{"id":800,"date":"2021-02-24T14:42:29","date_gmt":"2021-02-24T14:42:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/?p=800"},"modified":"2025-01-22T16:54:36","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T11:24:36","slug":"anatomy-of-top-performing-articles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/anatomy-of-top-performing-articles\/","title":{"rendered":"The Anatomy of Top Performing Articles: Successful vs. Invisible Content \u2013 SEMRush Study"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"b-blog__article__title\"><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">According to our <\/span><a style=\"font-size: 1rem;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.semrush.com\/blog\/content-marketing-statistics\/\">Content Marketing Survey<\/a><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">, 70% of marketers measure their content performance by traffic, 38% on social shares, and 31% on backlinks. Therefore, it would definitely be interesting to find out which content characteristics can help increase page views and make a blog post more shareable and linked to.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"js-post-schema\">\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>Of course, the copy\u2019s performance is ruled first and foremost by its originality and relevance, but factors such as word count, headlines, structure, and visuals are sure to play their role.<\/p>\n<p>Using\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.semrush.com\/stats\/?utm_source=anatomy_post&amp;utm_medium=link&amp;utm_campaign=State_CM2019\">our data<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 and guided by marketing curiosity \u2013 we analyzed the visits, backlinks, and social shares of 1,200,000+ articles we picked from domains with a blog section that had from 30,000 up to 500,000 sessions. We tried\u00a0to establish the correlation between metrics and different text elements and characteristics. Specifically, these were:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Length (i.e. word count)<\/li>\n<li>Headlines (including headline types and H1 length)<\/li>\n<li>Structure (including heading depth and list presence)<\/li>\n<li>Visual Content (including image and video presence)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We are excited to present the results of this study below\u00a0and hope that it will help you improve your own blog.<\/p>\n<p>***The present research was conducted as a part of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.semrush.com\/state-of-content-marketing\/?utm_source=anatomy-of-top-performing-articles&amp;utm_medium=blog-post&amp;utm_campaign=impacthero2\">Global State of Content Marketing Report 2020<\/a>. The report is designed to let content marketers explore the best industry practices and empower their marketing strategies.***<\/p>\n<div class=\"s-features__div\">\n<form class=\"s-features js-try-now js-try-now-auth\" action=\"https:\/\/www.semrush.com\/blog\/anatomy-of-top-performing-articles\/\" method=\"POST\" data-login=\"true\" data-tools=\"siteaudit\" data-callback=\"https:\/\/www.semrush.com\/state-of-content-marketing\/?utm_source=anatomy-of-top-performing-articles&amp;utm_medium=blog-banner&amp;utm_campaign=impacthero2\" data-pattern-type=\"domain\" data-ga-category=\"Blog_revenue\" data-ga-action=\"create_campaign_siteaudit\" data-error=\"\">\n<div class=\"s-features__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"s-features__inner\">\n<h2><strong><span style=\"font-size: 22px;\">1. Key Findings of the Research:<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Longreads\u00a0(7,000+ word\u00a0articles)\u00a0are absolute leaders in terms of content performance, as they drive almost 4 times more traffic than articles of average length (900-1,200 words).<\/li>\n<li>More than half of the posts with a complex structure (h2+h3+h4) are high-performing in terms of traffic and engagement. 44% of posts with a simple structure (h2+h3) are also high-performing. 39% of texts with no structure at all (no h2) are low-performing in terms of traffic and engagement.<\/li>\n<li>Posts containing at least one list per every 500 words of plain text get 70% more traffic than posts without lists.<\/li>\n<li>10 to 13-word headlines drive twice as much traffic and X1.5 more shares than shorter ones (&lt; 7 words).<\/li>\n<li>Posts with at least one image get twice as much traffic as posts containing text only. These also get 30% more shares and 25% more backlinks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"b-blog__image zoom\" data-size=\"big\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=885,height=1165\/blog\/uploads\/media\/21\/73\/21731b7f4a7b44a177cc8eed9e7cc2b5\/Anatomy-Main-Infographic%20(3).png, https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1770,height=2330\/blog\/uploads\/media\/21\/73\/21731b7f4a7b44a177cc8eed9e7cc2b5\/Anatomy-Main-Infographic%20(3).png 2x\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=885,height=1165\/blog\/uploads\/media\/21\/73\/21731b7f4a7b44a177cc8eed9e7cc2b5\/Anatomy-Main-Infographic%20(3).png, https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1770,height=2330\/blog\/uploads\/media\/21\/73\/21731b7f4a7b44a177cc8eed9e7cc2b5\/Anatomy-Main-Infographic%20(3).png 2x\" \/><img class=\"b-lazyload b-lazyload__skeleton lazyloaded\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" alt=\"Anatomy of performing content\" width=\"885\" height=\"1165\" data-fullsize-src=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/blog\/uploads\/media\/21\/73\/21731b7f4a7b44a177cc8eed9e7cc2b5\/Anatomy-Main-Infographic (3).png\" data-source-height=\"2660\" data-source-width=\"2020\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired-9025619_57=\"1\" \/><\/picture><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"header3\">2. Content-Length<\/h2>\n<p>A\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/pub_releases\/2019-04\/tuod-aoi041119.