87 Critical Blog Statistics: 2024 Usage, Readership & Marketing Data

The blog has come a long way since it was first introduced in 1994. Now, there is an estimated half a billion blogs, though the actual number could be much higher. We came up with this report to give you important blog statistics. We’ve included interesting facts, the latest figures on blog market share, and other important developments related to blogs and blogging.

Blogs have become hallmarks of online culture. From being personal “weblogs,” businesses have tapped into blogs as a cost-effective medium for promotion and marketing. In fact, blog software and services have been introduced to help businesses optimize content creation and delivery.

With this blog market research, you can use insights to boost your business’ online presence. This is because blogs are traffic drivers. In addition, they can help companies get more leads. Therefore, utilize the information here to your advantage so you can further elevate your brand and acquire more customers.

Blog Industry Statistics

Our blog market research shows a blog market size of more than 500 million blogs as of 2019. The Internet is all about information and the blog has found its place as an information and content medium. Let’s see how the blog and blogging have developed over the years with these blog growth statistics.

• 496 million – Tumblr’s total number of blogs. (Statista, 2020)
• 171.5 billion – The total number of Tumblr posts as of April 2019. (Statista, 2020)
• >1% – Tumblr’s share of social media website visits in the US. (Statista, 2020)
• Tumblr’s user base is made up mainly of young adult and teen internet users. (Statista, 2020)
• 1 in 4 bloggers reports “strong” blogging performance. (Orbit Media, 2020)
• 31 million – The total number of bloggers worldwide. (Orbit Media, 2020)
• Some facts add to the confusing number and the reality that there can be no accurate figures. For example, Google’s Blogger platform allows users to create up to 100 blogs per account. Furthermore, there are roughly 12 million people who blog through social media platforms. (Saas Scout, 2018)
• More than 10 million blog posts are published every day. (Hosting Tribunal, 2021)
• WordPress alone accounts for 70 million posts per day. In 2012, only 2 million blogs were being published daily. (Hosting Tribunal, 2021)
• 4 out of 5 websites use blogs. (Content Marketing Institute, 2016)

Content & Usage Statistics

From a couple of hundred words of pure text, the blog has transformed both in substance and style. The changes are driven by the need to rank in searches, acquire more site visitors, and provide rich multimedia content. This is why blogging tools are also now included in some content marketing solutions. Here’s how blogs are being produced and used.

• 1,269 words – The length of an average blog post. (Orbit Media, 2020)
• 57% – The increase in a blog post’s typical word count since 2014.
• (Orbit Media, 2020)
• The majority of bloggers who write more than 3,000 words report strong blog performance. (Orbit Media, 2020)
• Companies with blogs receive 97% more links. (Optin Monster, 2021)
• Long-form content, specifically 3,000 to 10,000 words, actually get more shares than short-form content. (Ok Dork, 2017)
• Ideally, aim for a minimum 2000-word post. (Ok Dork, 2017)
• The average word count that lands on Google’s front page search results are 1,890 words. (Torque Mag, 2018)
• Articles with a word count of 2,250 to 2,500 earn the most organic traffic. (HubSpot, 2017)
• Titles with 6 to 13 words attract the most consistent and highest amount of traffic. (HubSpot, 2019)
• The best length for a blog headline is 11 words. (CoSchedule, 2018)
• 56% of bloggers have used blogs to successfully establish their company as an industry thought leader. (Impact+, n.d.)

Best Blog Software

1. Wix. This is a user-friendly blogging platform that helps you create a space where you can share short updates and long-form content with your audience. Discover more about this site in our Wix review.
2. Blogger. This site lets you manage every aspect of your blog but remains intuitive with its drag-and-drop functionality. See what else it has to offer in our Blogger review.
3. Medium. If you like minimalist blogs and to earn from your posts at the same time, this platform is a good choice. Learn more about its features in this Medium review.
4. WordPress. This well-known platform is used by many because of its free plan and economical subscriptions. Find out in our WordPress review if this site is for you.
5. Weebly. A blog, a webshop, a whole site; these are things you can do with this platform. Get the details in our Weebly review.

