32 Blogging Statistics on the State of the Industry in 2024

Blogging seems like something of a game of chance. One blog post could go viral, and the next fall flat. What differentiates the two? That’s something that we decided to find out for ourselves.

Our research showed us that there’s a lot of conflicting information on the net. As a result, we decided to focus only on the real blogging statistics. We stuck with reputable, data-backed information. 

To say the results were fascinating is putting it mildly. We found that successful blogging is more like training for a marathon than a sprint. Those who “get lucky” and become “overnight sensations” have put in lots of work behind the scenes.

Are you ready to find out what it takes to make your blog go viral? Then buckle up and settle in—we’ve got everything you need.

The Top Blogging Stats to Remember

  • 54% of people want to see more video content online.
  • 53% of marketers believe that inbound marketing tactics are more effective than traditional methods.
  • 31% of blog posts take 6 hours to write.
  • Bloggers who spend six hours or longer writing posts are 56% more likely to get better results and see the benefits of blogging.
  • Search engines are responsible for 67% of your blog’s traffic.
  • 54% of bloggers include more than one image per post.
  • 68% of people will watch videos from beginning to end if it’s under one minute.
  • Around 7 million blog posts are published each day.
  • 53% of marketers consider blogging as their primary marketing strategy. 
  • A staggering 81.95% of bloggers work from home amid the global pandemic. 

If you’re curious for more, take a look at the following infographic and discover a bunch more stats and facts about blogging.

Blogging Statistics Infographic

Blogging Statistics for 2022 and Beyond

1. 10% of all blog posts will compound.

(Source: HubSpot)

A blog post that compounds is one that picks up more traffic as time passes. Blog traffic stats show that these posts can be responsible for lead generation years after being published. How do you create a compounding post? Look for an evergreen topic that your prospects are interested in. Then create a high-quality, well-researched post that’s written impeccably.

2. Blogging is the top lead generation tool for 67% of marketers.

(Source: OptinMonster)

Blogging is a great way to give your prospects the information they need more passively. Blogging stats show that they’re a great way to create a favorable impression of your brand and provides the client with as much info as they need. That’s because no salesperson is pressuring the client to close the deal.

3. Marketers who make blogging a priority are 13 times more likely to report a positive ROI.

(Source: HubSpot)

It’s not easy to calculate the actual return on investment (ROI) of a single blog post. One thing’s for sure, though, the cost of blogging is relatively inexpensive compared to traditional marketing techniques. PPC advertising, in particular, has become extremely expensive. You could pay more for a single PPC campaign than it would cost to write and host a blog for a year.

4. The average prospect requires 6 to 8 touchpoints to make a buying decision.

(Source: Salesforce)

Unless someone is actively looking for a product, you must persuade them that they need it. It should answer some pain points or appeal to a specific need. To convince them to buy a product from your company, you’ll need to go through a series of steps or touchpoints, which sometimes mean writing a number of blogs for that purpose. With each one, the person comes closer to making a buying decision.

5. 55% of marketers see blog content creation as a top inbound marketing priority.

(Source: HubSpot)

Inbound marketing is fast becoming recognized as one of the most effective marketing techniques. Blogging is a quick and easy way to get your content out there and start building your brand identity. Just focus on creating great content that your prospects will love.

6. 53% of marketers believe that inbound marketing tactics are more effective than traditional methods.

(Source: HubSpot)

Many businesses now use blogs as their primary inbound marketing technique. Inbound marketing is far more subtle. Your audience finds your blog because they’re looking for information. Traditional marketing, on the other hand, interrupts whatever the target is doing. It requires their immediate attention, and this can be extremely annoying.

7. Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing.

(Source: G2 Learning Hub)

Content marketing can be a hard sell, but it’s way better than traditional marketing in terms of costs and lead generation. The biggest advantage of business blogs over conventional marketing is that they provide a steady stream of leads for years to come at a much lower price. Blogs can generate three times as many leads as doing it the traditional way, at a 62% lower cost.

8. Statistics reveal that 5% of marketers feel blogging is overrated as a lead generation tactic.

(Source: HubSpot)

Let’s be honest here. Every month the marketing gurus come up with some new gimmick. But blogging isn’t a gimmick. It’s a solid strategy that’s been proven in many years. According to statistics on blogging, only 5% of marketers think otherwise. So if you want a low-cost, effective way to get your message across, blogging is the way to go.