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">2019 study<\/a>\u00a0from researchers at the Technical University of Denmark suggests that, due to the amount of information presented to the public, our collective global attention span is narrowing. However, at the same time, the average post length increased\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.isitwp.com\/amazing-blogging-stats-facts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">by around 42%<\/a>\u00a0between 2014 and 2018, from 800 words to 1,151 words.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"b-blog__image\" data-size=\"big\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=885,height=720\/blog\/uploads\/media\/3f\/c8\/3fc8277bc1ac1fc5784d6abcd509cecd\/image.png, https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1770,height=1440\/blog\/uploads\/media\/3f\/c8\/3fc8277bc1ac1fc5784d6abcd509cecd\/image.png 2x\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=885,height=720\/blog\/uploads\/media\/3f\/c8\/3fc8277bc1ac1fc5784d6abcd509cecd\/image.png, https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1770,height=1440\/blog\/uploads\/media\/3f\/c8\/3fc8277bc1ac1fc5784d6abcd509cecd\/image.png 2x\" \/><img class=\"b-lazyload b-lazyload__skeleton lazyloaded\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" alt=\"The Anatomy of Top Performing Articles: Successful vs. Invisible Content \u2013 Semrush Study. Image 1\" width=\"885\" height=\"720\" data-fullsize-src=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/blog\/uploads\/media\/3f\/c8\/3fc8277bc1ac1fc5784d6abcd509cecd\/image.png\" data-source-height=\"1301\" data-source-width=\"1600\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired-9025619_57=\"1\" \/><\/picture><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Key Takeaway: 7,000+ word articles drive almost 4 times more traffic and 43% more shares than articles of average length (900-1,200 words). Meanwhile, short posts (300-900 words) gain 21% less traffic and 75% fewer backlinks than articles of average length (900-1,200 words).<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"b-blog__image zoom\" data-size=\"big\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=885,height=459\/blog\/uploads\/media\/d9\/65\/d965e4cab8e3c480ae87b6dc5541d409\/image.png, https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1770,height=918\/blog\/uploads\/media\/d9\/65\/d965e4cab8e3c480ae87b6dc5541d409\/image.png 2x\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=885,height=459\/blog\/uploads\/media\/d9\/65\/d965e4cab8e3c480ae87b6dc5541d409\/image.png, https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1770,height=918\/blog\/uploads\/media\/d9\/65\/d965e4cab8e3c480ae87b6dc5541d409\/image.png 2x\" \/><img class=\"b-lazyload b-lazyload__skeleton lazyloaded\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" alt=\"Non-shared articles by length\" width=\"885\" height=\"459\" data-fullsize-src=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/blog\/uploads\/media\/d9\/65\/d965e4cab8e3c480ae87b6dc5541d409\/image.png\" data-source-height=\"829\" data-source-width=\"1600\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired-9025619_57=\"1\" \/><\/picture><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Key Takeaway: Less than half of articles between 300 and 900 words are shared, while over 80% of 7,000+ word articles are shared.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Although long-form content is clearly the \u201cwinner\u201d here, it\u2019s important to understand that simply writing longer articles is not a guarantee of success \u2013 nor will it automatically bring you more traffic.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, longreads likely perform better because they provide users with in-depth information on the topic \u2013 not just because they contain more words. When creating your copy, you should bear this in mind. Focus on the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.semrush.com\/blog\/content-writing-how-to-write-and-order-different-types-of-content\/\">core elements<\/a>\u00a0of successful content \u2013 such as unique and engaging text, strong research, and relevant information \u2013 rather than simply how long it is.<\/p>\n<p>This ties into what your users are looking for, too. If your audience only wants a short answer to a particular question, then a 20-minute bulk read is only going to turn them off. In cases like this, a shorter article may be more beneficial, so ensure you analyze user intent and understand your audience\u2019s needs before you begin writing.<\/p>\n<p>Semrush\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.semrush.com\/swa\/?utm_source=anatomy-of-top-performing-articles&amp;utm_medium=blog-post&amp;utm_campaign=impacthero2\">SEO Writing Assistant<\/a>\u00a0can help you with this, enabling you to identify the ideal content length based on competitors\u2019 articles that rank for your target keywords.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"header4\">3. Headlines<\/h2>\n<p>The headline is one of the most important elements of an article, acting as a window to the content. The reader uses this headline when deciding whether to open the article or not.