Have you seen someone on the internet say that blogging is dead?
Maybe they tried to start a blog but were unsuccessful. Or perhaps they believe that social media, video content, or some other new platform is the future.
In this article, we will take a look at these two different arguments and see if blogging has any future.
What Is a Blog?
Now, you may be wondering what a blog is and how a blog is different from a website. A blog is a type of website where the newest content appears first. Blog content is often referred to as entries, articles, or ‘blog posts’.
A blog may be run by an individual, a small team, or a large corporation. In fact, many big-name brands have a blog.
Blogging started way back in 1993 and has been exploding ever since. We have even written a post about the history of blogging.
But what about the future? Why do people say blogging is dead?
Why Do People Say Blogging Is Dead?
The online landscape is constantly changing, with more platforms and competition every day. Some people believe that blogging is being left behind as better alternatives come along.
For example, there has been phenomenal growth in social networks in the last decade. You can visit Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to catch up with the latest news or view your friends’ photos. It seems like fewer individuals are starting personal blogs.
Also, video sharing sites are also rapidly growing. YouTube has 2.7 billion active users, and over half of the internet’s population visits the service each month.
And more recently, artificial intelligence services have taken the world by storm. Some people wonder why a person would read a blog post when they can simply ask an AI a question and receive a detailed answer in seconds.
Finally, there is competition within the ‘blogosphere’ itself. The number of blogs is growing each year, and it becomes increasingly difficult for your own blog to stand out in the crowd. But this is a sign that blogging is alive and well, not that it is dying.
With that being said, is there any reason to believe that blogging is dying? Absolutely not. In this article, we will cover these topics:
- The Number of Blogs and Bloggers Are Growing
- Blogging Is a Key Strategy for Successful Marketers
- Users Are Actively Visiting Blogs to Learn
- Many Users Prefer to Read Blog Posts Than Watch Videos
- Money Made by Bloggers Continues to Rise
- Websites With Blogs Rank Higher in Google
- Does Competition From Social Media Mean Blogging Is Dead?
- Does Competition From Video Sites Mean Blogging Is Dead?
- The Impact of AI on Blogging
- Some Blogging Niches Are Highly Successful
- Some Types of Blogs Are No Longer Successful
- Blogging Is Competitive, So Focus on High-Quality Content
- Bonus: How to Start a WordPress Blog
- Expert Guides on Blogging With WordPress
The Number of Blogs and Bloggers Are Growing
The number of blogs has continued to grow over the last few decades, and it is not slowing down. Here are a few snapshots of the total number of blogs in the world:
- 2006 – 50 million blogs
- 2010 – 152 million blogs
- 2015 – 227 million blogs
- 2017 – 300 million blogs
- 2022 – 572 million blogs
- 2023 – 600 million blogs
That growth is staggering.
There are currently over 600 million blogs spread across platforms like Tumblr, Wix, WordPress, and LinkedIn.
Most of these blogs are on WordPress, which is used by 97% of bloggers and powers 43% of all websites on the internet.
More than 500 new websites are created using WordPress every day, and 6 million new blog posts are published each day. That’s 2.5 billion posts each year!
You might wonder if anyone is reading all of those posts. The answer is yes. Over 77 million new comments are left on WordPress.com blogs every month.
The number of bloggers is also growing. Between 2014 and 2020, the number of bloggers in the United States alone increased by 10 million.
Tip: You will find more statistics like these in our ultimate guide on blogging statistics, trends, and data.
Blogging Is a Key Strategy for Successful Marketers
One reason that blogs are so popular is that they work. Running a blog is one of the best ways to promote a small business or online store.
Many marketing professionals find they get better results from a blog than from email newsletters, case studies, podcasts, eBooks, webinars, and infographics. In a 2021 survey, 36% of marketers agreed that blog posts brought them the best results.
That’s because blogging can help drive more sales and conversions by boosting your brand awareness and improving the rankings of your online store’s product pages.
According to a study, 76% of content marketers use content to generate leads, and 55% of marketers consider blogging as their top content marketing strategy.
Customers also find blogs important. 56% of people surveyed bought something from an online marketplace, store, or brand after reading the company’s blog. And 70% of consumers surveyed would rather read a blog post than an advertisement.
Note: We have written an article with even more marketing statistics, trends, and facts.
Users Are Actively Visiting Blogs to Learn
Many customers read blog posts before making a purchase so that they can learn.
In a recent survey, 33% of people said they wanted to learn something new when asked why they read blog posts.
