Is reading level a Google Ranking Factor? When creating your website, it is essential to ensure that your content is easily comprehensible by all. Reading level in SEO is a term that is often used in the industry to describe how difficult a piece of content is to read.
But is it a ranking factor? Google does care about your page’s content; let’s see if the reading level affects how high you rank.
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What Is Reading Level In SEO?
Reading level is a factor that can affect how well a user understands the content you write. Websites with a higher reading level are likely to be more informative yet packed with heavy vocabulary.
In addition, websites with a higher reading level are more likely to be found by a niche that is looking for information on specific topics. Generally speaking, reading ability increases with the reading level of the topic.
See Also: Google’s Helpful Content Update Rolls Out: Things To Know
Does Google Care About This?
No, the search engine does not look for the reading level of your content. A higher or lower reading level will not affect your search rankings. However, your users totally do care. If you post content that is difficult to understand, your readers might move on to other, easier-to-read sites.
As a result, your content may go to waste. It will also negatively affect your bounce rate and page views. Think about it this way: would you spend time on a website with content that you find confusing and difficult to comprehend? Probably not!
What Are The Reading Levels?
Reading Levels can vary from grade 1 to advanced college-level language. What Reading Levels do is gauge the lowest education needed to be able to understand you. The first grade in America is approximately equivalent to Grade 1, which is the lowest level. The highest level is Grade 16th – for only the most complex paragraphs.
What Reading Level Should My Content Be?
Since everyone is not able to understand words at the same level, you must aim for an average Reading Level. On your webpage, you may have to adapt your vocabulary and writing styles to be understandable by all.
You should strive for a Readability Level between Grades 5 and 8. It is not to say that your audience will not understand you at a higher level. It’s just that you do not want to put all of your efforts into something that will have a limited readership.
How Do You Find What Reading Level Your Content Is For?
The Flesch-Kincaid, Grade Level test measures the readability of your text and uses the Coleman-Liau Index to calculate your reading level based on grade levels and English proficiency scores. Websites like the Hemingway Editor and Grammarly offer tools to help you gauge the Reading Level of your content.
Visit: Grammarly | Hemingway Editor
Conclusion
In conclusion we have discussed “is reading level a google ranking factor” issue.
No, Google is not concerned about the reading level of your written material. It’s important to remember that the users do, though. A good rule of thumb is to write so that your readers can understand everything you write without having to use a dictionary and the internet to search for the meaning behind every word.