<\/p>\n<p>There are a number of different approaches that you can adopt \u2013 but which ones tend to perform well?<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"header5\">Types of Headlines<\/h3>\n<p>There are a variety of ways to find the right headline for a blog post: you can pick a popular question asked on the net, or offer a guide that solves a specific problem.<\/p>\n<p>During our research we tried to figure out which headlines help you get the most pageviews, backlinks, and shares.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"b-blog__image zoom\" data-size=\"big\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=885,height=551\/blog\/uploads\/media\/be\/44\/be444b4bb14fe4486a119c4a1ac9c66d\/image.png, https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1770,height=1102\/blog\/uploads\/media\/be\/44\/be444b4bb14fe4486a119c4a1ac9c66d\/image.png 2x\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=885,height=551\/blog\/uploads\/media\/be\/44\/be444b4bb14fe4486a119c4a1ac9c66d\/image.png, https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1770,height=1102\/blog\/uploads\/media\/be\/44\/be444b4bb14fe4486a119c4a1ac9c66d\/image.png 2x\" \/><img class=\"b-lazyload b-lazyload__skeleton lazyloaded\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" alt=\"Headlines and performance\" width=\"885\" height=\"551\" data-fullsize-src=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/blog\/uploads\/media\/be\/44\/be444b4bb14fe4486a119c4a1ac9c66d\/image.png\" data-source-height=\"996\" data-source-width=\"1600\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired-9025619_57=\"1\" \/><\/picture><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Key Takeaway: Lists get 80% more traffic than other types of articles.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The interest in listicles is based on the three key features that, according to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/tech\/annals-of-technology\/a-list-of-reasons-why-our-brains-love-lists\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">The New Yorker<\/a>, make them so captivating for our brains:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Such headlines stand out in a stream of content as they usually contain numbers.<\/li>\n<li>The subject is placed within a category or classification system.<\/li>\n<li>The information looks trustworthy and well organized.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Together, these factors cater to our data-hungry minds in a way that is reliable and easy to digest.<\/p>\n<p>Listicles are closely followed by guides and how-to articles, driving 38% more traffic compared to other types of articles. These kinds of headlines offer readers the opportunity to learn something and demonstrate that the solution to their problem may be just a click away.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to see which kind of content format is the most effective for your goals, you can use the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.semrush.com\/impacthero\/?utm_source=anatomy-of-top-performing-articles&amp;utm_medium=blog-post&amp;utm_campaign=impacthero2\">ImpactHero tool<\/a>. It allows you to compare the performance of your content by type and length, using seven performance metrics.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"b-blog__image\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1308,height=781\/blog\/uploads\/media\/6d\/c3\/6dc3e0334a31360b890acabc4b45e58b\/image.png, https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=2616,height=1562\/blog\/uploads\/media\/6d\/c3\/6dc3e0334a31360b890acabc4b45e58b\/image.png 2x\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1308,height=781\/blog\/uploads\/media\/6d\/c3\/6dc3e0334a31360b890acabc4b45e58b\/image.png, https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=2616,height=1562\/blog\/uploads\/media\/6d\/c3\/6dc3e0334a31360b890acabc4b45e58b\/image.png 2x\" \/><img class=\"b-lazyload b-lazyload__skeleton lazyloaded\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" alt=\"image.png\" width=\"1308\" height=\"781\" data-fullsize-src=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/blog\/uploads\/media\/6d\/c3\/6dc3e0334a31360b890acabc4b45e58b\/image.png\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired-9025619_57=\"1\" \/><\/picture><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"s-features__div\">\n<form class=\"s-features js-try-now js-try-now-auth\" action=\"https:\/\/www.semrush.com\/blog\/anatomy-of-top-performing-articles\/\" method=\"POST\" data-login=\"true\" data-tools=\"siteaudit\" data-callback=\"https:\/\/www.semrush.com\/impacthero\/?utm_source=anatomy-of-top-performing-articles=blog-banner&amp;utm_campaign=impacthero2\" data-pattern-type=\"domain\" data-ga-category=\"Blog_revenue\" data-ga-action=\"create_campaign_siteaudit\" data-error=\"\">\n<div class=\"s-features__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"s-features__inner\">\n<div class=\"s-features__form\">\n<div class=\"s-input-group\">\n<div class=\"cta-trigger\">\n<div class=\"cta-control\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">H1 Length<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n<p>Aside from being catchy, your headline is supposed to let your audience quickly understand the essence of your copy. In theory, it\u2019s the same for search engines, too. The only problem is that space is at a premium, so you need to come up with an enticing hook.<\/p>\n<p>To get a better understanding of what the ideal H1 length might be, we consulted the data to identify the key patterns and trends.