A blog can provide shoppers easy access to the information they are looking for in the form of how-to guides, product roundups and reviews, and more.
This is one reason why how-to articles have become some of the most popular types of content for bloggers to write. 76% of bloggers now publish how-to articles.
At WPBeginner, we agree. The vast majority of our posts teach our readers how to perform a task or fix a problem step by step.
Many Users Prefer to Read Blog Posts Than Watch Videos
Despite the huge amount of video content that is available, many users still prefer to read. In fact, 77% of internet users read blogs.
That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a demand for video content. While 52% of people in one survey wanted to see more blog posts, 43% wanted to see more video content from marketers.
The good news is that a blog is the perfect place to share both written and video content. Besides that, blogs with images and videos get much more engagement and traffic compared to text-only posts.
That’s why we started our WPBeginner YouTube Channel, which now has almost 300 thousand subscribers. Our users can watch our video tutorials on YouTube or on our blog.
We will show you later in this article how blogs and video content can complement one another.
Money Made by Bloggers Continues to Rise
Another sign that blogs are succeeding is that you can make a good living from blogging.
While not everyone blogs full-time, even as early as 2010, 11% of bloggers were able to earn their main income from blogging. Today, about 25% of WordPress bloggers say they make their full-time living from blogging.
The money a blogger can earn is above average. For example, in 2021, Semrush found that bloggers earned an average salary of $8,000 per month, which comes to $90,000 per year.
If you’d like to do the same, then you can see our guides on WordPress career options and proven ways to make money blogging with WordPress.
Just be aware that not everyone makes money blogging. You might be surprised to learn that 33% of bloggers don’t make any money, and beginner bloggers report making between $200 and $2,500 per month in their first year.
Websites With Blogs Rank Higher in Google
If you want your business website to rank higher on Google, then the best thing you can do is add a blog. Business websites with a blog get 55% more visitors than those that don’t.
If your website has more content, then it is also more likely to show up on search engine results pages (SERPs). Websites with a blog have 434% more indexed pages than those that don’t.
Additionally, your visitors are more likely to link to a blog post than a normal website. Companies with an active blog get 97% more backlinks than those that don’t, and Google will notice this and rank those sites higher.
Does Competition From Social Media Mean Blogging Is Dead?
Social media has become a global phenomenon, with 4.59 billion people using it in 2022. This number is projected to increase to about 6 billion by 2027.
Some people claim that blogging is dead because they don’t believe it can keep up with competition from social media platforms.
However, successful bloggers don’t see social media as a threat but as an opportunity.
Social platforms are an important source of traffic for blogs. In fact, 56% of bloggers report that social media is their most important traffic source.
You can follow our social media cheat sheet for WordPress to learn which social platforms can help you get more traffic and set up your social profiles the right way.
Then, you can even use a tool like Smash Balloon that allows you to show your social media content within your blog posts and get more engagement.
Does Competition From Video Sites Mean Blogging Is Dead?
Approximately 3.37 billion people consumed online video content in 2022. Content creators and marketing professionals would be silly to ignore this, but that doesn’t mean that you should just focus on video sites.
A blog lets you show off your written and video content in one place. It’s now common for blog posts to contain images and video content rather than just the written word. And blog posts with videos get 83% more traffic than those without them.
You could upload video content directly to your WordPress website, but this will quickly eat up your storage space and bandwidth. You should never upload a video to WordPress.
Instead, you can upload your videos to video hosting sites like YouTube or Vimeo. These platforms are built to cope with the huge storage and bandwidth requirements of video.
You can then easily embed the videos in your WordPress blog posts. This can increase traffic and user engagement on your website.
The Impact of AI on Blogging
Artificial intelligence tools like OpenAI are getting a lot of attention. The ChatGPT website alone receives 1.7 billion visitors per month.
You may wonder why anyone would visit a blog when generative AI tools are so convenient and easy to use. You might even worry that AI will replace human content on the web.
Well, blogging and AI are in partnership more than in competition. AI tools learn by processing the information already on the internet, including blog posts. And bloggers can use AI to write better blog posts.
Smart AI tools can revolutionize your blog and make it more competitive. They can:
- Generate topic ideas for your blog.
- Create blog post outlines.
- Draft blog posts.
- Create featured images for your posts.
You can even use tools like All in One SEO (AIOSEO) + OpenAI to generate blog titles and meta descriptions that will catch users’ attention in the search results.
To learn more, just see our guide on the best ways to use OpenAI on your WordPress website.
Some Blogging Niches Are Highly Successful
Some blogging niches are more successful than others. Certain topics attract more visitors, while others can make you more money.
