I’m going all in and answering the big question today…. do people still read blogs?

People ask me this ALL the time. And I totally get why. Because when you’re thinking about taking your online strategy in a different direction you want to know whether it’s worth your while and most importantly that it’s going to get you the results you’re after.

The fact is blogging has changed.

Digital habits have changed. The way we consume information has changed. Our attention spans have decreased and our need for connection and information has massively increased.

So, before I dig down into the nitty gritty of why I think blogging should be part of your content strategy (because *spoiler alert* do people still read blogs?… ummm yes they do!) I’m going to take you on a little journey to explore the evolution of blogging.

How Has Blogging Changed?

Blogging first emerged in the early 90s (well, all the best things did, right!?!) when people started creating and sharing online diaries of what they’d been up to and things they were interested in. It was all very innocent back then. A bit of a hobby. A way to express yourself and connect with like-minded people. There was certainly none of the pressure we have these days to perform well and get millions of followers. In the 90s people blogged because they loved sharing a bit of themselves with the world, not because they wanted notoriety, free products, and to look good. Far from it. 90s blogs were as basic as they come.

Platforms like Blogger and WordPress made it easy for anyone to start a blog, and by the mid-2000s, blogging had become a key part of online culture.

It was during the 2010s that blogging evolved into more than personal musings. Businesses suddenly realised the potential for blogs to be used as powerful content marketing tools. If they created regular blog content on their website they could improve their SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), drive more traffic to their website, build authority, improve their SEO rankings, and connect with their audience in ways they hadn’t been able to before.

Readers were hungry for long-form content that not only gave them the information they were seeking but were also entertaining to read. And when they found ones they liked they would often sign up to receive notifications of when new posts were published. Which was great news for bloggers.

However, there’s been a shift. With short-form platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube becoming more popular this new generation of digital consumers expect quick, easy to understand, easy to read content over lengthy articles.

Do People Still Read Blogs And Who’s Actually Reading Them?

As well as being asked, ‘do people still read blogs?’, I also get asked ‘is blogging dead?’ And the answer I give is always a resounding ‘Yes’ and most definitely ‘No’.

While there are some people who believe that blogging is dying out, the fact is blogs still have a very dedicated and engaged readership. So, let’s take a look at the type of people a typical blog audience is made up of:

• Professionals – Business owners, marketers, industry experts, other professionals regularly read blogs to keep on top of key trends within their niche.
• Researchers – People mostly use the internet to search for answers to their questions and to help solve problems. Blogs can help this type of reader by providing answers in the form of reviews, ‘how to’ guides, step-by-step tutorials, and troubleshooting articles.
• Consumers – Blog posts play a major role in the buying journey, because people like to research a product or service before parting with their money. Blogs can therefore rank well for reviews, comparisons, and in-depth guides, as they help the reader with their buying decisions. This also helps to position the blogger (you!) as a trusted resource and an authority figure within your field of expertise.
• Niche Communities – Readers from niche communities and specialist fields much prefer to read in-depth content. And unlike social media, where posts are ‘here today, gone tomorrow’, blog posts provide evergreen resources that can be read and re-read, and provide continuous benefits.
  
• Readers Who Prefer Long-Form Content – Despite the changes in content consumption, there are still plenty of people out there who love to read longer content. Because guess what… not everyone is interested in short, hectic, vanity content. Some of us, myself included, prefer to explore a topic in great detail and enjoy the storytelling element of longer, more in-depth blog posts.

Changing Content Trends

When we look at social media vs blogging, and video content vs blog posts, it’s clear that over the years there has been a big shift in the way people consume content, which naturally has an impact on blog readership.

If we then throw AI and ever-changing and unpredictable Google algorithm updates into the mix, it’s no wonder many people feel unsettled about how effective blogging will be for their business. But by understanding these changing trends, business owners can adapt their content strategies to remain relevant.

Here’s how:

Short-Form Content

People expect immediate answers and as such prefer quick, engaging, visibly pleasing short-form content. The way to adapt this for long-form blogs is by using headings, breaking text into smaller paragraphs, including bullet points and lists etc.

Video Content

There’s no question that people prefer to watch video content over reading blogs these days. Not all of them, but most. That doesn’t mean you need to scrap blogging altogether, it just means that if you want to achieve greater results it’s worth integrating video content into your blog strategy in some way. This could be in the form of an embedded video in your blog posts or repurposing your blog posts into video summaries or shorts reels for social media.