Creating & Publishing Blogs

• 20% of bloggers spend more than six hours writing an article, adding videos to content, and publishing several times per week.
• 3 hours and 55 minutes – the average time it takes to complete a blog post. (Orbit Media, 2020)
• This is a 63% increase in the time spent on each post. (Orbit Media, 2020)
• Headline with 6-8 words can increase CTR by 21%. (Optin Monster, 2021)
• 13% of users search for “how-to” blog articles. (Optin Monster, 2021)
• 90% of bloggers use images in their posts. (Optin Monster, 2021)
• 37% of bloggers use quotes from reputable sources. (Orbit Media, 2020)
• 37% of bloggers do interviews. (Orbit Media, 2020)
• Only 3% of bloggers add more than 10 images to typical posts. (Orbit Media, 2020)
• Bloggers who publish original research are 32% more likely to report strong performance. (Orbit Media, 2020)
• 30% of bloggers work with editors. (Orbit Media, 2020)
• Another study shows 54% of bloggers have editors or consulted someone about their work while 46% do their own editing. (Optin Monster, 2020)
• Bloggers who research keywords perform better. (Orbit Media, 2020)
• Around 50% of bloggers are not concerned with SEO. (Orbit Media, 2020)
• Two-thirds of bloggers see organic search as an important source of traffic. (Orbit Media, 2020)
• Bloggers who update old articles are more than 2x as likely to report strong blog performance. (Orbit Media, 2020)
• 20% of bloggers spend more than six hours writing an article, add video and images to content and publish several times per week. (Orbit Media, 2020)
• Bloggers who publish weekly or more are 2.5x more likely to get “strong results” than bloggers who publish monthly or less. (Orbit Media, 2020)
• Based on the media type, bloggers report “strong results” with having audio (45%), video (37%), a list (31%), and multiple images (31%). (Orbit Media, 2020)
• 1 in 10 blog posts is compounding, which means that over time organic search increases their traffic. Compounding posts provide solutions, carry titles with words like “how” and “why,” and are easy to scan. (HubSpot, 2019) 
• Over its lifetime, 1 compounding blog post creates as much traffic as 6 decaying posts. (HubSpot, 2019)
• Bloggers who spend 6+ hours writing a post are 56% more likely to report “strong results” than those who don’t. (Orbit Media, 2020)
• Bloggers are putting media items such as Images (90%), Statistics (54%) Contributor quotes (37%), video (25%) and audio (6%) (Orbit Media, 2020)

Blogs & Social Media

• 50% of bloggers say getting traffic from Facebook has become difficult in the past two years. (Optin Monster, 2020)
• 20% of bloggers say getting traffic from Google has become difficult. (Optin Monster, 2020)
• 93% – the increase in blogs that use promotions such as paid ads to drive traffic. (Optin Monster, 2020)
• Only 12% of bloggers leverage influencer outreach. (Optin Monster, 2020)
• Tuesday is the best day to publish and promote content for social shares. (Torque Mag, 2018)
• In 2018, social media (96%) was the biggest driver of traffic to blog posts. Others include SEO (68%), email marketing (61%), influencer outreach (20%), and paid services (19%). (Orbit Media, 2020)
• Articles with 2,500+ words get the most inbound links and social media shares. (HubSpot, 2017)
• 80% of US Internet users interact with blogs and social media sites. (Demand Metric, n.d.)
• 23% of online time is spent on social media sites and blogs. (Demand Metric, n.d.)

Public Preferences & Behavior

Readers go for blogs that are interesting and filled with information. And they find companies that blog more credible. Here are selected blog facts and figures as they relate to the general public.

• Around 409 million users view more than 20 billion pages. (Optin Monster, 2020)
• WordPress users publish around 70 million posts per month. (Optin Monster, 2020)
• Readers generate around 77 million new blog comments a month. (Optin Monster, 2020)
• 71% of WordPress websites use English as a medium. (Optin Monster, 2020)
• Websites with blogs have 434% more indexed pages. (Optin Monster, 2020)
• Blogs are viewed as the fifth most trusted online information source. (Optin Monster, 2020)
• 66% of bloggers publish several times a month. (Optin Monster, 2020)
• Only 38% of bloggers are updating older articles. (Optin Monster, 2020)
• 90% of consumers find custom content useful. (Demand Metric, n.d.)
• 70% of people prefer to learn about a company through articles rather than adverts. (Demand Metric, n.d.)
• 77% of Internet users read blogs. (Impact Plus, n.d.)
• US internet users spend 3x more time on blogs and social networks than on email. (HubSpot, 2016)
• 51% of blog readers shop online. (Impact Plus, n.d.)
• 43% of people admit to skimming blog posts. (HubSpot, 2020)
• 36% of readers prefer list-based headlines. (CXL, 2020)
• Audiences connect with posts that invoke positive emotions. The most popular ones are “awe” (25%), “laughter” (25%), “amusement” (15%), and “joy” (14%). The least popular is “anger” (6%) and “sadness (1%). (Torque Mag, 2018)
• 68.52% of people say that a blog gives website credibility. (Social Marketing Writing, 2020)
• Articles with images get 94% more visitor views. (Jeff Bullas, 2017)

Business & Marketing with Blogs Statistics

You may have noticed that most corporate or business websites have a blog section. For consumers, blogs establish trust and credibility in business. And for companies, they take on a mantle of authority when talking about their products and about industry matters.

