HubSpot's 2025 State of Running a blog Report [Data from 500+ Marketers]

Full disclosure, I feel my group and I are slightly embarrassed. Consider it or not, running a blog is type of our fundamental factor right here at The HubSpot BLOG — so the truth that it‘s taken over a decade for us to place collectively our first-ever report on the state of running a blog isn’t the perfect look.

However hey! As that Chinese language proverb says, “The perfect time to plant a tree is 20 years in the past. The second greatest time is true now.” That is why we surveyed over 500 entrepreneurs throughout numerous industries and firm scales to get a pulse on the present state and future destiny of running a blog.

We lined all the large bases, together with:

• Do corporations nonetheless publish weblog content material?
• Why do corporations weblog?
• What sort of content material are corporations publishing?
• The place does weblog site visitors come from?
• How is AI remodeling the observe?
• How are blogs adjusting within the period of E-E-A-T?
• The place is running a blog headed?
• A lot extra!

Test it out! Yeah!

Do corporations nonetheless publish weblog content material?

Brief reply? Yeah, they do — for good motive.

Our survey signifies that 65% of entrepreneurs are employed by corporations that preserve blogs, they usually usually submit fairly diligently. Our analysis discovered that:

• 22% of companies that preserve blogs publish content material each day.
• 37% publish two to a few instances per week.
• 30% publish weekly.
• 7% publish bi-weekly.
• 5% publish month-to-month.

Most of these respondents additionally say running a blog continues to be fairly essential to their broader advertising methods. Of our respondents whose corporations publish weblog content material:

• 47% cite it as being essential.
• 46% cite it as being necessary.
• 5% cite it as being impartial.
• 2% cite it as being much less necessary.

That‘s why running a blog stays a fairly vital staple of many advertising orgs’ budgets. In response to our analysis:

• 24% of entrepreneurs from blog-producing companies say they dedicate lower than 10% of their advertising finances to running a blog.
• 31% say they allocate 11-20% to it.
• 25% say they allocate 21-30% to it.
• 18% say they allocate greater than 30% to it.

And people figures make sense when you think about the returns running a blog generates for a number of companies. Our analysis discovered that:

• 50% of entrepreneurs from companies that preserve blogs say they noticed the next ROI from running a blog in 2024, relative to 2023.
• 31% mentioned it was roughly the identical yr over yr.
• 15% noticed a decrease ROI.

So it is sensible that loads of blog-publishing companies are leaning into the technique. In response to our examine:

• 45% of entrepreneurs from blog-maintaining companies say their corporations are going to speculate extra finances in running a blog in 2025, relative to 2024.
• Solely 13% are going to speculate much less.
• 40% are going to maintain their funding constant yr over yr.

So by the seems to be of it, running a blog continues to be standard and never going anyplace anytime quickly — however why is that the case? We dug into that as nicely.

Why do corporations weblog?

Running a blog is a fairly versatile observe. It could assist cowl loads of bases on the advertising entrance, however our analysis signifies that almost all companies that leverage it are doing it to garner consideration. Our examine discovered that:

• 66% of blog-maintaining companies publish content material for model consciousness.
• 53% do it for buyer engagement.
• 49% do it for lead technology.
• 34% do it for Website positioning-related functions.
• 26% do it to mission thought management.

Naturally, these targets align with the KPIs most of these corporations use to gauge their content material’s success. We discovered that extra model awareness-oriented metrics had been the preferred with companies that publish weblog content material. In response to our analysis:

• 54% of blog-maintaining companies use pageviews to measure their blogs’ success.
• 53% use social shares.
• 46% use conversion fee.
• 45% use time on web page.
• 22% use backlinks.

In the end, weblog content material is — at the start — a promotional play for many companies. Whereas some use it for onerous conversions, most blog-producing companies are simply searching for one other avenue to get their model in entrance of potential prospects. Whereas these targets are usually constant, there are rather a lot of how to realize them.

“Weblog content material” is a fairly broad catch-all that covers a number of content material codecs — and the entrepreneurs we surveyed noticed worth in a variety of them.

What sort of content material are corporations publishing?

