Setting up a business blog is an excellent content marketing strategy. A blog allows you to publish valuable content, talk about your products, gain traffic to your site, and establish authority in your industry.
But it shouldn't stop there. As a blogger, business owner, or marketer, you need to stay updated with the industry's latest blogging statistics.
Why?
So you'll know the latest trends. Best of all, you won't miss out on opportunities that'll boost traffic to your site. That's why we've curated some of the latest blogging statistics in 2020.
Let's dive in!
General Blogging Facts
1. There are over 600 million blogs in the world today. (GrowthBadger)
2. Tumblr is home to 496.1 million blogs as of April 2020. (Statista)
3. There are around 1.9 billion web pages at this moment. (OptinMonster)
4. The number of active bloggers in the U.S. is estimated to hit 31.7 million this year. (Statista)
5. 38.4% of all websites are powered by WordPress. This makes WordPress the most popular content management system. (W3Techs)
6. About 70 million new blog posts are published on WordPress every month. And around 77 million new comments each month. (WordPress)
7. Over 409 million people view more than 20 billion WordPress pages per month. (WordPress)
8. 71% of WordPress blogs are written in English
9. 37 seconds. That’s the average time readers spend reading a blog post.
10. 59% of people will share an article on social media without ever reading it. (Chicago Tribune)
11. The average blog post length is 1236 words. This is according to Orbit Media's 2019 Annual Blogging Survey. (Orbit Media)
12. That's a 53% increase in blog post length compared to six years ago. This means there's also a surge in long-form, detailed articles.
13. 3 hours and 57 minutes. That's the average time it takes to write a blog post. (Orbit Media)
14. 97% of bloggers promote their blog posts via social media. While 66% used e-mail marketing to lead people to their content. (Statista)
15. 77% of internet users read blogs. (OptinMonster)
16. 34% of users admitted to reading blogs to learn something new. 20% said they read blogs for entertainment while 12% said they read to learn about news and industry trends. (HubSpot)
17. Internet users in the United States spend 3x more time on blogs than they do on email. (HubSpot)
18. 67% more leads. That's the average percentage of monthly leads generated by companies with blogs. (Demand Metric)
19. 41% of people spend 5-10 minutes reviewing blog posts. (DemandGen)
20. 74% of internet users say they are more likely to share blog posts with their colleagues. (DemandGen)
21. 3% of bloggers write more than 100 guest posts per month. (OptinMonster)
22. 57% of bloggers who post daily are getting better results than inconsistent bloggers. (Orbit Media)
23. 94% of the content worldwide gets zero external links. (Backlinko)
These statistics show that blogging is very much alive. With the ever-evolving digital marketing stage, setting up a blog will give you a competitive edge.
In the next section, we've curated some of the newest data on blogging SEO trends. So without further ado, let's dive right back in!
Latest Trends in Blogging SEO
1. With 92.05% market share, Google has the highest search engine market share worldwide as of August 2020. Followed closely by Bing with 2.83%. (GlobalStats)
2. There are around 3.5 billion searches on Google every day. 1.2 trillion searches every year worldwide. (Internet Live Stats)
3. 67% of respondents say search engine optimization or SEO is the most efficient content marketing strategy they implemented in 2019. (SEMrush)
4. 64% of marketers invest time in search engine optimization or SEO. (HubSpot)
5. 2,100-2,400 words are the ideal blog post length for SEO. (HubSpot)
6. Blog titles with 6-13 words attract the highest amount of traffic. (OptinMonster)
7. 72% of content marketers say content marketing is one of their best SEO strategies. (OptinMonster)
8. List headlines get 2x more traffic. They also get 2x more social shares than other types of headline. These headlines start with numbers like "X Things", "X Reasons Why…" (SEMrush)
9. 8% of search queries are phrased as questions. (Moz)
10. 36% of SEO experts use keyword analysis to think of new content ideas. (Databox)
11. More than 50% of SEO experts think keyword relevance is the most important factor when choosing a target phrase. (Databox)
12. 40% of content marketers say articles with original graphics like infographics performed best. (Venngage)
13. Blog content with relevant images gets 94% more views. (Social Media Today)
14. Websites with blogs have 434% more indexed pages. This means having a blog boosts the chances of ranking higher in search engines. (OptinMonster)
15. 32% of bloggers check traffic analytics of their blog posts. (Statista)