• 15% of blogs are corporate.(Impact Plus, n.d.)
• 60% of companies believe that using a corporate blog is beneficial to a business. (Impact Plus, n.d.)
• A company that blogs gets 55% more visitors, 97% more inbound links, and 434% more indexed pages. (HubSpot, 2017)
• Listicles are the most popular blog post format for business blogs. (HubSpot, 2020)
• The top inbound marketing priority for 55% of marketers is blog content creation. (HubSpot, 2020)
• Marketers who prioritize blogging efforts are 13x more likely to see positive ROI. (HubSpot, 2020)
• Companies that published 16+ blog posts per month got nearly 3.5x more traffic than those that published between 0 – 4 monthly posts. (HubSpot, 2020)
• Moreover, companies that published 16+ blog posts per month got about 4.5X more leads. (HubSpot, 2020)
• 66% of marketers used blogs for their social media content. (Social Media Examiner, 2019)

Small Business Blog

• SMBs with blogs achieve up to 126% more lead growth than those without.(Orbit Media, 2020)
• Companies with less than 10 employees typically allocate 42% of their budget to content. (Content Marketing Institute, 2016)

B2B Blogging

• B2B companies are more likely to blog than B2C companies. (Social Media Examiner, n.d.)
• 59% of B2B marketers consider blogs the most valuable channel. (Demand Metric, n.d.)
• 81% of B2B companies utilize the blog as a content marketing tactic. (Content Marketing Institute, 2016)
• Meanwhile, B2B companies that blogged more than 11x per month had almost 3x more traffic than those blogging 0 – 1x per month. (HubSpot, 2020) 
• 74% of B2B content marketers report that they have used long-form content in the last 12 months.
• (Content Marketing Institute, 2019)
• 73% of B2B marketers say blog posts/articles are the most effective content type in the early stage of the buyer’s journey. (Content Marketing Institute, 2019)

Why Should Your Business Have a Blog?

From the blog statistics presented above, the answer is clear – people read blogs. If your company does not have a blog, you’re missing out on an important information tool. Press releases are passé. In fact, consumers prefer hearing product announcements or the latest news from a company directly from the company itself.

Furthermore, readers connect with engaging content that provide how-tos and learning content. Your blog, with content carefully crafted and researched, can carry all those information that readers want to know.

There is no reason for your company not to have a blog. It is recommended that you include a blog in your B2B marketing strategy. This is so you can enlist more subscribers, improve search rankings, and build your brand at the least cost.

And speaking of cost, there are several inexpensive web hosting services that can host your personal, corporate and WordPress blogs. All these drive home the point that there is a budget-friendly way to connect with your customers.

Producing great content through your blog ensures that your readers will be coming back to hear more from your company.

References:

1. Bergstrom, B. (2018, January 8). How long should a blog post be to get the most traffic and shares? CoSchedule Blog.
2. Bullas, J. (2017, October 21). 6 powerful reasons why you should include images in your marketing – Infographic. Jeffbullas’s Blog.
3. Carmicheal, K. (2020). How often should you (or your company) blog? [New data]. HubSpot Blog.
4. CMI, MarketingProfs, & Brightcove. (2016). B2B content marketing: 2016 benchamarks, budgets, and trends – North America. CMI.
5. Content marketing infographic. (n.d.). Demand Metric.
6. Cretodina, A. (2020, October 1). New blogging statistics: Blogging still works, especially for the 10% of bloggers who do things differently. Orbit Media Studios.
7. Edgecomb, C. (2016, December 2). Blogging statistics: 52 reasons your company blog is worth the time & effort. IMPACT+.
8. How many blogs are there in 2018? (2018). SaaS Scout (formerly SoftwareFindr).
9. How to build a credible blog [Infographic]. (2020, September 8). Social Marketing Writing.
10. Howells-Barby, M. (2017). The anatomy of a shareable, linkable & popular post: A study of our marketing blog. HubSpot Blog.
11. Kagan, M. (2017, November 27). How to create viral content: 10 insights from 100 million articles. OkDork.com.
12. Kagan, M. (n.d.). 100 awesome marketing stats, charts, & graphs [Data]. HubSpot Blog.
13. An, M. (n.d.). Compounding blog posts: What they are and why they matter. HubSpot Blog.
14. Ouellette, C. (2021, January 6). Ultimate list of blogging statistics and facts (Updated for 2020). OptinMonster.
15. Patel, N. (2020, July 29). Headlines that convert: 5 key characteristics. CXL.
16. Radoslav, C. (2021, January 18). How many blog posts are published per day – 2021 statistics. HostingTribunal.
17. Schäferhoff, N. (2018, April 10). What is the optimal content length? – Here’s what the science says. Torque.
18. Stelzner, M. (2019, May 7). 2019 social media marketing industry report. Social Media Examiner.
19. Tankovska, H. (2020, April 24). Tumblr: Total number of blogs 2020. Statista.
20. The ultimate list of digital marketing statistics for 2021. (2021). HubSpot.

By Nestor Gilbert

Nestor Gilbert is a senior B2B and SaaS analyst and a core contributor at FinancesOnline for over 5 years. With his experience in software development and extensive knowledge of SaaS management, he writes mostly about emerging B2B technologies and their impact on the current business landscape. However, he also provides in-depth reviews on a wide range of software solutions to help businesses find suitable options for them. Through his work, he aims to help companies develop a more tech-forward approach to their operations and overcome their SaaS-related challenges.