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"b-blog__image zoom\" data-size=\"big\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=885,height=509\/blog\/uploads\/media\/fc\/08\/fc081a0c8f98a714b9d619b368ac5f09\/image.png, https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1770,height=1018\/blog\/uploads\/media\/fc\/08\/fc081a0c8f98a714b9d619b368ac5f09\/image.png 2x\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=885,height=509\/blog\/uploads\/media\/fc\/08\/fc081a0c8f98a714b9d619b368ac5f09\/image.png, https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1770,height=1018\/blog\/uploads\/media\/fc\/08\/fc081a0c8f98a714b9d619b368ac5f09\/image.png 2x\" \/><img class=\"b-lazyload b-lazyload__skeleton lazyloaded\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" alt=\"H1 length and performance\" width=\"885\" height=\"509\" data-fullsize-src=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/blog\/uploads\/media\/fc\/08\/fc081a0c8f98a714b9d619b368ac5f09\/image.png\" data-source-height=\"920\" data-source-width=\"1600\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired-9025619_57=\"1\" \/><\/picture><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Key Takeaway: 10 to 13-word headlines drive twice as much traffic and X1.5 more shares than shorter ones (&lt; 7 words).<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Longer headlines can provide more information on what the copy is about. This is important, as if there is no relation between the title and the content, Google may\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/static.googleusercontent.com\/media\/guidelines.raterhub.com\/en\/\/searchqualityevaluatorguidelines.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">disregard the content<\/a>\u00a0as low quality. This likely explains why H1 titles of over 10 words perform better (although this is not necessarily the case for all audiences and types of content).<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not just about length, though. When creating your H1 title, make sure you still focus on the core elements of what makes a good headline, such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Making it unique and comprehensive.<\/li>\n<li>Using numbers or question words.<\/li>\n<li>Describing what is discussed in the text body.<\/li>\n<li>Ensuring it stands out on the page.<\/li>\n<li>Addressing user intent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In terms of shares, a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/content-study\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">2019 study<\/a>\u00a0by Backlinko reveals a similar trend. Longer titles get more social shares, with very long headlines (14-17 words) getting 76.7% more shares than short titles.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"header7\">4. Structure<\/h2>\n<p>After the headings, we analyzed the structure of the copy \u2013 namely its heading depth (the presence of H2, H3, and H4 tags), and the presence of lists. This information can give you some ideas on how to layout your text to potentially increase engagement and traffic.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"header8\">Analyzing Heading Depths<\/h3>\n<p>First, we looked at the presence of H2, H3, and H4 tags in the articles from our dataset:<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"b-blog__image zoom\" data-size=\"big\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=885,height=457\/blog\/uploads\/media\/78\/4f\/784fcdd8c9aa9225ef80d4c5785f0f56\/image.png, https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1770,height=914\/blog\/uploads\/media\/78\/4f\/784fcdd8c9aa9225ef80d4c5785f0f56\/image.png 2x\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=885,height=457\/blog\/uploads\/media\/78\/4f\/784fcdd8c9aa9225ef80d4c5785f0f56\/image.png, https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1770,height=914\/blog\/uploads\/media\/78\/4f\/784fcdd8c9aa9225ef80d4c5785f0f56\/image.png 2x\" \/><img class=\"b-lazyload b-lazyload__skeleton lazyloaded\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" alt=\"Heading depth by performance\" width=\"885\" height=\"457\" data-fullsize-src=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/blog\/uploads\/media\/78\/4f\/784fcdd8c9aa9225ef80d4c5785f0f56\/image.png\" data-source-height=\"827\" data-source-width=\"1600\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired-9025619_57=\"1\" \/><\/picture><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Key Takeaway: More than half of the posts with a complex structure (H2+H3+H4) are high-performing.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>From the data above we can see that a three-level text structure (H2, H3, and H4) is enough to break down any article (even longer ones) into meaningful pieces, and improve its readability and visual appeal.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, this approach is\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/webmasters\/answer\/7451184?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">recommended by Google itself<\/a>, which advices against condensing large blocks of text onto a page \u201cwithout paragraph, subheading, or layout separation.\u201d John Mueller <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=QG2BoWRhb0k\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">expanded on this<\/a>\u00a0in December 2019, stating that heading tags help Google to better understand what the text is about, and to better frame it as a potential solution to user search queries.