An organization weblog could be a wonderful medium for establishing longer-term credibility by way of evergreen content material and speedy clout with extra trend-responsive articles, and the entrepreneurs we surveyed usually publish a mixture of the 2. In response to our analysis:

• 40% of retailers that produce weblog content material produce evergreen and well timed content material at a 50/50 cut up.
• 24% cut up their content material 75% evergreen and 25% well timed.
• 18% cut up their content material 75% well timed and 25% evergreen.
• 7% publish evergreen content material solely
• 2% publish well timed solely.

Our analysis additionally signifies that blog-producing companies see stable returns from a reasonably wide selection of various content material codecs. Our examine discovered that:

• 51% of blog-producing companies discover that how-to guides carry out nicely for them.
• 45% discover that trade information performs nicely for them.
• 42% discover that case research carry out nicely for them.
• 34% discover that encyclopedic articles explaining ideas related to their verticals carry out nicely for them.
• 23% discover that product listicles carry out nicely for them.

However the way you construction the content material you produce is a little bit of a non-factor if you cannot distribute it successfully — and as any content material strategist will inform you, that is without doubt one of the most (if not the most) difficult facets of sustaining a weblog.

The place does weblog site visitors come from?

Getting engaged eyes in your content material is each bit as difficult as it’s important — and in a panorama going through seismic shifts prompted by components like volatility in natural search and the popularization of short-form content material, sustaining a various vary of distribution channels is transitioning from nice-to-have to need-to-have for bloggers.

The entrepreneurs we surveyed mirrored that sentiment. Our examine discovered that:

• 83% of companies that preserve blogs distribute their content material by way of social media.
• 47% leverage electronic mail newsletters.
• 47% leverage paid advertisements.
• 36% leverage natural search.
• 33% leverage influencers.
• 23% leverage paid search.

Our analysis additionally signifies that companies with blogs are usually cut up on sourcing site visitors organically versus by way of paid avenues. Our survey discovered that:

• 38% of companies with blogs principally sourced site visitors organically.
• 21% sourced it primarily by way of paid avenues.
• 36% sourced it with a principally equal mixture of the 2.

Whereas we’re as regards to nice-to-haves turning into need-to-haves, let‘s check out how AI is enjoying into companies’ weblog methods.

How does AI play in?

AI — particularly generative AI — might be essentially the most disruptive aspect ever launched into the world of content material advertising (and possibly the world usually, however that is neither right here nor there.)

It is presenting an actual “adapt or die” second for bloggers, and our respondents appear to grasp that. Our analysis signifies that:

• Solely 4% of bloggers by no means use AI instruments to assist content material creation.
• 21% use it to assist lower than 25% of content material creation.
• 37% use it to assist 25-50% of content material creation.
• 19% use it to assist 51-75% of content material creation.
• 16% use it to assist greater than 75% of content material creation.

Bloggers additionally use AI at numerous factors within the content material creation course of. Our examine discovered that:

• 43% use AI to assist modifying and proofreading.
• 38% use it to assist define creation.
• 37% use it to assist first-draft writing.
• 31% use it to assist picture creation.
• 30% use it to assist subject analysis.
• 26% use it to assist meta-description technology.

Of the AI sources out there to bloggers, the preferred had been:

• ChatGPT with 68% of respondents referencing utilizing it for content material creation.
• Google Gemini with 50%.
• Copy.ai with 13%.
• Claude with 12%.
• Jasper with 11%.
• HubGPT with 8%.
• 5% used different sources.

As you’ll be able to in all probability assume, one of many major advantages of incorporating AI instruments into bloggers’ workflows has been a rise in content material manufacturing quantity. Our analysis discovered that:

• 19% of respondents noticed their manufacturing considerably improve after folding AI sources into their content material manufacturing.
• 48% noticed it reasonably improve.
• 17% noticed no change in content material manufacturing quantity.
• 9% noticed it reasonably lower.
• 3% noticed it considerably lower.

AI‘s emergence isn’t the one aspect that just lately rocked the world of content material advertising. These previous couple of years noticed Google pivot to E-E-A-T (Expertise-Experience-Authority-Belief) — a brand new search-grading standards that locations additional emphasis on related, first-hand expertise with the subject material bloggers cowl.

