Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
Websites with a blog have tend to have 434% more indexed pages
Companies who blog receive 97% more links to their website
SEO is the second biggest driver of traffic to blogs after social media
The average blog post takes 4 hours and 10 minutes to write
The average blog post length is 1,427 words
22% of bloggers post weekly, while 2% post daily
Marketers who prioritize blogging are 13x more likely to have a positive ROI
B2B marketers who use blogs generate 67% more leads than those who do not
57% of marketers say they have gained customers specifically through blogging
77% of internet users read blogs
The average reader spends 37 seconds reading a blog post
70% of people report that they'd rather learn about a company through articles than an advert
Blog articles with images get 94% more views
Articles with video content are 50 times more likely to drive organic search results compared to text
Blog headlines with 6-13 words attract the highest amount of traffic
Consumer Behavior & Trust
- 177% of internet users read blogs
- 2The average reader spends 37 seconds reading a blog post
- 370% of people report that they'd rather learn about a company through articles than an advert
- 443% of people admit to skimming blog posts
- 559% of people will share an article without reading it first
- 668% of people spend time reading about brands that interest them
- 773% of people admit to skimming blog posts while only 27% consume them thoroughly
- 894% of people who share posts do so because they think it might be helpful to others
- 981% of U.S. online consumers trust information and advice from blogs
- 1060% of consumers feel more positive about a company after reading custom content on its site
- 11Internet users in the US spend 3x more time on blogs than they do on email
- 1288% of B2B marketers use content marketing (blogging) to build trust/credibility
- 13Readers consume 20% of the content on a page on average
- 14Only 10-20% of readers actually make it to the bottom of the post
- 1595% of B2B buyers consider content as trustworthy when evaluating a company and its offerings
- 1680% of business decision-makers prefer to get company information in a series of articles versus an advertisement
- 1778% of CMOs believe custom content is the future of marketing
- 18Customers who perceive service content as tailored to their needs are 40% more willing to buy
- 19Trust in blogs generally exceeds trust in social media by a margin of 20%
- 2038% of bloggers say "creating quality content" is their biggest challenge in retaining readers
Interpretation
Think of blogs as the handshake people prefer over adverts: 77% of internet users read them, most skim for about 37 seconds with only 10 to 20% reaching the end yet many will still share helpful posts without fully reading, and because blogs are widely trusted by consumers and B2B buyers, brands that consistently publish tailored, useful articles can turn fleeting attention into credibility and roughly 40% greater willingness to buy, which is why marketers and CMOs are investing heavily in content.
Content Strategy & Creation
- 1The average blog post takes 4 hours and 10 minutes to write
- 2The average blog post length is 1,427 words
- 322% of bloggers post weekly, while 2% post daily
- 460% of marketers create at least one piece of content each day
- 529% of bloggers reuse their own content
- 644% of bloggers now publish original research
- 747% of bloggers check their content's analytics daily
- 818% of companies' blog posts are 750 words or less
- 954% of bloggers rely on editors to review their work before publishing
- 10Listicles are the most popular blogging format for business blogs
- 1170% of marketers are actively investing in content marketing
- 1264% of B2B marketers outsource blog copywriting
- 13Publishing 2-4 times per week provides the highest results in terms of traffic
- 14Brands that create 15 blog posts per month average 1,200 new leads per month
- 15Top-performing articles are over 5,700 words in length
- 1641% of bloggers conduct original research to create content
- 1732% of marketers say that visual images are the most important form of content for their business
- 189 out of 10 bloggers include visuals in their articles
- 19Bloggers who update old posts are 2.8x more likely to report strong results
- 20Only 35% of bloggers have a documented content strategy
Interpretation
These stats make clear that blogging is a labor-intensive, data-driven craft: the average post takes four hours and ten minutes and about 1,427 words to write, benefits from visuals, editorial review, original research and regular analytics, and when brands publish two to four times weekly, create long, research-led pieces and refresh old posts they see outsized traffic and leads, yet with only a third of bloggers following a documented strategy, winging it simply will not cut it anymore.
