Life is about attraction. Humans are visual beings. We’re attracted to beauty. When eye-catching visuals captivate us, we use that focus to get a better idea of what a message truly is trying to say.

Visuals give us a better understanding of not just the message, but what’s behind the message — explained easier, faster, and clearer than just a cluster of written words. Content containing visuals like images or videos perform better — on average, receiving up to 94 percent more views.

Infographics can increase website traffic by 12 percent. Tweets with images or videos get, on average, a 35 percent or 28 percent increase in retweets, respectively. Most of all, let’s not forget to lean on science. Reading just words is insufficient for humans; content with visuals (i.e., photos) are easier to remember and are remembered more often.

Looking beyond blanket statistics, here are four evidence-based reasons why content needs compelling visuals to truly deliver the results needed to be successful.

1. Humans Prefer Visuals
   People are visual creatures by nature. It’s not just because of our modern-day short attention spans and, in turn, our preferences for video, animation, and imagery over text because of how much faster we can consume it. And they’re more available than ever before.
2. Visuals Generate More Organic Visibility
   In organic search, 60 percent of people are more likely to click on a business that has images showing up in search results than one that does not. When snippets don compelling visuals, they perform better. That’s why click-through rates are higher for content that contains images.
3. Visuals Help Capture Short Attention Spans
   While obvious, it’s probably the most important one on this list. The average person can get distracted (or bored) within a few seconds. That’s doesn’t give you much time to grab someone’s attention. So make sure you capture their attention the right way – and fast!
4. Visuals Are More Memorable
   Visuals don’t just stand out at first sight; they’re also easier to remember. Visual aids can improve learning by up to 400 percent and be processed 60,000 times faster than text alone.

Remember when we used flash cards and other visuals in grade school to help us learn new topics? That’s because most of the human population consists of visual learners, or those who are able to comprehend and retain information better through the use of visual aids.

The majority of humans retain visual information much better, clearer, and longer than we are able to solely written words.

Conclusion
Visuals can very well be the difference between having your content seen or not. The numbers show just how much better rich media fares in the wild. Use it to your benefit, save money, and increase your brand following.

Thanks for your Wisdom Sam Hollingsworth

The answer isn’t as simple as a number of words.

There are many variables that can and should be considered when deciding what is the best length for your articles and blog posts, but the two most important factors to get an answer are:

• Who is your target audience?
• How long does the post have to be to successfully explain the material in a way that resonates with its readers?

People are oftentimes quick to assume shorter content is best for users. It’s easier and faster to read, and people don’t want to stare at the same thing on a computer screen for long.

We already know attention spans are getting shorter each generation. But does that mean shorter articles mean a better user experience and, thus, a better organic ranking in search?

Probably not, no.

Statistics Don’t Lie

Stats offer a pretty good starting point, but we all know they can sometimes also be manipulated.

It’s probably true that shorter content is easier and faster for people to read; I’m not going to dispute that.

Google wants substance, evidence, and facts from authority entities on whatever the topic may be. Turns out, longer content typically has these elements baked into it.

That’s a big reason why long-form content ranks better in organic search than short content.

Average content length for Page 1 results is around 1,900 words. That’s a lot longer than the 200- or 500-word blog posts most writers or webmasters think is ideal.

Quality Over Quantity: Don’t Focus on Article Length

Too many people put too much of an emphasis on the average word length for articles and the misunderstood importance of having more than a certain number of words on each page to rank well.

Give users what they want regardless of how many words it takes to say it.

Don’t Just Focus on Written Page Copy

Quality content goes beyond just written words. The best content connects thorough research and respectable writing with a user’s interest (their search query).

Even a great video should be accompanied by well-written text that explains the video, it’s concept and goals, and any other resources that may improve the content to better help the user.

That’s our ultimate goal as content strategists: offer the best information, in the most appropriate format, on the right platform.

Some content is easier to digest in the written word. But other content is more suited to visual and needs imagery or video. Sometimes, audio files will be the best type of rich media.

When you use visual or audio content, be sure to accompany it with written content that can connect the dots and make sense of everything on the page, as well as help users find your content.

Your goal should be to supply the best, most useful (and optimized) version of content for your target audience that matches their intent.

Your audience will appreciate it – and your website analytics will reflect that.

Thanks for your wisdom Sam Hollingsworth