Here are the most successful niches:
- Food blogs are the most popular, with 42.8% receiving 50,000+ visits per month, and their average income is $9,169 per month.
- Lifestyle blogs come second, with 13.3% receiving 50,000+ visits per month, and their average income is $5,174 per month.
- Travel blogs are third, with 10% receiving 50,000 visits per month, and their average income is $5,000 per month.
- Personal finance blogs are also good earners, with an average income of $9,100 per month.
You can see the full list in our guide on the most popular types of blogs.
Some Types of Blogs Are No Longer Successful
While blogging isn’t dead, certain types of blogs are no longer successful.
With increased competition from other blogs, social networks, and video sites, some types of blogs just can’t keep up and are dying.
- Blogs are no longer the best way to share the details of your personal life with your friends. It’s often better to use social media for this purpose.
- Blogs that don’t use images and videos will not capture the attention of their audiences. Readers expect to see rich media in blog posts, or else they can become disengaged.
- Blogs that contain out-of-date information quickly lose the respect of their readers. You should update or delete your old content so that your posts stay relevant and accurate.
- Unfocused blogs will have trouble attracting consistent traffic. Focus your blog on a specific topic or industry and ensure it ranks for the right keywords.
Finally, blogs that don’t prioritize quality are unable to compete. Quality blog posts take time and effort and focus on user engagement rather than clicks.
Blogging Is Competitive, So Focus on High-Quality Content
Even though blogging is alive and well, not everyone succeeds when starting a new blog. You need to make good decisions, work hard, and focus on high-quality content.
Because there is so much competition, you need to do everything you can to make your blog posts stand out.
Our tutorials at WPBeginner will help you learn how to do that one step at a time.
Because quality is key, you should carefully read our guide on how to write a good blog post. It shows you how to structure a quality post and gives helpful examples.
For example, it teaches you how to write a clear and concise introduction, break up the content into scannable sections using headings, add a table of contents, and much more.
Bonus: How to Start a WordPress Blog
After reading our guide on why blogging is not dead, you might be ready to start your own blog. You will need three key ingredients:
- A domain name: The online address of your site (ours is wpbeginner.com)
- Web hosting: Online storage for your site so visitors can access it
- A blogging platform: Special software that lets you easily create a blog without needing to do any coding
A domain name normally costs around $9-15 per year, and web hosting starts from $7.95 per year. Those costs can add up.
Luckily, Bluehost has agreed to offer our users a generous discount on hosting and a free domain name. This means you can get started for as little as $2.75 per month.
If you’d like to see some more options before deciding, then see our guide on how to choose the best web hosting for a detailed comparison of the top hosting providers.
There are plenty of choices when it comes to choosing a blog platform, including many great free ones. For a detailed comparison, see our list of the best blogging platforms.
However, if you want to start making money from your blog, then we recommend self-hosted WordPress.org. That’s what we use at WPBeginner.
It has everything you need for blogging, and you can add new features using plugins. The best part is that it gives you the freedom to monetize your blog in any way you want.
For more details, you can see our beginner’s guide on how to start a WordPress blog.
Expert Guides on Blogging With WordPress
Now that you know that blogging is alive and well, you may like to see some guides on how to create and run a blog using WordPress:
- How to Start a WordPress Blog (Beginner’s Guide)
- Should You Start a Blog or a YouTube Channel? (Beginner’s Guide)
- What is a Blog and How is it Different from a Website? (Explained)
- Why Blog? Benefits of Blogging
- Best Blogging Niche – 7 That Will Make Money (Easily)
- How to Choose a Target Audience for Blogs (+ Examples)
- How to Keep Track of Your Post Ideas in WordPress
- Important Pages That Every WordPress Blog Should Have
- Should You Accept Guest Posts on Your WordPress Blog? (Pros/Cons)
- A History of Blogging (1993 – Present Day Timeline)
We hope this tutorial helped you learn that blogging is not dead. You may also want to see our guide on why you should use WordPress for your website or our expert pick of the must-have plugins for your business site.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Olaf
Blogging is not dead; it’s just much harder to blog and be somewhat successful these days. This is evidenced by the numbers: in 2006, it was easy to find an audience, but today that same audience is fragmented across 12 times more blogs. On top of that, the rise of podcasts, YouTube, and other social channels further divides the user base among these services. I appreciate bloggers and have several favorite blogs, but I understand that it’s tough to succeed if someone is just starting out in 2024 and doesn’t already have an established and recognized blog. Many people end up giving up after a certain period.