Social Media

Aside from search engines, social media is where most people will find your blogs, which means nowadays content promotion is just as important as content creation. Sharing your blog posts across multiple platforms will help you reach new audiences. Remember, the content doesn’t necessarily need to be different, the same piece of content can be scheduled across various different platforms. And if you use a free scheduling tool, such as Buffer, it will allow you to batch create your content which will save you time and help keep consistency in your marketing strategy.

Changing Algorithms

Google is constantly updating its search algorithms so that it can provide the best user experience and prioritise the highest quality content. Many of the recent updates show preference to blogs that are mobile friendly and fast, that provide useful and original content, and that follow the E-A-T principles (Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness).

Artificial Intelligence

Because of increased use of AI programmes, like Chat GPT, there are more generic, low-quality articles cluttering up the internet. Which means, now more than ever, bloggers should concentrate on providing unique, quality, and well-researched content with a personal twist.

How To Keep Your Content Strategy Up To Date

OK, so now you know who’s still reading blog posts and now that you’re aware of the changes in content consumption, how can you create engaging blog content that adapts to these trends and keeps the online presence of your business relevant and fresh?

Here are some ideas:

Make Your Blog Posts More Engaging

The more eye-catching and engaging your blog content the better your chances of grabbing and holding onto your reader’s attention. As content evolves, so must you as a content creator. In order to attract a wider audience you must think of ways to help you stand out.

One way to do this is by including video and audio content within your blog posts. For example, you could embed a YouTube video or add a sound bite from a podcast you’ve been on. By including features such as these not only do you mark yourself out as different, but you’ll also increase the time a reader spends on your site as well as the likelihood of them returning again in future.

Share Content That Is ‘Skimmable’

As attention spans decrease and the demand for short-form content increases if we want people to engage with the long-form content on our blogs we need to make sure it’s ‘skimmable’. As much as I’m sure you’d love every one of your readers to read every single word of a blog post that you’ve poured your blood, sweat, and tears into, the fact is most of them won’t.

They’ll scan for the key information they’re searching for and skim over the rest. Unless of course your content is super compelling and engaging and your awesome electrifying personality is irresitible to them, but at the risk of hurting your feelings, in most cases people are in and out with what they need.

Here are some ways you can make your content appealing to the skim readers:

• Use short paragraphs to break up large chunks of text.
• Add subheadings so your readers can jump to sections that interest them.
• Use coloured or bold text to highlight important words, headings, or links.
• Add bullet points and numbered lists to make key details stand out.

Optimise Your Posts

You don’t need to know the complete ins and outs of SEO to have a successful blog on your website, but knowing the basics sure helps.

Despite Google’s algorithm changing all the freakin’ time, there are certain elements to SEO that remain the same and that will help your blog posts rank no matter what’s going on behind the scenes. Optimising your posts so that they include long-tail keywords (phrases made up of 3-5 words), checking they’re mobile-friendly, making sure the content is valuable and answering a specific question etc. is super important as this will always be something that search engines look for.

Repurpose Your Content

I know I go on about repurposing blog content all the time, but the reason I do is because it sooooo makes sense.

I’ll give you an example of how I’ve done this in the past. So, on my health and wellbeing blog I used to have a weekly feature called ‘Flapjack Friday‘. I’d come up with a new flapjack recipe, make it, take photos, and then share the recipe on the food section of my blog.

Now, after a while I ran out of ideas for flapjack flavours, bearing in mind I’d done about 100 of them, but rather than let that popular feature die a death I created round up posts based on the existing flapjack recipes. For example, I had:

‘10 Chocolate Flapjack Recipes For World Chocolate Day‘

and

‘The Top Ten Vegan Flapjack Recipes You Need In our Life‘

I would also create social media posts and share them in my newsletters to help drive traffic to my site. A lot of these recipes were published over 7 years ago and yet still some of them rank on the first page of Google for specific search terms.

Even now I can still repurpose that content either by adding updated information to the original post, sharing it on my socials again, making video content, or putting the recipes together into an eBook. The options really are endless and it’s great because the main bulk of the content is just sat there ready and waiting to be re-used.

Build A Community

A successful blog, one that attracts visitors to your website and increases your online visibility, is one that offers valuable resources, provides expert knowledge, and that connects with its audience. Readers want value but they also want to feel valued and the way to achieve this is by making them feel as though they’re part of your journey to.

It’s up to you to create a community around your blog, so encourage comments and discussions from your readers. You can do this by:

• Adding a comments section at the end of your blog posts.
• Include CTAs (Calls To Action) throughout your posts.
• Offer a free resource like a checklist or eBook in exchange for email sign-ups or blog subscriptions.
• Create a private group on Facebook.

