12 Stunning Skimming Blog Posts Statistics
Did you know that one of the hottest blogging trends in 2020 is long posts with more than 1,800 words?
The thing is:
Not only do long posts provide relevant and complete information to readers but they also rank higher on the first search engine page results of Google. An interesting fact to note is that not everybody reads an entire blog post, and this is clearly evident from the latest skimming blog posts statistics.
Now:
As a blogger and content strategist, you should post content that is reader-engaging and action-driven and can be scanned within minutes. Read on to learn more about blog skimming and what you can do to keep your readers hooked while ensuring that they get the message that you intend to deliver and action that you want from them, even if they don’t read the whole post.
Here are some interesting scanning blog posts stats that I have curated from different studies. Take a look at them:
Fascinating Facts about Skimming Blogs (Editor’s Choice)
- Blog articles with images get 94% more views than others.
- 37 seconds is the average time a reader spends reading a blog post.
- 43% of people skim blog posts.
- 77% of web users regularly read blog posts.
- Eight out of ten online users read the headline copy, while two out of ten go past it.
- On average, a user only reads 20% of the content on a given page.
- 59% of the posts shared on social media are never read.
- Online traffic can vary as much as 500% based on the headline.
Skimming Blog Posts Statistics
The scanning blog posts stats given below will give you a quick overview of how readers view content and their scanning habits. Keep these statistics in mind to create highly focused and readable content for your audience:
1. Blog articles with images get 94% more views than others.
(Jeff Bullas)
Images help make online content more engaging and grab readers’ attention, especially if they have high quality. Besides this, the shift to visual content is quite clear from the rapid popularity of social media platforms like Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. This might make you wonder what percentage of people skim blog posts? Do they just look at the visuals or actually read the post? Let’s find out.
2. 37 seconds is the average time a reader spends reading a blog post.
(NewsCred)
37 seconds is not a high figure considering that the average length of a blog post is more than 1000 words. Don’t let this stat scare you, though. Instead, try to incorporate things that can increase the time that readers spend on your blog. You can do that by adding more value to your post by providing them with solutions to their problems. Also, make sure to create content that is skimmable and use a combination of content and images.
3. 43% of people skim blog posts.
(Hub Spot)
That’s almost half of all readers. In order to make sure that your blog posts communicate the desired message to your audience and persuade them to take the desired action, even if they skim through them, use subheadings, visuals, videos, and short paragraphs. The content should also be structured enough to allow for skimming.
4. 77% of web users regularly read blog posts.
(Impact)
Clearly, there is a huge market of avid blog readers. So, make sure you create content in line with what your readers want and keep their scanning habits in mind to get better results.
Speaking of which:
Let’s dig deeper to understand the scanning and reading habits of readers.
How Many People Go Below the First Fold?
One of the best ways to scan content is to read headlines. And that is clearly evident from the statistic found online on what percentage of people just read headlines and side headings. Read below to get the answer for headline statistics:
5. Eight out of ten online users read the headline copy, while two out of ten go past it.
(Moz)
This means that you should have a killer headline. The better the headline, the better your odds of beating the average and making sure that your content is read by a large percentage of people. After learning this statistic, you must be inquisitive about how many words on a website do users read on average? Read on to get your answer:
6. On average, a user only reads 20% of the content on a given page.
(Nielsen Norman Group)
This statistic affirms that bloggers should and must employ scannable text. Apart from the strategies shared above, I’d also recommend you to use bullets and highlighted keywords, to make your text more reader-friendly and scannable.
7. 70% of Facebook users only read the headline of science stories before they comment on it.
(Science Post)
This is another interesting fact that I found worth sharing. If you want your posts to get comments, headlines are crucial.
From the looks of it, people today don’t read blogs the way they read the newspaper or a book. If you’re wondering about the scanning patterns of blog readers, then read the next section to gain a clear insight into it.
Web Usage Patterns and Time Spent on Websites
8. Eye-tracking studies show that the majority of people follow the F-Pattern scanning method to read online content, skimming blog posts statistics reveal.
(Nielsen Norman Group)
This shows that readers will scan through text in a horizontal movement across the first paragraph, forming the top of the F and then the second horizontal movement is slightly further down, followed by the vertical scanning of the content’s left side.
9. Readers use Z-pattern scanning to skim through content.
(Insta Page)
The pattern of scanning text looks like a “Z.” The eye of the reader moves in the pattern that forms an imaginary “Z” shape. It goes from left to right and then top to bottom.
10. Out of 59,573 page views, 17% lasted less than 4 seconds and 4% more than 10 minutes.
(Nielsen Norman Group)
In case you were wondering:
What is the average time spent on websites?
You now have your answer! It’s a fact which can’t be denied. So, to reduce the bounce rate and improve stickiness, bloggers must focus on both quality and scannable content.
Blog Reader Statistics
Do you know what percentage of people share posts without reading them?
11. 59% of the posts shared on social media are never read.
(Washington Post)
That’s bizarre but true. This means that most people share and re-tweet posts based on the headlines or titles without actually opening the link and reading them.
12. Online traffic can vary as much as 500% based on the headline.
(Wired.com)
A catchy title can make all the difference in the world. So, if you want to improve the shares and likes of your blog posts, create an attention-grabbing headline.
Wrap up
As a blogger, you need to identify and seize opportunities as they arise. The best way to do this is to use the skimming blog posts statistics shared above to your advantage. Let these figures help you create engaging and sticky content that people read, share, and act upon.
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