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, it\u2019s crucial to ensure that your content is structured properly. The correct use of H2, H3, and H4 tags enables you to segment your content into logical, digestible sections, divert attention to relevant user questions, and highlight the most important ideas in your text.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"header9\">The Use of Lists<\/h3>\n<p>The next characteristic we looked at is the presence of lists (&lt;ul&gt; and &lt;ol&gt; tags), their distribution in a piece of content, and the prevailing trends and patterns that emerge.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"b-blog__image zoom\" data-size=\"big\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=885,height=509\/blog\/uploads\/media\/80\/cc\/80cc5275b112072876056bdf3380b41c\/image.png, https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1770,height=1018\/blog\/uploads\/media\/80\/cc\/80cc5275b112072876056bdf3380b41c\/image.png 2x\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=885,height=509\/blog\/uploads\/media\/80\/cc\/80cc5275b112072876056bdf3380b41c\/image.png, https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1770,height=1018\/blog\/uploads\/media\/80\/cc\/80cc5275b112072876056bdf3380b41c\/image.png 2x\" \/><img class=\"b-lazyload b-lazyload__skeleton lazyloaded\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" alt=\"Number of lists and performance\" width=\"885\" height=\"509\" data-fullsize-src=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/blog\/uploads\/media\/80\/cc\/80cc5275b112072876056bdf3380b41c\/image.png\" data-source-height=\"920\" data-source-width=\"1600\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired-9025619_57=\"1\" \/><\/picture><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Key Takeaways: Posts containing at least one list per every 500 words of plain text get 70% more traffic than articles without lists.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>As we have already mentioned, the human brain likes lists. In a famous study, renowned neuroscientist Walter Kintsch found that people process information in a list format\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/philpapers.org\/rec\/KINRAF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">far more easily<\/a>\u00a0than in bulk pieces of text and data.<\/p>\n<p>Unsurprisingly, these findings also apply to your content. Lists are compatible with the short attention spans of most readers, and suggest that they can obtain the solution to their questions in a set number of steps.<\/p>\n<p>Using &lt;ul&gt; tags can help optimize your content for search engines, too. According to the Content Marketing Institute, this approach\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/contentmarketinginstitute.com\/2020\/06\/optimize-how-to-list-content\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">helps search crawlers<\/a>\u00a0to identify list items more easily and, when applied alongside a proper heading structure, make your content eligible for Google\u2019s featured snippet.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"header10\">5. Visual Content<\/h2>\n<p>After analyzing so many textual characteristics and trends, we also decided to broaden the scope of our study to include visuals. Images and videos play a considerable role in how a reader perceives and responds to content, as we can see below.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"header11\">The Use of Images<\/h3>\n<p>First, we looked at the use of images in the content:<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"b-blog__image zoom\" data-size=\"big\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=885,height=593\/blog\/uploads\/media\/d3\/09\/d309b8c323560f0c341902b90fa89577\/image.png, https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1770,height=1186\/blog\/uploads\/media\/d3\/09\/d309b8c323560f0c341902b90fa89577\/image.png 2x\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=885,height=593\/blog\/uploads\/media\/d3\/09\/d309b8c323560f0c341902b90fa89577\/image.png, https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1770,height=1186\/blog\/uploads\/media\/d3\/09\/d309b8c323560f0c341902b90fa89577\/image.png 2x\" \/><img class=\"b-lazyload b-lazyload__skeleton lazyloaded\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" alt=\"Images and performance\" width=\"885\" height=\"593\" data-fullsize-src=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/blog\/uploads\/media\/d3\/09\/d309b8c323560f0c341902b90fa89577\/image.png\" data-source-height=\"1072\" data-source-width=\"1600\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired-9025619_57=\"1\" \/><\/picture><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Key Takeaway: Posts with one image get twice as much traffic as posts containing text only. These also get 30% more shares and 25% more backlinks.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Although often overlooked, images are an important content element. On a basic level, humans are generally visual beings, and the use of images can &#8211; as the data above suggests &#8211; make content more attractive to readers.<\/p>\n<p>Images help you to enhance and clarify your messaging, make your content more memorable, and keep short attention spans interested. Importantly, images can also be repurposed into a diverse range of media types, allowing you to tailor your graphics to different platforms and audiences.