John Garcia
I’ve been reading your blog for years and I really appreciate it.
As I was searching for the keywords on Google “Is blogging dead” I found this article under reddit and quora. I wasn’t looking for these stupid sites to get information, however Google decided otherwise. That’s not the first time I searched for terms on Google and saw Reddit or Quora appear at the top of the page.
Google is prioritizing these huge corporations instead of thousands of reliable websites. If they don’t fix it many people will start using Bing or other search engines.
WPBeginner Support
It is something being tested but hopefully over time Google will rank smaller sites higher again
Admin
Dennis Muthomi
I think the key here is to diversify to other social platforms and not relying on Google only.
What we really need to do is build a brand across multiple platforms and tailor the content for each platform rather than just repurposing the same content everywhere.
Arsh
You are absolutely right. This has given me motivation to start solid today itself. Thanks Syed sir.
THANKGOD JONATHAN
Intriguing! Social media’s a monster, but I think blogs offer depth & community that fleeting tweets can’t match. Agree: ditch generic, embrace rich media & niche expertise. Let’s keep the blogosphere thriving!
A Owadud Bhuiyan
I have a plan for starting my blog this year. I have already purchased my domain site.
Now I just need to more about blogs ranking knowledge.
Hopefully, WPBeginner will help me to grow my knowledge.
WPBeginner Support
We hope you find our content helpful
Admin
Moinuddin Waheed
Blogging has never been in much demand as it is today as the stats showing by increasing number of blogging and bloggers.
There is search intent when we want to purchase something and here comes the potential of blogging.
Suppose we want to buy a laptop, we would search for it by typing the best laptop in the market. there is a purpose of buying it, So, blogging helps to make the decision which one to buy.
Other platforms may come and go as we have seen for so many examples but blogging has been there since it was first came.
I think it will remain relevant for a long time to come.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you for sharing your opinion
Admin
Jiří Vaněk
That’s right, many blogs that deal with reviews are very popular today and many people use them to decide whether to buy a given product or not. At the same time, it is also great that comments from other users appear under many such reviews. The same cooking blogs where I like to look for recipes. From a blogger’s point of view, it’s just much harder today to be seen and build a position in the search engine. The competition is huge and it can be very frustrating if you spend a year writing for a few people who come to the site.
Jiří Vaněk
I don’t think blogging is dead. It’s just more challenging to stand out. I had a blog in 2009, and within six months, I was getting around 2000 daily visitors. Last year, I started a new blog with the intention of writing again. After a year, I’m now at a tenth of those numbers, and I had to work a lot on SEO. The previous blog didn’t need SEO; there was no need. There’s extreme competition in online writing. It’s essential to focus on content and be unique.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you for sharing your experience with blogging
Admin
kzain
Blogging definitely isn’t dead, but it’s for sure a different landscape these days. Back in 2009, it sounds like you hit the ground running with 2,500 daily visitors that’s impressive!
I totally get the struggle with competition now. I started a new blog too, and SEO feels like a whole different game compared to the “Wild West” days.
Aleksander Oles
That’s quite an in-depth exploration of the state of blogging. It’s fascinating to see how blogging has evolved over the years and continues to be a significant player in the digital landscape. What are your thoughts on the future of blogging? Do you see any emerging trends or changes on the horizon?
WPBeginner Support
For the time being we recommend focusing more on high quality content than trends as a trend can help in the short term but high quality content will always be valuable to search engines
Admin
Konrad
the fact that there are over 600 million blogs worldwide and millions of new blog posts even to this day is really a testament to its enduring relevance (even if the way we run them has changed), long live blogs <3
WPBeginner Support
Admin
Ralph
I found this article to be a little discussion provoking as it always blogs are alive vs blogs are dead. I write my blog for almost 5 years and started reading them in like 20 years ago?
Blogs are just not so popular as they used to be and its nothing wrong with that. Newspapers also are not what they used to be, but are they dead? No!
Users move to new technologies/media like social media, podcasts, videos. Some stay with blogs – mostly older than younger people.
I think it is still the best and the fastest way to find information. I just google what i want and start with scanning H2, H3, H4 etc. If it has what i want, I read text. Even if videos give more information, i can’t just randomly check 4:30 or 7:23 and get the info i need. It is just faster and easier for me. I also read a lot faster than people record their videos.
I feel I’m not alone with this. It’s all about preferences and as long there are people who prefer reading than anything else, blogs will not die.