Lead Generation & ROI
- 1Marketers who prioritize blogging are 13x more likely to have a positive ROI
- 2B2B marketers who use blogs generate 67% more leads than those who do not
- 357% of marketers say they have gained customers specifically through blogging
- 4Inbound marketing (including blogging) costs 62% less per lead than outbound marketing
- 5Businesses that blog get 126% higher lead growth than those that don't
- 682% of marketers who blog see positive ROI from their inbound marketing
- 7Companies with 401+ blog posts get twice as much traffic as those with 301-400 posts
- 861% of U.S. online consumers have made a purchase based on recommendations from a blog
- 9Content marketing generates 3 times as many leads as paid search advertising
- 10Small businesses that blog get 126% more lead growth than small businesses that do not
- 1147% of buyers viewed 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep
- 12Content marketing rakes in conversion rates 6x higher than other methods
- 1372% of marketers say content marketing increases the number of leads
- 1469% of marketers say their blog content is superior to their competitors
- 15Cost-per-lead drops by 80% after 5 months of consistent blogging
- 1679% of companies that have a blog report a positive ROI for inbound marketing
- 17B2C companies that blog generate 88% more leads per month than those that do not
- 1860% of people are inspired to seek out a product after reading content about it
- 19Blogs are the 5th most trusted source for accurate online information
- 20Prioritizing blogging increases the likelihood of a positive ROI by 13%
Interpretation
Blogging is the marketing tactic that pays, costing far less than outbound methods and generating dramatically more leads and conversions, including three times the leads of paid search and six times the conversion rates, cutting cost-per-lead by 80 percent after five months, doubling traffic with sustained posting, and making you 13 times more likely to see a positive ROI and convert readers into customers, so not blogging means leaving growth on the table.
Traffic & SEO
- 1Websites with a blog have tend to have 434% more indexed pages
- 2Companies who blog receive 97% more links to their website
- 3SEO is the second biggest driver of traffic to blogs after social media
- 4Articles with a word count between 2,250 and 2,500 earn the most backlinks
- 572% of online marketers describe content creation as their most effective SEO tactic
- 6Refreshing old blog posts can increase traffic by 106%
- 7Blog posts with more than 3,000 words get 3x more traffic than those of average length
- 8Long-tail keywords utilized in blog posts account for 70% of all web search traffic
- 9Compounding blog posts make up 10% of all blog posts but generate 38% of overall traffic
- 1075% of users never scroll past the first page of search results when looking for blog content
- 11Longer content outperforms shorter content in terms of search rankings
- 1266% of bloggers today utilize keyword research for their traffic strategy
- 13Blogs are responsible for 434% more indexed search engine pages for businesses
- 14Only 5.7% of pages rank in the top 10 search results within a year of publication
- 15Updating and republishing old blog posts helps increase organic traffic by up to 111%
- 1651% of content consumption comes from organic search
- 17The average #1 ranking page will also rank in the top 10 for nearly 1,000 other relevant keywords
- 18Websites with a blog gain an average of 55% more visitors
- 1950% of search queries are 4 words or longer, indicating huge opportunity for blog topics
- 20Mobile devices account for 58% of all organic search engine visits to blog content
Interpretation
If SEO were a farm, long-form, regularly refreshed blog posts would be the deep-rooted perennials that yield the biggest harvest—creating far more indexed pages and backlinks, attracting mobile and organic searchers, and proving that a few compounding, long-tail-focused pieces deliver disproportionate, long-lasting traffic even amid fierce first-page competition.
Visuals & Engagement
- 1Blog articles with images get 94% more views
- 2Articles with video content are 50 times more likely to drive organic search results compared to text
- 3Blog headlines with 6-13 words attract the highest amount of traffic
- 4Using "How-to" in the headline is the third most popular headline preference at 17%
- 5Listicles result in 2x more shares than other blog formats
- 6Blog posts with more than seven images get 116% more organic traffic
- 7Headlines containing odd numbers have a 20% higher click-through rate than even numbers
- 836% of readers prefer list-based headlines
- 9Adding a video to a blog post creates a 157% increase in organic traffic
- 10Making content easier to read (scannable) increases engagement by 47%
- 11Blog posts with one or more lists get 70% more traffic
- 12Infographics are liked and shared on social media 3x more than any other type of content
- 13Interactive content in blogs generates 2x more conversions than passive content
- 14Tweets with links to blog posts get 2x the engagement rate of tweets without lists
- 15Including audio in blog posts creates a 10% increase in retention
- 16Headline emotional sentiment affects shares; negative headlines perform slightly better than positive ones
- 1755% of bloggers use 1-10 images per post
- 18Blog posts with a clear call-to-action (CTA) get 380% more clicks than those without
- 1913% of bloggers now add audio versions of their written content
- 20Content with relevant images gets 94% more views than content without relevant images
Interpretation
Treat your blog like a multimedia scannable buffet: use relevant images, which drive about 94% more views and when you include seven or more images posts get roughly 116% more organic traffic; add video, which can make content 50 times more likely to rank and increase organic traffic by about 157%; write 6 to 13 word list friendly or How to headlines, since odd numbers boost click through rates by around 20% and many readers prefer list based headlines; make content scannable to lift engagement by 47%; use lists and listicles to double shares and lift traffic by roughly 70%; include infographics or interactive elements to triple social sharing and double conversions; consider audio for modest retention gains; test slightly negative emotional headlines; and always finish with a clear call to action because posts with one get roughly 380% more clicks.