<\/p>\n<p>There are also significant SEO benefits, with the potential to rank in image searches, as well as the possibility of leveraging emerging technologies\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.semrush.com\/blog\/visual-search-guide-benefits-optimizatiion\/\">such as visual search<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"header12\">The Use of Videos<\/h3>\n<p>Images are not the only visuals we looked at; we also wanted to see if videos are worth investing in.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"b-blog__image zoom\" data-size=\"big\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=885,height=593\/blog\/uploads\/media\/b3\/14\/b314d4c69915d3f0ee067d0bc994480b\/image.png, https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1770,height=1186\/blog\/uploads\/media\/b3\/14\/b314d4c69915d3f0ee067d0bc994480b\/image.png 2x\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=885,height=593\/blog\/uploads\/media\/b3\/14\/b314d4c69915d3f0ee067d0bc994480b\/image.png, https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=1770,height=1186\/blog\/uploads\/media\/b3\/14\/b314d4c69915d3f0ee067d0bc994480b\/image.png 2x\" \/><img class=\"b-lazyload b-lazyload__skeleton lazyloaded\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" alt=\"Videos and performance\" width=\"885\" height=\"593\" data-fullsize-src=\"https:\/\/static.semrush.com\/blog\/uploads\/media\/b3\/14\/b314d4c69915d3f0ee067d0bc994480b\/image.png\" data-source-height=\"1072\" data-source-width=\"1600\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired-9025619_57=\"1\" \/><\/picture><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Key Takeaway: Posts that don\u2019t contain a video get 92% less traffic and 24% less shares than posts with at least one video.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In recent years, the use of video in content has continued to grow. According to animation studio Wyzowl,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wyzowl.com\/video-marketing-statistics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">86% of businesses<\/a>\u00a0are using video as a marketing tool in 2021, compared to just 61% in 2016. And when you also consider Cisco\u2019s forecast that internet traffic from videos will\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisco.com\/c\/en\/us\/solutions\/collateral\/executive-perspectives\/annual-internet-report\/white-paper-c11-741490.html#_Toc484813971\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">make up 82%<\/a>\u00a0of all global consumer internet traffic in 2021, it\u2019s fair to say that video is the future of content marketing.<\/p>\n<p>This is unsurprising, given that video is a hugely useful and flexible tool. Primarily, it is perfect for cross-channel distribution, allowing you to share your video across a wide range of platforms. You can also use it to address different user needs, such as \u2018how-to\u2019 videos, interviews with experts or influencers, or product demos. Indeed, video can be particularly important for converting leads, with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginejournal.com\/youtube-shopping-influence\/323503\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">over half of consumers<\/a>\u00a0using the medium to influence their purchasing decisions.<\/p>\n<p>In terms of SEO, using video in your posts can increase engagement too, boosting the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/hub\/seo\/dwell-time\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">time spent on the page<\/a>\u00a0considerably. If you host the videos on your own website (as opposed to YouTube or Vimeo), you can also potentially attract a lot of valuable backlinks.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"header13\">6. Research Methodology<\/h2>\n<p>We picked 1,200,000 articles published on blogs\u00a0that had 3\u00a0between 30,000 and 500,000 sessions. We also discarded the articles published later than June 2020.<\/p>\n<p>While evaluating the performance of each article, we looked at the traffic (average unique pageviews), engagement on social media (Twitter + Facebook), and backlinks. We averaged these metrics to split all articles into high-performing (20%), average-performing (60%), and low-performing (20%) ones.<\/p>\n<p>Then, we tried to establish the reference values for the most common characteristics of the content, specifically:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>length;<\/li>\n<li>headline types (how-tos, lists, questions, guides\/studies, etc.);<\/li>\n<li>H1 length;<\/li>\n<li>heading depth (H2, H3, H4);<\/li>\n<li>list presence;<\/li>\n<li>image presence;<\/li>\n<li>video presence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"header14\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>The findings of our research revealed\u00a0some interesting trends related to\u00a0high-performing articles.<\/p>\n<p>The good copy answers the reader\u2019s query in detail, while also being well-structured and easy to navigate. It also offers a guide to action in the form of a checklist or how-to. Images and videos add value to the textual information you provide, too.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, our study presents general observations and the performance of your content depends primarily on its quality, as well as its relevance for your audience. In the meantime, we are continuously working to broaden the scope of our report for next year, and hope that the information we have presented helps your content strategy going forward.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to our Content Marketing Survey, 70% of marketers measure their content performance by traffic, 38% on social shares, and 31% on backlinks. Therefore, it would definitely be interesting to find out which content characteristics can help increase page views and make a blog post more shareable and linked to.