WPBeginner Support
Thanks for sharing your opinion on this
Admin
Jamie
I do miss the days when we’d blog, have a huge RSS feed, get a glimpse into each other’s lives. We often shared too much, way too much but it was a fun and interesting time. Actually met my best friend through her blog. We’re still friends!
Travel and food blogs seem to still be a thing. At least recipe blogs where you have to read their life story to get to the recipe.
Konrad
so we share similar experience
only one blog i remember from that time has survived. and by survived i mean i can still access it because its of course inactive 
Patryk
Great insights! While some may argue that blogging is passé, the power of well-crafted written content remains unmatched. It’s not about the platform but the quality of engagement.
WPBeginner Support
Thank you, glad you liked our article
Admin
Suresh.tech
Blogging is dead is the second most popular joke.
The first one is SEO is dead.
Ram E.
This! As long as people need or want to read helpful information, both blogging ang SEO will not cease to exist. There’s that threat from AI but at this point there is no clear evidence as to how it can completely overtake SERPs, especially if we are to consider that these models rely on human generated content in the first place for their trainings and source of information.
Chanakya Sahu
Blogging can never be dead. Huge revenue of Google depends on Ads run on blogs.
And about the Ai, Yes, people now-a-days search specifically to get the results in short in featured snippet as they have voice typing now so blogs gets less clicks ig. Google bard, bing ai and other SE ai bots get answers from blogs itself and they mention the blogs and websites they used to anwer the query.
WPBeginner Support
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this
Admin
Sunil Suresh
“Blogs are no longer the best way to share the details of your personal life with your friends. It’s often better to use social media for this purpose.”
The very word “BLOG” came from “weB LOG” meaning a log or journal on the Web about some topic of interest. In fact, most of the initial blogs were, indeed, “public diaries” of the blogger.
It’s true that social media is now being used for this purpose. However, I feel the problem with most social media apps is that the particular content (“post”) soon gets buried down under the deluge of hundreds of other posts that people post. And then it becomes difficult to find a particular piece of information.
For example, suppose I post an article about my trip to, let’s say Ooty, where I’ve described my experience and given tips to people who want to travel there. On Social sites/apps like Facebook or WhatsApp, this post would soon go far below in the list of posts, and though there is a Search functionality, it would still be a little difficult to find the post when needed.
However, on a blog, one could just bookmark the page and return to it whenever required. Or, as most blogs are usually categorised, I feel it would be quite easy to find that post again on the blog.
Alice Elliott
The statistic which stuck out to me the most was posts which contain videos get 83% more traffic! This is because these offer the best of both worlds – a video for the time-poor visitor and text for those readers who want to know a bit more detail. Win win all round.
Another point about blogs is that your posts are there in perpetuity, certainly for the duration of your blog’s existence. They are also easily found via categories, tags and the search facility. Whereas social media updates have a limited ethereal lifespan, especially as they are saturated by constant distractions and superseding material.
WPBeginner Support
Thanks for sharing and those are definitely positives for blogs over social media
Admin
Sharon
I just finished reading this post, and I have to say I’m seriously impressed! The stats on the growth of blogging are really eye-opening. As a web designer and developer running my own business, I can see the value of blogging for businesses firsthand. It’s not dead; it’s evolving!
I believe blogging is still very much alive and kicking. It’s a powerful way to connect with your audience, share your expertise, and boost your online presence. As someone with similar goals, I can see how blogging fits into the bigger picture.
Thanks for shedding light on this topic, and keep up the fantastic work, WPBeginner!
WPBeginner Support
You’re welcome, glad you liked our article!
Admin
Burhan Ali
How can we find the less competitive niche for blogging?
WPBeginner Support
We don’t have a recommended method for searching for a less competitive niche at the moment. It would be best to look for something you are passionate about covering first
Admin
Burhan Ali
Thanks for the response.
Abhijeet Singh
Burhan, I agree with WPbeginner.
Choosing a niche for your blog should be about your genuine interests and passions. When you blog about something you love, it not only makes the entire process more enjoyable but also sustainable.
Your enthusiasm will shine through in your content, and you’ll naturally create more of it. Blogging about your own interests and experiences will set you apart and attract an audience that appreciates your originality.
Shafqat Khan
I agree with the blog post that blogging is still alive and well, and that it is an essential part of any successful marketing strategy. Users are actively visiting blogs to learn, and some blogging niches are more successful than others. However, even in less competitive niches, bloggers can be successful by creating high-quality content that is relevant to their target audience. Overall, the blog post provides valuable insights into the current state of blogging.
WPBeginner Support
Thanks for sharing your insights
Admin