How are blogs E-E-A-T-ifying?

A number of blogs have discovered themselves scrambling to regulate to those new requirements, and our respondents took a variety of approaches to get there.

One key consider appeasing the E-E-A-T gods is establishing creator credibility, and respondents whose corporations publish weblog content material went about that just a few methods. Our analysis discovered that:

• 43% of blog-producing companies established creator experience by referencing printed works and citations.
• 42% used creator bios with credentials.
• 40% included hyperlinks to skilled profiles.
• 27% referenced trade certifications.
• 8% had been uncertain.

Incorporating analysis and information can be an enormous assist when E-E-A-T-ifying weblog content material — making it one of many extra standard approaches our respondents took. In response to our examine:

• 8% of our respondents featured information in 0-20% of their weblog content material.
• 23% featured it in 21-40% of their content material.
• 28% featured it in 41-60% of their content material.
• 26% featured it in 61-80% of their content material
• 13% featured it in 81-100% of their content material.
• 3% had been uncertain.

Nevertheless, loading your content material with information may not be sufficient to chop it on SERPs these days. Once more, the extra “E” in E-E-A-T stands for “expertise” — which means firsthand perception is fairly mission-critical when making an attempt to make headway within the present search panorama. In response to our analysis:

• 45% of blog-producing companies mission firsthand expertise by highlighting private experiences from group members.
• 36% supply unique quotes from subject material specialists.
• 35% reference case research from precise purchasers.
• 33% function knowledgeable interviews.
• 25% share product testing outcomes.
• 10% do not particularly doc expertise.
• 6% had been uncertain.

In the end, E-E-A-T represents what could be essentially the most monumental shift in natural search ever, so naturally, it‘s basically formed a number of blogs’ content material improvement course of. In response to our analysis, these are the first methods our respondents have tailored:

• 39% elevated quotation of major sources.
• 34% applied knowledgeable evaluation processes.
• 36% added unique analysis and information.
• 31% applied enhanced fact-checking procedures.
• 20% added creator credentials and bios.
• 12% did not implement any vital adjustments.
• 7% had been uncertain.

So with all the shifting tides, turmoil, and uncertainty that‘s been shaping the panorama of content material advertising as of late, there’s actually just one query to ask — the place is running a blog headed?

The place is running a blog headed?

Effectively, regardless of all the current headwinds and “all-over-the-boardness” that loads of my fellow content material strategists can communicate to, a lot of the entrepreneurs we surveyed had been optimistic about the way forward for running a blog.

Our analysis discovered that:

• 56% of entrepreneurs who work for blog-maintaining companies say they see the position of running a blog of their content material advertising technique increasing sooner or later.
• 32% say it would keep the identical.
• 7% they’re going to be lowering give attention to it.
• 5% are uncertain.

Nonetheless, content material advertising is ever-evolving, and companies can‘t lean strictly on their blogs to drive engagement going ahead — and most of our respondents acknowledge that. That’s why they’re additionally investing in different content material codecs. In response to our examine:

• 81% of blog-producing companies are additionally investing in video.
• 53% are investing in podcasts.
• 46% are investing in newsletters.
• 39% are investing in webinars.
• 20% are investing in ebooks.

So what’s the state of running a blog in 2025?

In the end, if our analysis is any indication, running a blog is way from out of date midway by way of the 2020s. Quite a lot of adjustments have rocked the observe in recent times — the popularization of AI and the introduction of E-E-A-T standards being two of essentially the most transformative — however bloggers seem like adapting.

Running a blog continues to be one of the efficient autos advertising orgs have at their disposal for facilitating key targets like lead technology and producing model consciousness. And the truth that the entrepreneurs we surveyed nonetheless see sufficient worth within the observe to maintain investing in it speaks to how versatile and productive it may be.

So what is the state of running a blog? In a phrase — stable.

It is ever-changing and basically totally different than it was once … however nonetheless stable.

“Behind the Weblog”: A Take a look at the Ins and Outs of The HubSpot Weblog Staff

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