Search engine optimization (SEO) entails the deliberate use of keywords to help your content rank high in search results, but this is only one side of the coin. It is also critical to optimize content to appeal to human readers by understandably delivering relevant information. One method is to create and distribute content at a readability level suited for your intended audience.
Many SEO and content technologies provide readability suggestions based on what is known as a Flesch Reading Ease score.
But how much should you pay attention to it? What is it ideal for? Can having a higher reading score help you rank higher?
What is the Definition of Readability?
Although our education trained many of us to read using real books when we read an article online, we perceive it quite differently. A paper book, magazine, or newspaper is frequently read in a straight line (i.e., from start to finish). When it comes to reading an article on the internet, our behavior shifts.
We skim, skip, and return to the top after reading the bottom first. We examine the images and click on the links. Nobody taught us to do this; it’s just a habit that we all have.
Readability measures how easy or difficult your content is for the average reader to read and comprehend.
A technical handbook or academic article with numerous complex vocabularies and industry-specific jargon, for example, has low readability. It is only understandable by those with specialist knowledge.
A storybook created for elementary school kids, on the other hand, generally employs simple vocabulary and short phrases, making it easy to grasp and thus more accessible for readers of all levels.
What is Flesch Reading Ease?
Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) score is a way to score the readability of text. It is part of your content’s readability analysis, with scores between 0-100.
Knowing how your writing does on the reading ease test provides you with valuable knowledge that may help you improve your writing while also making your readers happy.
It gauges if your content is easy to read, engages with readers, and gets them to stay on your page.
FRE also checks if the text delivers what your readers need and if you can beat your competitors’ pages or rank higher. Please see the image below for an example:
Again, the Flesch Reading Ease scale offers a readability score between 0 and 100 for each piece of text. The assigned number denotes the level of readability:
As you can see, articles that score in the middle of the range of 50 to 80 on the Flesch Reading Ease scale should be understandable to average readers.
Here’s a more detailed look:
Flesch Reading Ease Score Drawbacks
The Flesch Reading Ease scale indeed has flaws. For starters, the FRE scoring formula is complex:
Another issue is the meaning of the Flesch scale numbers.
To accurately interpret the scores, you must realize that a low Flesch Kincaid score means a complicated vocabulary and sentence structure. The link between numerical value and readability is often reversed, meaning that the information is more readable as the score decreases.
Why is FRE Relevant?
Why is there such a difference in how we read online versus offline? The sheer number of materials accessible has a lot to do with it.
Consider this. How many books or periodicals can you read simultaneously? Only one. To read it, you must first pick up the book or magazine.
When you access a webpage on your computer, however, you can have 10 (or one hundred) tabs open at the same moment.
Because of the increased availability of material, you place less importance on what you read online.
Even if what you’re reading is of excellent quality, the sheer volume of material causes you to pay less attention.
You must also select to read a book or magazine, which is the sole option available to you at the time. The physical act of holding an object generates further attention.
If you want to reach a large audience with your web material, aim for average readability. Disappointed readers won’t stick around for long.
This can harm your SEO by boosting your bounce rate. Your content will be judged by the typical reader within 8 seconds of reaching the page.
Accessibility can also help your readers find your material. As a ranking criterion, user experience appears to be equal to keywords, if not somewhat preferred.
Consider the audience when presenting a topic.
Top Two Factors of Readability: Presentation and Context
There are two key elements to know when it comes to readability. The first is that it is related to the presentation of the content rather than the substance itself. In other words, a complex topic does not inherently imply a difficult-to-read text and vice versa.
It is entirely possible to explain complex subjects straightforwardly. The second point to grasp is that a reading score is neither excellent nor poor in and of itself.
The degree you desire in any given piece of material is determined by the audience for whom you are writing.
For example, if you were writing a piece for publication in a scientific magazine for a physician readership about how hand-washing might help limit the spread of disease, it would be appropriate to use medical terminology that the general public may not understand.
However, if you were writing an article for schoolchildren describing why it is vital for them to wash their hands before eating, you would strive to deliver the material in a way that children could easily grasp.
As a result, for maximum readability, you would employ simple vocabulary and short sentences. The content is similar, but how you present it varies depending on your audience’s demands.
Reasons Why Fresch Reading Score is Important to SEO?
The best content is one that is specifically tailored to the demands of the target audience. Even if you are aware of this, you may still encounter difficulties. For instance, you may create a blog article with your target audience in mind. The song sounds fantastic in your mind. It’s only later that you discover that your viewers had difficulty reading or comprehending what you wrote.
We all experience it at some time in our lives, whether we like it or not. Because of this, it is beneficial to use tools such as Yoast SEO to guide you through the process of creating the best content for your target audience.
Some copywriters consider reading easiness to be a negative trait. If you make your material simple to read, some people believe that you have compromised the integrity of your writer and that you have lowered the quality of your writing.
However, properly written blogs and pages written in plain English can benefit both experienced and unskilled readers. The more straightforward your language is, the more likely it is that users will understand your message.
Your target audience will receive material that is specifically suited to their requirements.
