This document discusses how Google's search algorithms now favor long-form content of 2,000 words or more. It provides best practices for creating long-form content that will appeal to readers and rank well in search engines. Brands should invest in a content strategy incorporating in-depth articles to answer user questions. When creating long articles, include images, links, and schema markup. First Click Free policies can also help search engines index paywalled content. Case studies show long-form content increases engagement and drives consistent traffic over time.

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How to Make Google and Your Readers
Happy with Long-Form Content
by guest blogger:
Kim Higdon
© 2015 Off Madison Ave. All Rights Reserved.

2. How to Make Google and
Your Readers Happy with
Long-Form Content
01
How to Make Google and
Your Readers Happy with
Long-Form Content
As Google continues to improve its search algorithms
to deliver the most valuable content to the searcher,
content recommendations in terms of types,
frequency and, most notably length, tend to shift and
change. In Google’s most recent algorithm update,
Panda, long-form or in-depth content took center
stage. This type of content, generally 2,000 words
or more, has been given increased prominence in
search results because of the long-term value it
brings to the end-user.
For broad search terms, users may now find that
Google is serving up content that may be a few years
old, comes from an unrelated source and much,
much longer than what would be previously seen.
The “In-Depth Articles” section that appears on some
broader search terms includes content that comes
from a reputable source, is seemingly timeless and
is thoughtful. This content provides interesting and
descriptive information that encourages readers to
stay longer and return again.
Instead, this content is so important and useful
that it becomes, “epic content” as Copyblogger

3. How to Make Google and
Your Readers Happy with
Long-Form Content
02
puts it. This type of content is resource-intensive,
informative and thoughtful and may take a long
time to produce but is so valuable to the reader
that it lives far longer, reaches more readers and
becomes a credible reference.
Former best practices dictated that brands,
organizations, publishers, etc. should be pushing
out as much content as possible, ideally around
400 words to make it “readable.” While this tactic
remains relevant, and may produce strong results
from a search perspective, the ideal content mix has
changed drastically. Particularly when it comes to
what the consumer is interested in reading, and
more importantly, sharing on social media.
According to NewsWhip, a review of top content
shared during a given month in November 2013
wasn’t, in fact, short snippets of information, but
rather articles averaging more than 1,000 words.
Understanding in-depth article search results
These search results take a little more sleuthing.
While it’s great to see the results for “milk” are fairly
credible, upon deeper exploration, they actually may
not be as relevant as what you’d think. The titles that
appear span everything from the reason for human
consumption of milk, the market for breast milk and
milk trafficking gangs. One could argue there are
probably far more relevant articles that Google could
have served, so how does this ranking even happen?
While nothing Google does is an exact science, or
even generally understood by those outside of the
search powerhouse, there are some common traits
amongst these results worth noting:
- Articles appear to be more than 2,000 words in length
- Content is from already-established brands and publishers with
high authority in Google (E.g., The New York Times, The Wall Street
Journal, The New Yorker, Wired, etc.)
- That’s it.
Really. It appears these results are still early and
optimizations will likely come over time when Google
better understands user intent to best match up this
detailed content with what’s actually being sought.
With the update, Google’s technical spokesperson
claims that searchers will see “lesser-known authors,
blogs and publications” within these results, but this
remains to be seen.

4. How to Make Google and
Your Readers Happy with
Long-Form Content
03
What long-form content means to readers
While this may seem defeating, what’s important to
note is some of the successful case studies that have
risen to the top after this latest announcement.
For example, WordStream, took a look at these
changes and measured against not only existing
search metrics of new traffic to its website, bounce
rate and time on site but wanted to understand how
this impacts more meaningful metrics such as return
traffic, branded searches and deep user engagement.
What they found was once they deployed a long-form
content strategy, time on the website tripled and
its top content was more than 2,300 words. This
demonstrates that long-form content isn’t just
something for search engines, but really is a strategy
that resonates with actual readers.
Countless other sources including serpIQ and
Medium have published findings that the most
popular content and content with the highest
search rankings aren’t those short, 400-word
snippets we’ve become accustomed to producing.
Instead, content appearing on page one of Google’s
search results is longer, researched and valuable,
averaging well over 2,000 words in length.
Long-form content best practices
It’s pretty clear that readers are demanding and
seeking out content that thoroughly explores
their topics of interest. However, what’s less clear
is how Google is determining what content to serve
to whom.

5. How to Make Google and
Your Readers Happy with
Long-Form Content
04
What we do know is there are a few best practices
to follow in anticipation of future updates and based
on recommendations from Google and search engine
marketing professionals across the country.
Following are optimizations recommended for
all brands, whether or not long-form content is
a part of the current content strategy or not, in
order of importance:
1 Invest in a strong content strategy that incorporates thoughtful,
long-form content to answer customer questions.
2 Incorporate rich images, logos and embedded reference links just as
you would with short-form content. (Source: Google)
3 Follow Schema.org Article markup so Google can better
understand the metadata of your content including: headline,
alternativeHeadline, image, description and more. (Source: Google)
4 Consider First Click Free (FCF) for content behind a pay wall. Many
publishers want to hide content and make it visible only to paying
subscribers, but this inhibits Google’s ability to crawl and index
this content. Following Google’s FCF policy helps with this issue.
(Source: Google)
These best practices seem a little technical but
many are quick and easy to do with a savvy
website or digital partner. What’s not as quick
and easy to do is to incorporate this rich, valuable
and interesting content into existing or new content
marketing efforts.
Ensuring there’s a strong strategy in place along
with the skills to implement, create and deploy a
content strategy that incorporates these findings
into a marketing strategy can mean the difference
between success and a drain on valuable
resources. Brands that have embraced this
change and implemented it into an existing
strategy are reaping the benefits of driving a
consistent amount of traffic for a longer period
of time: search engine marketing gold.
This isn’t just for publishers, either.
Brands such as IBM, Airbnb, Chevrolet and others
have incorporated this strategy into various marketing
programs, including case studies, eBooks, campaign
sites, annual reports and more.
Long-form content is a long-term strategy that has
the potential to increase visibility, shareability and
virality of thoughtful content. While the “In-Depth
Articles” section on page one of Google’s search
results aren’t fully clear, what is clear is the intention
by the search giant to continually optimize and
refine these results to benefit brands and publishers

6. 05
investing in developing the content users truly want
to consume.
At Off Madison Ave, we have full capabilities to
assist with the planning, strategy and execution to
incorporate these best practices into a full-fledged
content strategy and content marketing program
within an organization. Please contact us at any time
to discuss this in more detail and determine your
organization’s best course of action for incorporating
this vital aspect of search and content marketing.
How to Make Google and
Your Readers Happy with
Long-Form Content
visit:
www.offmadisonave.com
contact:
info@offmadisonave.com
By:
Kim Higdon
Content Marketing