Is Reading Level A Google Ranking Factor?

Reading level is one of the ranking factors that has been plagued by misconceptions from the SEO community (and those outside of it, too).

Many tools, such as Yoast’s SEO WordPress plugin, incorporate readability into their grading system:

Addressing these myths is becoming increasingly important.

To get into the green, how important is it that you edit and write flawlessly?

How much of this is important to pay attention to when it comes to reading levels?

Is it true that a higher readability score can help you rank higher?

We’ll see if readability is a Google ranking factor in this article.

The Claim: A Ranking Factor Is Reading Level

Those new to SEO and writing can become borderline obsessed with using Yoast to improve their readability score.

They’re also the ones who don’t notice a shift in rankings overnight.

But the truth is that reading level has nothing to do with rankings, and eliminating passive voice won’t get you to the top of Page 1 organically.

Writing your content at a Grade 6 level versus a Grade 11 level will not help you.

When it comes to writing and optimizing content, the most important thing to remember is to understand the meaning behind the words you use and make sure they’re appropriate for your target audience.

There is Proof

Let’s begin with the most basic question: Is a person’s reading ability a ranking factor?

No.

The ability to read is not a ranking factor.

Google’s Senior Webmaster Trends Analyst, John Mueller, confirmed that reading level is not a ranking factor in a Google Webmaster Office Hours on January 23, 2018.

He was questioned about readability and how Google evaluates it.

Mueller responded stating:

“From an SEO point of view, it’s probably not something that you need to focus on. In the sense that, as far as I know, we don’t have the kind of these basic algorithms that just count words and try to figure out what the reading level is based on these existing algorithms.
But it is something that you should figure out for your audience.”

You can watch Mueller’s response below in the Google Webmaster Hangout.

For 30,000 desktop search queries, Portent conducted a study that looked at the reading grade level of 756,297 pieces of content. According to the findings, there is no link between a page’s Google ranking and its reading level.

So, when it comes to SEO, should you be concerned about reading level?

Yes! Mueller connected the dots between reading level and search intent in the same Google Webmaster Hangout:

“So that’s something where I see a lot of issues come up in that a website will be kind of talking past their audience.
So… a common example is a medical site. You want to provide medical information for the general public because you know they’re worried about this. And all of your articles use these medical words that are 20 characters long. Technically, it’s all correct.
You could calculate the reading level score of that content. You come up with a number.

Google has also dropped a few hints that suggest the reading level is factored into the search algorithms.

Google introduced the “Reading Level” advanced search filter in December 2010, but it was later removed in May 2015.

Google has recently been working on machine learning models such as BERT and MUM, which aim to understand language and content quality.

However, there is no evidence that reading ability is a ranking factor.

It’s all about knowing who your audience is and writing for them.

It’s not about getting a “perfect” grade.

Short sentences should be used to maintain an easy-to-read flow.

Using the Hemingway App as a guide, I aim to keep my reading level between grades 6-8.

Our Opinion On The Use Of Reading Level As A Ranking Signal

Writing content for your target audience takes time, effort, and patience.

However, forcing your writing to adapt to a specific reading level isn’t required to improve your ranking.

There are numerous theories about whether the reading ability is a ranking factor.

You heard it straight from Mueller: reading level isn’t factored into the algorithms.

But it’s not a matter of Google using that reading level score and saying, this is good or bad. But rather, does it match what the people are searching for? And, if nobody’s searching for those long words, then nobody’s going to find your content. Or, if they do find your content, they’re going to be like… I don’t know what this means.”