40 Important B2B Blogging Statistics

“Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is trivial, but what they conceal is vital.” ~ Aaron Levenstein (Former associate professor emeritus of business at Baruch College, from 1961 to 1981)

Do you know that the only reason why the Continental Congress asked Thomas Jefferson to write the first draft of the Declaration of Independence was because they were worried that if they’d asked Ben Franklin to write it, he would have filled it up with his jokes?

And as we know, over time, even hilarious jokes can turn into widely-accepted practices.

Some years ago, people regarded hits as the most important success indicators for their websites.

Then as web analytics advanced, people realized that hits really meant, as copywriter legend the late Gary Halbert put it bluntly, “how idiots track success”.

So, today, we look at some key B2B blogging statistics and why they play important roles in our business lives.

• 1. B2B companies that regularly blog generate 67% more sales leads than non-blogging companies. If you write for a specific market and your content is good, then you can’t avoid but get more sales leads.
• 2. B2B companies that give blogging high priority get 13-times higher ROI than the companies where blogging is a barely tolerable, low-importance activity.
• 3. 93% of B2B marketers use content marketing agree that their blogs are the most valuable type of content marketing.
• 4. It’s predicted that, by 2020, buyers will manage 85% of their relationships without talking to a salesperson.
• 5. Regularly blogging B2B companies generate 97% more inbound links to their websites. More inbound links means higher search engine ranking, leading to a higher probability of being found.
• 6. With 29%, blogs are regarded as the 5th most trusted source (new sites 51%, Facebook 32%, Retail sites 31%, YouTube 29%) for honest and accurate online information.
• 7. After retail sites (56%) and brand sites (34%) blogs (32.1%) are the third most influential to purchases.
• 8. Blue Leadz reports that when combined with other SEO techniques, blogging 2-3 times a week can lead to a 177% traffic increase.
• 9. 57% of B2B marketers regard measuring content effectiveness as their biggest problems.
• 10. Business that post at least 15 blog posts a month, on average, generate average 1,200 new sales leads per month.
• 11. Hubspot reports that 43% of blog readers skim, not read, blog posts. That’s why blog posts need several subheads, bulleted or numbered lists, support images, etc.
• 12. There is a .67 correlation between click-through and ranking. Use good content to get ranking, so a preponderance of clicks can come your way.
• 13. Websites with associated blogs have as much as 434% more indexed pages than separate blogs and websites.
• 14. 57% of B2B marketers consider content production consistency as their biggest problems.
• 15. Blogging is more widespread in B2B businesses than in B2C businesses.
• 16. According to the Demand Gen Report 2016, 47% of buyers check 3-5 pieces of content before connecting with salespeople. And these 3-5 pieces of content should cover all stages of the sales funnel. Top-of-funnel content attracts new prospects and mid-funnel and end-of-funnel content sustain prospects’ interest and keep them in the funnel.
• 17. Blog articles that are illustrated with images get 94% more page views, and illustrated posts have become a must by 2017.
• 18. 94% of blog readers are willing to share blog posts if they think the information in the posts can be useful and valuable to their peers, friends and other connections, and this is why it’s important to create blog posts that are unique and valuable to the target market.
• 19. 60% of B2B marketing specialists say their biggest problem is to create and distribute enough quality content.
• 20. The ideal word count for blog posts is between 1,140 and 1,285 words. As blogging gets more competitive, Google values blogs with a certain word count and quality of information win.
• 21. 71% of marketers say they use various visual assets in their blog posts. As people consume more and more content on their mobiles, graphic elements become more and more important.
• 22. SEO leads, coming from either blogs or other inbound channels, have a 14.6% close rate, while outbound leads (such as direct mail or print advertising) have a 1.7% close rate. (source). High-calibre blog posts that are optimized both for humans and search engines, can significantly speed up the process of being found.
• 23. 51% of business owners consider content management as “very important” or “absolutely critical” in their buyer journey creation.
• 24. Some 70-80% of web visitors ignore paid ads and concentrate only on organic search results. Just as in real life where one-night stands can be bought but love and romance can’t, paid search can certainly be rewarding, the best prospects have to be courted and romanced with good content, and their attention can’t be bought.
• 25. Blogs are the 5^th most trusted content platforms.
• 26. 66% of bloggers still publish only monthly, giving an unfair advantage to those who are willing to publish regularly more often. Publishing at least weekly can be tremendous boost to your website.
• 27. Only 6% of bloggers are regularly engaged in guest publishing. Considering how effective this is, you too may consider connecting with blogs in your industry where you can post.
• 28. On average, compounding blog posts make up only 10% of all blog posts and compounding posts (as opposed to decaying posts) that generate increasing traffic over time. This 10% of posts generate 38% of overall traffic.
• 29. 45% of marketers regard blogging as their most important activity in their content strategy. This is understandable if we consider that a blog platform can be set up in a few minutes, and then bloggers can start writing. All other content marketing channels take quite a bit of time and effort to set up.
• 30. 61% of content marketers regard blogging so important that they meet their content teams every day to improve their process of creating and distributing content. They know, having daily meetings is the way of staying light on their feet, and being able to adjust their sails when the marketing winds change.
• 31. The ideal length of blog posts is around 1,500 words. However, the image below from SERPIQ indicates that longer pieces can get ranked better and get more links.
• 32. Over its lifetime, one compounding blog post creates as much traffic as six decaying posts.
• 33. Hubspot reports that 75% of their blog views and 90% of blog leads come from old posts.
• 34. Some 15% of web users read or comment on discussion forums (reddit, Digg, Slashdot, etc.), while 10% use the blogging website Tumblr. Pew Research Center, 2015)
• 35. Blog titles with 6-13 words attract the highest and most consistent amount of traffic.
• 36. Nielsen Social reports that 6.7 million people publish blogs and another 12 million write blogs using their social networks.
• 37. 81% of U.S. online consumers trust information and advice from blogs.
• 38. The most active bloggers are between the ages of 21 and 35, which is 53.3% of the total blogging population.
• 39. TMG Custom Media report that 90% of consumers say they find custom content useful. 78% believe that businesses behind quality content are sincerely interested in building good relationships with their markets.
• 40. Small businesses under 10 employees typically allocate 42% of their marketing budget to content development and distribution.

Summary

When you look at content marketing, it can be as overwhelming as Toys “R” Us on Christmas Eve.

So, since blogging is the easiest to start, start with blogging. The other platforms, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc., need a bit of set-up, but your blogging platform is there with your website.

Sit down and write a 1,500-word piece with a timer. That will give you an idea how long it takes to write one piece from scratch. Now time yourself to proofread and edit your piece.

That’s all.

And writing blog posts is a lot more comfortable than making hundreds of cold calls every day or roaming the land and knocking on doors from dawn to dusk.