16. There's a 9% increase in click-through rates for headlines with a hyphen or colon. (OptinMonster)
17. 51% of marketers say updating old content is an effective strategy for increasing website traffic. (SEMrush)
18. 80% of online searches in the United States are three words or longer. This means most of the search queries are specific. (Statista)
19. 12.29% of search queries have featured snippets in their search results. (Ahrefs)
20. A featured snippet at the #1 position gets an average of 8.6% of clicks. The page right below it gets an average of 19.6% of clicks. (Ahrefs)
21. Only 9.37% of all web pages get organic traffic from Google. (Ahrefs)
22. 75% of bloggers report strong results when placing 10 or more images on a blog post. But only 3% of bloggers actually do this. (Orbit Media)
23. The first three or four results get almost half of all clicks on the search engine results page. (Ignite Visibility)
24. Website traffic increased by up to 30% once you publish 21-54 blog posts. (Impactbnd)
25. Mobile queries for "Best" + "right now" have grown over 125% in the last two years. This means you have a higher chance of ranking if you include these search terms. (Think with Google)
26. "Why Posts", "What Posts", as well as infographics are heavily linked to. These three formats received an average of 25.8% more referring domain links than how-to posts and videos. (Backlinko)
Blogging is an essential part of website SEO. When you create content for your website, it'll have a higher chance of ranking for your target keywords.
Use these blogging statistics to understand the current SEO trend. Additionally, use it to maximize your opportunity to rank higher in search engines.
Remember, create content that's both relevant and informative to build your authority. In doing so, you'll boost readership and build brand awareness.
Next, we'll take a look at the latest statistics on blogging format. Plus the type of content that is currently in demand.
Blogging Statistics on Formatting and Types of Content
1. 77% of bloggers publish "How-to" articles, making it the most popular format by far. Followed closely by list-type articles with 57%. (Orbit Media)
2. Articles with 14+ words on the headline get 2x more traffic, 2x more shares, and 5x more backlinks than articles with 7-10 words on the headline. (SEMrush)
3. Predictive headlines (The Future of…) performed the best out of other types of headline. (Buzzsumo)
4. Odd-numbered headlines received a higher click-through rate than even-numbered headlines. (Content Marketing Institute)
5. 36% of SEO experts think the headline or title tag is the most important SEO element. (Databox)
6. Blog posts with more than 3000 words have strong results. (Orbit Media)
7. Long-form content (3000+ words) gets 3x more traffic, 4x more shares, and 3.5 more backlinks than shorter counterparts. (SEMrush)
8. Posts with a storytelling format had nearly 300% more readers who scroll all the way to the end of the post. (Groove HQ)
9. 75% of SEO experts think that content is the most important factor for an SEO-friendly website. (Databox)
10. In the same study, the average time on page for storytelling-type posts was more than 5x higher than a post without storytelling.
11. Articles with 5 lists per 500 words get 4x more traffic and 2x more social shares compared to posts with no lists. (SEMrush)
12. Emotional headlines are more likely to be shared. (OkDork)
13. Question headlines get 23.3% more social shares than headlines that don't ask a question. (Backlinko)
14. 80% of people will only read the headline. Only the remaining 20% will read the entire content. (Copyblogger)
15. Headlines with the word "Photo(s)" performed 37% better than headlines without it. (HubSpot)
16. 90% of bloggers include images to their posts. And only 25% add a video. (Orbit Media)
17. 45% of bloggers have stronger results when audio is added to their blog posts. (OptinMonster)
18. Blogs with video content have a significantly lower bounce rate. And higher dwell time. (Databox)
19. But only 6% of bloggers add audio in their blog posts. This is based on a survey conducted by Orbit Media. (Orbit Media)
20. 34% of bloggers report stronger results when they add video content to a blog post. (Orbit Media)
21. 85.7% of marketers said their blog posts contained at least one visual. (Venngage)
22. Bloggers who add 10+ images to a blog post are most likely to report success. (OrbitMedia)
23. 88% of buyers prefer content that focuses on the value that can be brought to their business and less on product specifics. (DemandGen)
Why are these statistics important?
Because as a blogger, business owner, or marketer, you need to know what it takes to attract and convert readers.
Publishing original content is best. But don't dismiss the trending post and headline formats. They're trending for a reason – it's because they work.
