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Visibility Generating
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Writing and Marketing Information
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| May 05, 2015 / Newsletter 050515
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Are Long Sentences in Your Blog Posts Good or Bad for Your Rankings?
By Karen Cioffi
I’ve been getting more involved in my website analytics lately. Due to
this, I found an interesting ranking element I didn’t know about –
sentence length.
I know about sentence length in regard to writing for children, but had no idea it was a ranking element for your website.
Apparently, long sentences reduce content clarity.
This has me thinking and editing as I’m writing – adding more time to my schedule.
As an example, I wrote the following sentence in a recent blog post:
“If you copy and republish content from other websites without adding
any original and substantial content or value of your own, you could
(most likely will) be penalized with a hit to your search ranking.”
Hmmmm. Thirty-five words. Oops.
According to Clarity Grader, a free website analytics tool, your sentence length shouldn’t be longer than 20 words. You should aim for less than 5% in this area. I’m at 14.9 percent.
Again, OOPS.
Rewriting for Clarity
Going back to the long sentence example above, how would I rewrite it to create shorter sentences and boost clarity?
If you copy and republish content from
other websites, you must include original and substantial value to your
reader. If you don’t, you’ll be penalized with a hit to your search
ranking.
There you go - two sentences both under 20 words.
Here’s another way to reduce the sentence length:
Republishing content from other websites without adding original value of your own will get your rankings penalized.
But, having to worry about sentence length with clarity in mind, along
with every other ranking element, certainly puts a damper on creativity
and writing time.
It really feels like bloggers have to jump through hoops just to keep their heads above the marketing waters.
Summing It Up
It’s a good idea to think shorter sentences. If you think you have a
run-on sentence, check the word count. If you’re over, rewrite it into
two or more sentences.
On a brighter note, my readability score is 63 percent. Anything 50% and over is pretty good.
NOTE
Another caveat is the length of your blog post. I just read it should be at least 400 words.
This post was under that count at 384 words, so what should I do, rant
on and on, even though I’ve made my point and given my readers valuable
information?
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Karen Cioffi, Freelance Writer
For Individuals (Academic Papers, Essays, Editing, and More)
The Article Writing Doctor
Your Content Marketing Prescription
(For Small and Home Businesses)
karencioffi [at] ymail [dot] com
I'm an affiliate for some of the products I recommend. I only tell you about products I've checked out.
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