\u00a0 Of course, the copy\u2019s performance [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Research &amp; Analysis of Article Performance According To SEO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover what makes articles thrive online! Uncover insights from SEMRush&#039;s study on successful vs. invisible content. Boost your content strategy today!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/anatomy-of-top-performing-articles\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Research &amp; Analysis of Article Performance According To SEO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover what makes articles thrive online! Uncover insights from SEMRush&#039;s study on successful vs. invisible content. Boost your content strategy today!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/anatomy-of-top-performing-articles\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Being Digitalz Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-24T14:42:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-22T11:24:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/The-Anatomy-of-Top-Performing-Articles-for-2021_header.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"885\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"505\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Being Digitalz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Being Digitalz\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Research & Analysis of Article Performance According To SEO","description":"Discover what makes articles thrive online! Uncover insights from SEMRush's study on successful vs. invisible content. Boost your content strategy today!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/anatomy-of-top-performing-articles\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Research & Analysis of Article Performance According To SEO","og_description":"Discover what makes articles thrive online! Uncover insights from SEMRush's study on successful vs. invisible content. Boost your content strategy today!","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/anatomy-of-top-performing-articles\/","og_site_name":"Being Digitalz Blog","article_published_time":"2021-02-24T14:42:29+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-01-22T11:24:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":885,"height":505,"url":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/The-Anatomy-of-Top-Performing-Articles-for-2021_header.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Being Digitalz","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Being Digitalz","Est. reading time":"12 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/anatomy-of-top-performing-articles\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/anatomy-of-top-performing-articles\/"},"author":{"name":"Being Digitalz","@id":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/8f28bc6ebc390295e202945a7a96d21d"},"headline":"The Anatomy of Top Performing Articles: Successful vs. Invisible Content \u2013 SEMRush Study","datePublished":"2021-02-24T14:42:29+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-22T11:24:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/anatomy-of-top-performing-articles\/"},"wordCount":2210,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Digital Marketing"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/anatomy-of-top-performing-articles\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/anatomy-of-top-performing-articles\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/anatomy-of-top-performing-articles\/","name":"Research & Analysis of Article Performance According To SEO","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-02-24T14:42:29+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-22T11:24:36+00:00","description":"Discover what makes articles thrive online! Uncover insights from SEMRush's study on successful vs. invisible content. Boost your content strategy today!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/anatomy-of-top-performing-articles\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/anatomy-of-top-performing-articles\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/anatomy-of-top-performing-articles\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Anatomy of Top Performing Articles: Successful vs. Invisible Content \u2013 SEMRush Study"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/","name":"Being Digitalz Blog","description":"Latest Marketing News, Updates and Information","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Being Digitalz Blog","url":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/being-digitalz-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/being-digitalz-logo.png","width":300,"height":58,"caption":"Being Digitalz Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/8f28bc6ebc390295e202945a7a96d21d","name":"Being Digitalz","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6bb7fe196c0518dc6ab4de875978840f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6bb7fe196c0518dc6ab4de875978840f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Being Digitalz"},"url":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=800"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1544,"href":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800\/revisions\/1544"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beingdigitalz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}