9. 38% of business people rely on a company’s written content to make a buying decision.

(Source: HubSpot)

HubSpot’s research showed that written content is extremely important when it comes to making a buying decision. So how do you measure that value from stats? As a note, written content in this context refers to more than just blogs. It also includes whitepapers, emails, e-books, and so on.

General Blogging Stats

10. A staggering 81.95% of bloggers work from home amid the global pandemic.

(Source: FirstSiteGuide)

People start a blog for many different reasons. Some see them as an easy way to earn money. Others use them to promote their businesses or see them as a form of self-expression. And some want to find a way to help others. Then and now, these remain unchanged. But do you know how many people blog from home amid the global pandemic? A staggering 81.95%. 

11. Only 32% of bloggers always check their blog’s analytics.

(Source: Statista)

A further 25% admit to “usually” checking their analytics. This figure should be a lot higher. If you want to grow your blog, you need to know which posts perform the best, how many people read blogs, and so on. Most blogging platforms offer free integrated analytics. Alternatively, link into Google Analytics and get a whole host of stats completely free.

12. WordPress users post around 70 million new posts monthly.

(Source: WordPress)

According to WordPress statistics, this CMS is one of the top blogging platforms in the world. It’s not surprising—the format is simple to use, even with no coding experience. As revealed by WordPress stats, bloggers post around 70 million new posts monthly. It’s understandable given the extensive range of plugins that add impressive functionality to your blog. All you have to do is choose what’s right for you and download it. No coding is needed. These are the main reasons why bloggers use WordPress more than any other platform.

13. WordPress is the biggest blog website out there, hosting over 455 million sites.

(Source: WhoIsHostingThis)

The global giant dominates the blogosphere, far outstripping Google’s Blogger. The ease of building websites without code and the variety of options available on WordPress are unmatched by any other platform. Based on the survey conducted by NetCraft, there are over 1.3 billion active websites as of the writing time, and 455 million of those are using WordPress.

14. 31% of blog posts take 6 hours to write.

(Source: Orbit Media)

This is one of those blogging statistics that show just how much bloggers have improved over time. They now allocate enough time to do proper research, providing more high-quality content to their target audience. Relatively, only 26% of them still write blogs within 4 to 6 hours, and 24% within 3 to 4 hours.

15. 69% of bloggers write during working hours.

(Source: Orbit Media)

Is this because a lot of bloggers write for business purposes? Or is it more a case of their blog demographics requiring posts to be made during working hours? If it’s the latter, scheduling software makes it simple enough to write posts ahead of time. However, if you’re approaching it as a business, it makes sense to keep regular hours.

16. Around 7 million blog posts are published every day.

(Source: FirstSiteGuide)

How many blog posts are published per day? Around 7 million. It’s not surprising that these many blog posts are published daily, considering that there are around 500 million blogs out there. In fact, there are even more bloggers who publish only several times a week or a month. We can only imagine the total number of blogs as it continues to increase rapidly. 

17. In April 2020, there were 463.5 million blogs on Tumblr alone.

(Source: Statista)

Tumblr is another popular site. If the numbers are anything to go by, we’re probably looking at more than a billion blogs overall quite easily. So, how many blogs are there overall? That’s a number that’s hard to pin down. 

18. 71% of sites using WordPress are written in English.

(Source: WordPress)

English and Spanish are the two most widely used languages when it comes to WordPress, at 71% and 4.7%, respectively. However, the gap is extremely wide between the two, as you can see. So if you want your blog to have a broader appeal, the blog readership statistics suggest using English. If English is not your first language, it pays to use any of the best grammar checkers out there, such as Grammarly or Ginger. 

19. Bloggers who spend 6 hours or longer writing are 56% more likely to get better results.

(Source: Orbit Media)

There’s a direct correlation between investing time into writing quality content and the rewards it brings. Blogging industry statistics show that the amount of traction your blog post gets simply depends on how good it is. If you’re serious about creating a great blog, put more time and thought into writing your posts.

20. 70% of bloggers go back and update older content.

(Source: Orbit Media)

Nowadays, it has become an absolute necessity to go back and update older content. Google favors newer content, so updating your posts from time to time can help keep them looking fresher. It’s also an excellent policy to check your content occasionally and weed out anything that’s out of date.

