Meaningful Content Writing Statistics For Better Marketing Results

This article includes content writing statistics, facts, and practical recommendations to help you:

• Create content that matters and stands out from a sea of mediocrity
• Turn website scanners and skimmers into committed readers
• Establish a loyal audience, build your brand, and improve your traffic and conversions

These content stats will not be out-of-date in 2024 as they’re related to universal human (user/reader) behavior and online reading patterns. Still, too often, they’re overlooked.

NB I haven’t included information such as the number of blogs worldwide and the trillions they generate. My goal has been to include stats that allow digital content creators to put theory into practice immediately.

Let’s dig in.

Content writing stats that won’t change in 2024

Some writers and creatives may not be much into stats, charts, and numbers, especially when data can change practically overnight. But there are facts and data with a long shelf life.

In this article I’ll share content stats related to:

• Online reading patterns and behaviors, including online scanning and scrolling patterns
• Optimal content length
• Online readers’ motivations

I’ll also share useful links if you’re interested in exploring particular topics further.

The content stats I’m about to share are no longer surprising to me. Yet I still find them remarkable and worthy of attention as they reveal some universal truths about human behavior.

That said, trends, tools, and stats may constantly change, but writing good pieces of content is simple (and evergreen) if you get the basics right. Unfortunately:

Too many content writers forget about the basics and put too much focus on satisfying algorithms, obsessing about (wrong) metrics, and playing with tools.

Getting the writing basics right in a nutshell (in 2023 / 2024 / infinity):

1. Learn to write well (yes, it takes years of both practicing writing and reading quality content).
2. Study human nature and observe people (practically all the time).
3. Analyze meaningful content data (using your analytics and external research) and draw conclusions.
4. Put knowledge into practice.
5. Repeat.

Without further ado, let’s focus on the fundamentals.

Content writing statistics: how do people read online?

People take approximately 20–30% longer to read online than they take to read on paper, according to ResearchGate.

But above all, typically, online readers don’t read very much:

• Blog readers spend around 37 seconds reading a blog post. 43% of readers skim through content rather than reading it thoroughly (QuoraCreative).
• Users will only read about 20% of the text on the average page (Nielsen).
• On some posts, many readers don’t make it past reading 20–30% of the content (CoSchedule).
• Only 10–20% of readers actually make it to the bottom of posts (CoSchedule).
• 55% of all pageviews get less than 15 seconds of attention (Chartbeat).

So, I encourage you to accept this fact once and for all (if you haven’t already):

Most online visitors won’t read your content.

Sh*t! I know. But there’s no need to sugarcoat the facts or be sad about the truth.

Still, if many of your readers spend roughly 37 seconds reading your articles, should you really bother?

Yes. Yes. And yes.

Here’s why.

First, if you’re consistent in creating high-quality and engaging content (despite the metrics), it may take time and effort, but eventually, you’ll likely find loyal readers. They’ll probably spend more time than 37 seconds reading your articles. So the average length of visits won’t matter much.

If you give up, you will attract 0 readers who will spend 0 seconds on average reading your articles.

Second, granted that the majority of your readers won’t make it to the bottom of your posts. However, long-form content has many benefits (more on that in a moment). So consider creating longer pieces regardless.

Content stats for blog posts: short-form or long-form content?

How long should my blog posts be? I get asked this question a lot.

Some digital content experts say that blog posts should be at least 2,000 words as Google tends to favor longer, more in-depth content.

In my opinion, your blog post should be as long as it should be (but I wouldn’t make it shorter than 600 words):

• If it takes 2,000 words to give the reader the answer they’re expecting, write 2,000 words.
• If the topic is complex and in-depth, you may want to make it much longer.
• If 800 words are enough to provide relevant, quality information and the answer the reader is looking for, write 800 words.

Don’t force it, and don’t repeat words and rephrase sentences just to hit the 2,000 word count.

