to social media campaigns, reputation management, directory listings, full video production capabilities, and fully customized content. We know how to prepare effective online content and can help you enhance your visibility with long-form content. To learn more, go to https://www.getlegal.com/ or call 817-359-7077.
