If you are a writer or a blogger, you must be aware of the term SEO. To make the content fully optimized and get better rankings on the search engine, there isa number of factors that you need to consider.
Some people have their opinion that making the content long can help them in performing better on the SERP and get more traffic. But it is actually a misperception.
If the articles with more length start getting better, the new ones will always be on the bottom of the list that is actually against the rules.
The main element for getting more traffic on the page and performing better is the quality of your content. Without improving the quality of your text no one can attract visitors to the website.
Often we see articles that are not more than 300 words but are on the top of the page. On the other side, we see the content with more than 2000 words is lying on the bottom. It’s all about the quality of the text.
But the question is how you can improve this quality?
Short and precise content! This is the main element that you have to focus on. In this article, we will discuss in detail how the quality of the text can be improved with short content.
How does short content improve the quality of the text?
While writing the lengthy content, you often miss the actual theme of the topic and add the lines that are not relevant to the topic.It may be unintentional or intentional depending upon the situation.
Like sometimes, a writer has to meet the word count so he tries to drag the topic and add the lines that are not even related to the topic. And it also happens by mistake when you mess up in lengthy content and lose track.
But when you have to cover the content in limited words, you will avoid the lines that are not relevant to the topic. This will directly lead to making the lines more focused and qualitative.
So, it is clear that increasing the length can disturb the worth of your content. Writers have to consider this factor.
How to get control over word count?
There are several factors that a writer can follow to reduce the length of content and make the line more worthy and informative for readers.
You need to define the topic first and make outlines as they can help you remain focused on the topic and avoid the thoughts that are not concerned with the topic.
In this section, we are going to discuss some of the important elements that can be quite handy in making the content unique and to the point. Let’s start.
Make outlines
The first step that you need to take is defining your topic. It is the most important step as it can help you get ideas about the topic.
Search for the relevant content on the search engine as you have to explain the same things in your topic in your words. Make outlines of the content as it will not let you turn away from the theme.
It will also help you in focusing on the topic till the end and keep you away from the irrelevant thoughts that are not related to the topic.
Set word count limit
Starting to write on a topic directly is not a good practice. If you don’t focus on this element you will try to drag the topic without any proper information and make it complex for readers.
You have to set the limit of word count. Make the sections of the topic and delimit how many words you will add in a specific paragraph.
It will keep your lines to the point and help you avoid content that is not relevant to the topic. So, you will automatically eliminate the lines that can lead to distracting a reader.
In the end, upload your article on a word count checker as it will show the total words and characters along with keyword density.
Users can reach the limited word count once they check the content here. It will also keep you away from keyword stuffing.
Exclude the irrelevant examples
On multiple occasions, we see the articles full of examples and quotes. Do you think it is a good practice? Well, it can be upright to some extent but adding too many examples in a single content can be a little boring.
A reader visiting your page is there to get a piece of information. Don’t try to waste his time by making the content lengthy. Add the examples only where needed. If you can’t focus on this factor, you will definitely lose the audience.
Omit all the illustrations that are not worthy. Give value to the time of your readers so they would come to your page again.
Use a lesser amount of “the”
Getting control on “the” is a little difficult for the writers. Many of the individuals consider that they wouldn’t make the structure properly without using this particular word. But this is something considerable.
You need to make less use of this word if you are focusing on the limited words text. By reducing the amount of word “the” you can set the length of content to some extent.
Avoid duplications
Don’t talk about the same thing repeatedly. Once you are done with telling a specific item, go for the next one. If you get a stick on the same line and repeat it multiple times, it will not only increase the word count but also make the content boring.
So, you have to eliminate the lines that are discussed multiple times in the article. Keep it to the point and informative for the readers.
If you have multiple examples with the same intent, go for the best one and choose the most engaging lines that can cover the entire topic in a single paragraph.
Use short words
A writer must remember this aspect that he is writing for the human, not the computer. Keep the lines understandable for them that can improve their knowledge and help them solve the queries.
Use small words in the content instead of using long phrases. It will help you get control over the length of content.
Short words are also more understandable for the readers as they can easily recognize the intent of the article and reach the central point directly.
Use active voice
Using passive voice sentences not only results in increasing the word count, but also affects the SEO of content and makes it less worthy for the readers.
Let’s take an example of this. In the active voice, it will be “I will clean my house every Sunday”. When we convert it to the passive voice, it will be “My house will be cleaned by me every Sunday”.
Now you see the difference here. The passive sentence is making the content lengthy and complex at the same time. You must create ease for the audience and provide them with content that is not difficult to read.
Get rid of adjectives and adverbs
Adverbs and adjectives are used to make the structure of content more charming. But sometimes, it results in providing opposite results.
So, you have to take care of this element and eliminate those adverbs that are reducing the readability of content or making the structure of the article more complex.
Use images in the content
Covering the entire topic without using an image is never appreciated. You have to make the content more worthy and interesting for the readers.
For it, you can use some images in the content that are related to the topic. It will make the article more engaging and informative.
Sometimes a reader finds it hard to reach the depth of the article or understand the central theme. To make it easy for them, you can provide them with an infographics section where they can reveal every element of the topic in a better way.
Use references
If you have some examples to explain in the content go for it. But using multiple examples can make the lines boring for a reader.
Instead of explaining every sample in your article, you can directly use references from where you read those lines or examples.
It will also help the readers to get some extra piece of information from the other source and directly lead to reducing the word count of your article.
Is word count a ranking factor?
Word Counter can never be a ranking factor on the search engine. As discussed earlier, you have to focus on the quality of content instead of increasing its length. Often we see the contents that are short but still leading the chart.
Let’s take an example of the topic “how to make albums on Facebook”. It is a simple topic and can be covered in 200 to 300 words. These are enough words to convince the reader and make the topic understandable for him.
But if you start writing lengthy content on this simple topic and covering it in 2000+ words, you are just dragging the topic and wasting the time of the reader.
This is the element that Google doesn’t like as it values the time of users. You can’t rank on the SERP with such content that will mislead the audience or divert them back.
Bottom lines
Many individuals think that making lengthy content can help them in ranking their website and getting more visitors to the page, although it is a wrong concept.
Readers are always looking for content that is relevant to the topic and can help them solve the queries. So, the writer must keep it informative for the readers.
If you just try to focus on the word count of the article and start ignoring the relevancy factor, you are just wasting your time.