By providing extra value to your readers, you show them that they are your priority and that you genuinely care. This helps to build trust, loyalty and repeat visits to your website.

Are Blogs Still Relevant?

So, do people still read blogs? Are blogs still relevant these days?

YES!

Yes, they most definitely are. If they weren’t, I certainly wouldn’t be in business and there wouldn’t be lots of businesses continuing to use blogging as part of their digital marketing strategies. And that’s the key word right there… STRATEGY.

Because whereas in the past, you could be relatively carefree about what, when, and how you blogged, these days it is ALL about the strategy. And to make blogging work for your business you absolutely need a strategic approach to your blog posts.

Let’s take a look at why blogs are still relevant in 2025:

Blogs Drive Traffic

Unlike social media posts, which quickly disappear from feeds, and you have little control over who actually gets shown them unless you chuck money at advertising, blogging is a permanent fixture on your site. As long as you have optimised content, good quality useful content, and your content is easy to read, your blog posts will start working for you from the moment you hit the publish button and for years to come.

Search engines, like Google, prioritise content that provides valuable in-depth answers to reader searches. If you continue to do this, you are more likely to appear higher up on the search results, rank better for key words and search terms, earn backlinks from other websites, and attract more visitors to your website.

More visitors = more leads = more sales.

Blog Posts Build Trust And Authority

By consistently posting valuable content on your blog, you establish your business as a go-to resource within your niche. Because blog posts build trust and authority. They mark you out as an expert. And when people are searching for information, they want to know that it is has come from a reputable and trustworthy source.

For business owners, especially those who don’t have physical premises, high street presence, and only work online, this is really important. Because how are people finding you?

Ultimately, your goal is to sell, right? No matter whether it’s a product or a service, unless you’ve got people coming to your website you’ve got no way of selling to them. Having a blog on your business website gives you that visibility. Your blog posts are your marketing team, your sales team, your team of experts, your research team, your lead generators. They are your way of connecting, educating, nurturing, and engaging with potential customers for your business.

And in an age where AI-generated content is literally flooding the internet, high-quality, useful, human lead blogs stand out. Readers place so much more value on well-researched, original insights over generic AI-produced articles.

Blogging Has A High ROI

When I first mention blogging as a marketing strategy to business owners, many give the same response – “OK great, but I don’t have the time or money for a blog”. But here’s the thing, if blogging is done strategically, it has a really high return on investment (ROI).

Chances are your business already has a website, right? Adding a blog onto that website is going to cost you nothing, it’s just a question of adding an extra page. You’ll be writing the content, which of course takes time, but it’s costing you nothing. The blog posts you publish, if optimised well, will bring in organic search traffic, which is free. High-ranking blog posts will bring in leads and customers, for free. The content you publish can be repurposed, updated, and is continually providing value, at no cost to you.

So, yes, you need to make the time to create high-quality posts, but those posts are doing your marketing work for free. Surely that’s worth you making time for?

Blogging Makes Your Multi-Content Strategy Easier

Blog posts are so much more than just blog posts. When you’ve got your strategy sorted and you have a system in place, that one blog post can serve as the basis for your entire content strategy.

I like to call it a ‘blog-first content strategy’, as in you create the blog post first and then repurpose it across all of your other platforms.

One blog post can give you content for your:

• Email newsletter
• Social media posts
• Videos
• Podcasts
• Sales pages
• Guest posts

So, when I talked about not having time in the previous paragraph, can you see how much time writing a blog post can actually save you. That’s one content idea, one blog post, for all of those marketing streams.

Final Thoughts

Do people still read blogs? It’s the question that bought you here in the first place. And if you’ve made it this far, I think I’ve kinda demonstrated my point, right?

Because yes, if a blog is useful to someone, if it helps them find a solution, answers their questions, provides information, then yes, absolutely yes people do still read blogs. So, if you’ve been unsure about including blogging in your marketing strategy, I’d like you to reconsider.

Blogging isn’t dead. Far from it. It’s evolving. And for those of you who choose to evolve with it, blogging can create incredible results for your business.

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Author Bio

Bex Stafferton is a blogger who started off writing her blog The Art of Healthy Living as a hobby when she was a stay at home mum and caring for her two young children. The same blog now earns her a full time salary while working part time hours.

Bex is on a mission to help teach businesses how having a blog on their website is a valuable marketing tool. Helping to build a strong online presence, grow an engaged audience, and increase sales.

When she’s not blogging, Bex spends her time hiking up mountains, trail running, cuddling her two cockapoos, and volunteering at a local wildlife rescue centre.