# Freshness outranks word count in Google's listicle rankings

Published: 2026-08-31T09:49:18.852Z · Source: Growth Memo (Kevin Indig) (https://www.growth-memo.com/p/what-makes-a-good-listicle)
Source date: 2026-08-31
Entities: google, ai-overviews

A listicle with an old or unreadable publish date had 56% lower odds of reaching the Google top 3, the single strongest factor in a Growth Memo analysis of nearly 60,000 search results pages, outweighing author bios, schema markup, and word count. Counted listicles ("17 Best Tools") beat unnumbered editorial roundups in 56.8% of head-to-head matchups, and titles citing 51-100 items ranked higher on average than those citing 2-5, per analyst Kevin Indig.

Why it matters: The same freshness signal Growth Memo already tied to AI citation odds also turns out to be the strongest predictor of traditional listicle rank, ahead of author bios, schema markup, and word count — evidence that updating an existing list may beat writing a new one.

## What this answers

**What makes a listicle rank well in Google?**

Freshness dominates: a listicle with an old or unreadable date had 56% lower odds of ranking in the top 3, per a Growth Memo analysis of nearly 60,000 Google results pages.

**Do numbered listicles rank better than editorial roundups?**

Yes — counted listicles ("17 Best Tools") won 56.8% of head-to-head matchups against unnumbered roundups, averaging position 3.77 versus 4.59.


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