Plenty of my articles have more than 2,000 words, but when it comes to analytics, I’ve seen both longer and shorter articles perform well (or not so well).

Stats that speak in favor of creating longer, high-quality blog posts:

• Blog posts of minimum 2,000 words generate good results for 55% of bloggers (Orbit Media).
• Longer blog posts have up to 77.2% more inbound links than shorter ones (Backlinko).
• Blog traffic can increase to about 2,000% through quality content (Omnicore Agency).
• Visitors who read an article for 3 minutes return twice as often as those who read for 1 minute (Chartbeat).
• The average blog post is 2,520 words long and the average length keeps increasing (Portent).

Many users search for a go-to-resource: longer content that is original, easy-to-understand and thoroughly explains the nitty-gritty of a topic. Users are also more inclined to link to longer content, which will aid the ranking too. Thus, search engines tend to favor longer content with in-depth information.

Content statistics: online reading patterns from Nielsen’s findings

Those familiar with online content creation, UX, or UI, may have heard about a series of eye-tracking studies conducted over approximately 15–20 years by Nielsen Norman Group (an American computer UI and UX consulting firm).

The abovementioned studies help us better understand how people read online. It turns out that there’s a deeper truth that affects online reading behaviors that, at their core, remain similar over the years.

This means that basically what we learned 15 years ago is still pretty valid (and will be for some time to come, thank God Mother Nature blessed us with some stability in this crazy world!).

So fascinatingly, we can see that fundamental scanning and online information-seeking behaviors remain constant, even as technologies and designs change. There’s more: reading patterns are even similar across languages and cultures.

It is technology that changes rapidly, not human nature.

This crucial distinction, along with the understanding of basic human behavior and information-seeking patterns, is fundamental for digital content creators. Learning to use the tools is secondary (but also important).

According to Jakob Nielsen’s studies:

1. The pattern in which people read online content resembles an “F” shape (not typical left-to-right reading). This indicates that people aren’t reading your content thoroughly, they’re scanning it. Their eyes move incredibly fast across a website.
2. Internet users spend almost 70% of their time viewing the left half of a page and 30% viewing the right.
3. Internet users spend 80% of their time looking at information above the page fold (2010), even though they will scroll.

Nielsen’s findings about user behavior and scrolling patterns

People don’t want to waste time and effort online. If they get bored or exhausted by scrolling the text, they will leave.

Therefore, users want to:

• Minimize effort and interaction cost
• Maximize the benefit from their task at hand
• Be productive, engaged, and successful

Interestingly, today users are more inclined to scroll than in the past (probably due to the pervasiveness of long pages). Still:

• People spend disproportionately more time viewing the top 20% of a page.
• 81% of the viewing time is spent in the first three screenfuls of information.

According to more recent 2018 data:

• The content above the fold receives the most attention (57% of viewing time)
• The second screenful of content receives 17% viewing time.
• The remaining 26% is spread in a long-tail distribution (views peter out further down the page).

Attention is focused toward the top of the page, especially with Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). This is where people are most likely to read content. This is where they will try to understand how the page is organized.

The reality is that scrolling involves some energy investment. But people will keep scrolling if they have a reason to do it, i.e. it comes down to motivation. So how to make readers scroll for longer?

If the content states the obvious or copies what has been said before, people will leave or scroll/stay a little longer but probably won’t come back.

The amount of time a user is willing to spend reading depends on 4 factors:

1. Level of motivation: whether the user finds the information they’re reading important
2. Type of task: looking for specific facts vs. browsing for new or interesting information vs. researching topics
3. Level of focus and potential distractions
4. Individual characteristics and a personal approach to reading online

Online scanning patterns

The F-shaped scanning pattern (resembling the shape of the letter F) describes users’ behavior when they assess a web page’s content.

It’s the default pattern when there are no strong cues to attract the eyes towards meaningful information (e.g. when you forget about reader-friendly formatting, content structure, SEO, UX, etc.)