General Blogging Statistics and Content

21. A study revealed that 53% of marketers use interactive content.

(Source: Content Marketing Institute)

Interactive content adds an extra element of interest to a standard blog. It could be anything from videos, podcasts, or links that people hover over to learn more about your topic. Be sure to keep it engaging and that it helps your content stand out.

22. 77% of internet users read blogs.

(Source: Impact)

Do you still think blogging is a waste of time? Believe it or not, not everyone is obsessed with social media online. A lot of people use the internet for research purposes and general entertainment. They are also turning to blogs to help them with personal problems they might be going through, such as divorces, unemployment, etc.

23. 54% of bloggers include more than one image per post.

(Source: Orbit Media)

It’s official—we live in a visual society. No one wants to have to scroll through pages and pages of boring text. The blogging trends from 2020 show that using high-quality images in blogs helps illustrate points better, and it adds more value to your posts. Images add interest and help break things up, so it looks less intimidating. Most bloggers use online graphic tools like Canva to bring their content to life. 

24. 49% of bloggers use lists when creating their posts.

(Source: Orbit Media)

Lists are a go-to for many bloggers when they aren’t sure what to post about. Don’t feel bad about this—most of us get writer’s block now and again. Lists are fun and interesting for the readers and not quite as much work for the poster. The blog stats show that even just a simple “Top 10” list will do.

25. 19% of bloggers include video in their blog posts.

(Source: Orbit Media)

Why read a blog post when you can watch a video instead? Blogs with video produce more engagement and add extra value and interest or explain a point more thoroughly.

26. 68% of people will watch a video from beginning to end if it’s under one minute.

(Source: OptinMonster)

While it’s essential to add interactive content to your blogs, you must also be mindful of all the other important factors. The most-viewed blogs in the form of a video are under the one-minute mark. If the video is longer than 20 minutes, only 25% of viewers will watch it until the end. The bottom line is that you must be cautious about the duration of your video content.

27. 54% of people want to see more video content.

(Source: HubSpot)

What is vlogging? It’s a combination of two words: video and blogging, which means that the content uses videos instead of texts. As mentioned earlier, video content is less taxing on the mind, so more people prefer to see more of it. Consider smart ways to integrate videos. Not only is it what more than half your readers want, but it also helps make your blog posts more dynamic.

28. 43% of people want blog posts to be easy to skim.

(Source: HubSpot)

Let’s face it, most of us suffer from information overload. Check out some of the relevant blog demographics. You’ll see that they have a clear structure and are usually easy to skim through. That’s no coincidence. We want to know that a post has value before tackling it. Make your posts easy to skim by using subheadings, short paragraphs, and bullet points. 

29. Images lead to information retention of 65%. Plain text only produces 10%.

(Source: Brain Rules)

Humans can process vast amounts of information. That said, we’re more visually inclined. In short, that means we’re more likely to remember images than actual text. If you want to emphasize a critical point in your blog, add a related image to help people remember it better.

Business blogging statistics

30. Search engines are responsible for 67% of your blog’s traffic.

(Source: Orbit Media)

If you want to see your blog right on the first page of search engines, you must ensure that it’s optimized. In this age and age when everything about your business happens online, search engine optimization is the most important factor. Social media follows with 63% and email marketing with 43%.

31. Blogging trends from 2020 show that 94% of bloggers consider social media the best choice for blog promotion.

(Source: Orbit Media)

And while SEO is the top source of traffic for blogs, bloggers still prefer to promote on social media. Google doesn’t credit social media links as backlinks, but social media is perfect for creating a buzz about your posts. Social media advertising is also often less costly than traditional PPC advertising.

32. 53% of marketers consider blogging as their primary marketing strategy. 

(Source: NealSchaffer)

If there’s even a single soul who thinks blogging’s fame is fading in 2021, they’re wrong. With stats on blogging showing that more than half of the total number of marketers believe that blogging is still their primary marketing strategy, its luster will continue to shine for many more years to come.

Conclusion

That’s the roundup of the most relevant info out there on blogging, so hopefully, you found it as fascinating as we did. For us, the primary takeaway here was learning why blogs are important as part of a long-term business marketing strategy.

We found that bloggers take the time to carefully think through what they’re writing and how it looks when they post it. While it may be challenging to determine your precise ROI from blogging, there are definite benefits to maintaining high-quality posts. If you want your blog to be successful, you’ll need to put the work in.

Hopefully, the blogging statistics above have given you a better idea of how to blog successfully.