So use these statistics to capture the attention of potential readers. Plus, use them to gain the top spot in search engines.
Guest Blogging Statistics
1. 60% of bloggers write 1-5 guest blog posts every month. (OptinMonster)
2. 6% of bloggers publish most of their original content as guest posts. (Content Marketing Institute)
3. Expert insights and fresh ideas are the main reasons for editors to accept guest content. (ImpactBND)
4. 50% of bloggers say they pitch 1-10 blogs per month. Only 7% pitch to more than 100 or more blogs per month. (ReferralRock)
5. 93% of editors say they use page views to measure the success of a guest post. (Red Website Design)
6. Links from guest posts are still valuable but they aren't as powerful as true editorial links. (Backlinko)
7. June, July, and August. That's when guest content is in optimal demand. (OptinMonster)
To gain authority in your industry, you need to build an online presence. And guest blogging is a powerful tactic for SEO as well as for lead generation.
Use these statistics to understand how guest blogging plays a role in your marketing efforts. Take advantage of this strategy to gain a competitive edge.
In the next section, we've curated the latest business blogging facts. These statistics will show how blogging is the top content marketing strategy in 2020.
Blogging Statistics on Content Creation
as an Inbound Marketing Strategy
1. With 86%, blog posts remain the most common content format. (SEMrush)
2. 80% of people learn about a company through custom content. (Demand Metric)
3. 71% of buyers read a blog while on their buyer journey. (DemandGen)
4. 49% of B2B buyers rely more on content to make purchase decisions.
5. 75% of B2B marketers use blogs in their social media content. (SEO Tribunal)
6. 50% of marketers admit to outsourcing at least some of their content marketing. (Content Marketing Institute)
7. 57% of marketers say they've gained customers through blogging. (OptinMonster)
8. 45% of marketers say blogging is the top most important piece of their content strategy. (Social Media Today)
9. E-commerce merchants use their blogs to attract more high-quality website visitors. (Matcha Benchmark Report)
10. 79% of marketers say their main priority in blogging is writing for people. 21% focus on writing for search engines. (Databox)
11. Companies that publish more than 16 blog posts per month generate 3.5x more leads than those that publish less than 4 posts. (HubSpot)
12. Companies that prioritized blogging enjoyed 13x more ROI than companies that did not in 2019. (HubSpot)
13. Blog content captures 126% more email addresses. (Matcha Benchmark Report)
14. 31% of respondents say blog posts help build brand awareness. (Content Marketing Institute)
15. 70% of buyers learn about a company through articles instead of ads. (Demand Metric)
16. 6% of e-commerce sales are influenced by blog posts. This number doubles to 12% for companies that publish blog posts regularly for 6 or more months. (Matcha Benchmark Report)
17. 60% of buyers find reading blog posts most valuable in the early stages of the buyer journey. (Demand Gen Report 2019)
18. 80% of B2C content marketers use blog posts/short articles. (Content Marketing Institute)
19. 81% of B2C marketers believe their audience views their brand as a credible and trusted resource. (Content Marketing Institute)
20. More than 40% of marketers admit that if they were to start a content strategy from scratch, they'll focus on blogging. (Databox)
21. List-type articles are currently the best way to attract people who are at the start of their buyer journey. (Matcha Benchmark Report)
22. (85%) A company's blog is the second best organic content distribution channel, according to B2C marketers. Social media platforms (93%) top the list. (Content Marketing Institute)
23. Organic traffic increased by an average of 106% for updated and republished blog posts. (HubSpot)
Inbound marketing is a strategy that attracts customers. This strategy doesn't involve hard selling products or services.
Instead, this strategy draws prospects in by offering useful content. In doing so, prospects become more familiar with the brand.
Blogging is an excellent inbound marketing tactic. Blog posts help educate readers, generate more leads, or nurture loyal clients.
In fact, it's essential in lead generation and selling. So make it an integral part of your inbound marketing efforts.
Use it to build authentic relationships with customers.
We've come to the end of the latest roundup of blogging statistics.
Now what?
What Will You Do With These Blogging Statistics?
Here are a few key takeaways:
With blogging, you won't see results overnight. So you'll need to put in the effort if you want to see results.
Lastly, blogging will only get more popular as time goes by. And it'll also become very competitive. So you better start taking it seriously.