Different types of audiences have varying requirements. If so, do you want to reach a large, international audience?
With the Flesch reading ease score, you may determine whether or not your content is too tough to read and whether or not to make some revisions. What if you’re a scientist who’s writing for a group of other scientists?
In such a situation, obtaining a very high Flesch reading ease score may be less significant than in other cases. If your material is difficult to read, however, your score may signal that you need to make some revisions to your writing style.
Your bounce rates will decrease due to your readers staying on your site for a longer period of time.
Pages that are simple to read keep people interested. This decreases the likelihood that they will abandon your website, searching for more effectively crafted ones.
Consider the implications of this. You have reached a point where you are unable to read the page. Was it possible for you to persevere and read everything through to the end?
You most likely just walked away and went in quest of something more suitable. There is a lot of rivalry in the market.
When it comes to ranking and being at the top of the rankings, being better than your competition would be advantageous.
You may be rewarded with an Increased Search Engine Ranking.
While a high Flesch reading ease score does not directly impact ranks, it can have a positive indirect influence on rankings.
If your viewers love your material, they may decide to explore your website for further information. They could even consider you to be their go-to source for information in the future.
If people enjoy your postings or websites, they may decide to share them with others. These things serve as indications to search engines that you are delivering what users are looking for. As a result, it would be beneficial if you were rated higher.
What role does the Flesch Reading Ease score have in search engine rankings?
In 2018, Google’s John Mueller stated that he is not aware of any algorithms that employ basic readability ratings as a factor. Moreover, because FRE is so simple, with just two variables in play, it would be counterproductive to make extensive use of it. As a result, readability ratings such as FRE do not have a direct impact on rankings.
Based on the research of 15,000 terms, it was discovered that there was almost no link between ranks and FRE ratings.
As a result, why are so many SEO and content tools displaying this result?
This is because FRE is a proxy for readability, and readability is obviously essential in writing. It can affect user experience, which has grown increasingly significant in search engine optimization over time.
If searchers find your material difficult to read and comprehend, they will most likely abandon it. This results in poor user experience signals such as a low dwell time, a short stay on-page, and a high bounce rate, all of which may indicate to Google that your website isn’t a good search engine result.
It gets worse because fewer visitors actually consume the material. Few people will link to it, which is bad news because we all know that backlinks are among the most significant ranking criteria.
Does the Flesch Reading Ease score help you determine whether or not you should optimize your material?
Given the importance of readability, it would appear that if your FRE score is too low, you should improve your material, wouldn’t you?
No, not precisely, because doing so would be harmful to some subjects.
Consider, for example, a technical topic such as the one you’re now studying. To discuss Flesch Reading Ease and SEO, it is necessary to use some complicated terminology. It is possible that if we attempted to “optimize” this text for reading by substituting complicated terms with simpler ones, we would make it more difficult to comprehend.
Furthermore, there is no justification for doing so because this is not a general audience piece. Our target keyword is “Flesch reading ease,” which receives around 4,900 searches each month in the United States:
It is apparent that you have a better than average level of reading comprehension and are okay with using a few large words here and there because you are reading this right now.
As a general rule, if you’re writing about a more popular topic that will likely be read by individuals with various reading comprehension levels, striving for a higher FRE score might be a smart idea.
Yet the fact remains that this will very certainly occur organically since when you’re writing a recipe for pancakes, for example, you’re less likely to use long and complex words and phrases.
This is most likely why the average FRE score for the top 10 results in Google fluctuates drastically depending on the subject matter.
What does all of this imply in the real world?
According to the findings of this study, no readability score threshold applies to all forms of text. We all tend to employ different terminology depending on the issue and audience we are writing for.
To summarize, here are six content authoring recommendations that are connected to readability scores:
- Don’t go after “perfect scores” in search engine optimization and content management systems.
- Understand your target audience and write specifically for them.
- Maintain a smooth reading flow. Make use of short sentences, but don’t be afraid to throw in a complicated sentence or two here and there as needed.
- We shouldn’t make things any more difficult than they absolutely must be!
- When revising, read it aloud to yourself. It assists you in identifying difficulties that you would otherwise ignore.
- Provide comments to someone else once they have proofread your writing.
Don’t be limited by a single tool to build your SEO. Flesch Reading Ease is one of those tools you can begin paying attention to because it actually boosts your SEO greatly, as simple as it sounds.
You can also come up with unique campaigns and strategies. For instance, start investing with web tools like Adobe Acrobat Pro 2020 for automated pdf file conversions of articles for lead generation strategies like ebook giveaways. Moreover, you also need web design tools to make these eBooks engaging.
READ MORE: Digitech & Society: 7 Effects on Information, Communication, Mass Media
Conclusion
When it comes to SEO, readability ratings aren’t important as long as you follow good writing standards. Great, valuable material does this.
Don’t rely just on the results of tools to decide what to do with your time. The only time I’d recommend reevaluating your material based on a readability score is if the score is considerably different from your typical scores (which is rare).
In addition, you also need other tools to help you boost your SEO strategies. Investing in SEO does not take that much, but the returns are great, so you get more value for your money.
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