In the F-shaped pattern, there are many fixations concentrated at the top and the left side of the page. In other words:

• The first lines of the text receive more attention than the subsequent lines.
• The first few words on the left of each line receive more attention than the subsequent words on the same line.

The F-shaped scanning pattern is bad for users and for you as a blog writer.

Users may skip important content simply because they don’t feel motivated to read properly what’s on the right side of the page. You, in turn, will miss a chance to keep a new visitor. Therefore:

Prevent people from (F-shaped) scanning of your content. Turn scanners into committed readers of your content.

Other scanning patterns (the list is not exhaustive):

• Layer-cake pattern: scanning headings and subheadings and skipping the normal text below
• Spotted pattern: skipping big chunks of text and scanning to look for something specific, for example specific information, stats, a link, or a particular word
• Marking pattern: keeping the eyes focused in one place as you scroll the page, especially on mobile
• Bypassing pattern: deliberately skipping the first words of the line when multiple lines in a list start with the same words
• Commitment pattern: fixating on almost everything on the page when people are highly motivated and interested in content

The awareness of online reading or rather scanning behavior is vital if you want to turn first visitors into returning or loyal readers.

How to prevent readers from F-shaped scanning your content?

Both quality content and good UX-friendly formatting reduce the impact of scanning. Here you’ll depend not so much on the knowledge of technology as on the understanding of human behavior.

In short, to prevent F-shape scanning, optimize your content for scanners and skimmers:

1. Reserve the top of the page for high-priority content (most relevant and interesting information).
2. As the right side of the page attracts less attention than the left, the most important content should be front and center (keep secondary content to the right).
3. Put your most important information first, e.g. in the first two paragraphs on the page, in the first two words of a sentence.
4. Structure your content in a way that is easy to scan and allows the user to find the most important information.
5. Format the text to direct users to what you want them to see and to what they may want to see. Use headings, subheadings, bullets, highlights, and bolding important information (but in moderation!).
6. Improve your content experience: make it painfully user-friendly.
7. Use plain, i.e. easy-to-understand, language, and keep your content clear, concise, useful, and unique.
8. Avoid making your content too general and go more niche.
9. Don’t become a blog post machine whose goal is just to keep your blog topped up. Take time to create content that matters. Cultivate your unique voice.
10. Don’t promise in your titles what you can’t deliver (what if people scan for it?).
11. Write with passion, but edit with cold blood: always cut unnecessary content.

For more detailed data on the research by Nielsen Norman Group, check out the links below:

F-Shaped Pattern of Reading on the Web

How Little Do Users Read?

Horizontal Attention Leans Left

Scrolling and Attention

How People Read Online

Content writing statistics: conclusion

Accept that most people will not read your content completely or linearly. That’s ok. If you’re serious about writing, you need to keep at it against all odds. This is the only way to find a group of committed readers.

Above all, the fact that most visitors won’t read your articles doesn’t mean it’s ok to produce sh*t or use AI for all types of content. Nor does it mean it’s ok to create something average.

Your content doesn’t have to be perfect, but it can’t be average. Your content is the unique expression of you and should be useful for your readers.

Regarding online readers, keep your expectations low. Regarding your content, keep your standards high.

Therefore, motivate your visitors to actually read your text and to connect with you as a writer, an expert, and a human being.

More sources

TechJury: 29 Important Blogging Statistics Every Blogger Should Know

CoSchedule: How To Get People To (Actually) Read Your Content

SalesForLife: 13 Stats That Prove That Nobody is Reading Your Content

ResearchGate: Reading Online or on Paper: Which is Faster?

Chartbeat: Tony Haile’s Data State of the Union

Orbit Media: Blogging Statistics

Portent: How Long Should Blog Posts Be?

Omnicore Agency: Digital Marketing by the Numbers

Backlinko: Content Study

ChartBeat: Using Engaged Time to understand your audience

QuoraCreative