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What Is Flesch Reading Ease & Its Impact on SEO?
Last updated: Dec 11, 2024
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What Is Flesch Reading Ease?
Flesch reading ease is a metric used to measure the readability level of a text or written content. This metric was developed by Rudolf Flesch, a linguist and readability consultant.
This readability metric uses the average sentence length and the number of syllables in the text to assess whether a piece of writing is easy or difficult for readers to understand.
This readability metric is important for you to consider when writing articles for a website so that the text is easy to understand for your target audience.
Flesch reading ease can be calculated using a formula that produces a score called the Flesch reading ease score, on a scale from 1 to 100.
To calculate this, you need to know the total number of words, sentences, and syllables in the entire text. Here is an example of calculating readability using the Flesch readability formula:
How to Read the Flesch Reading Ease Score
The Flesch reading ease score has a scale from 1 to 100, where the higher the score, the easier the text is to understand, and vice versa.
Rudolf Flesch divided the criteria for reading the score of this readability metric into two categories. First, reading the Flesch reading ease score descriptively, from the easiest to the hardest to understand.
Second, reading the score based on school grade levels in the United States. The resulting score indicates the grade level at which the text can generally be understood, ranging from 5th grade to college graduate, and this is called the Flesch-Kincaid Readability.
Does Flesch Reading Ease Affect SEO?
While Flesch reading ease is not a ranking factor, this metric is closely related to the quality of the content you write. Quality content is one of the factors that can improve your website's ranking in search engines.
Therefore, to create high-quality content, this readability metric can be considered as part of your SEO strategy.
When someone can easily understand what you are communicating in the text and the readability is high, they are more likely to spend more time on the website.
Moreover, ensuring that the articles you create are easy to read can not only have a positive impact on SEO but also help build audience trust.
Content that is easy to understand will be more effective in conveying your message, making the audience trust the information and the products or services you offer.
How to Improve Your Flesch Reading Ease Score
In fact, there are no strict rules requiring you to have a high readability score, as this can be adjusted based on your targeted audience.
For some formal articles, such as press releases, research findings, or reviews, a very high level of readability may not be necessary, but they should still be easy to understand.
On the other hand, if you are writing articles related to everyday topics for a broad audience, a higher level of readability is needed.
To improve your Flesch reading ease score, here are some strategies you can use:
1. Make Paragraphs Shorter
The first step to improve readability is to create shorter paragraphs. Shorter paragraphs can make the text easier to digest and understand.
You can limit each paragraph to having only one main idea. This will help readers follow the flow of the text more easily.
2. Reduce the Use of Unnecessary Words
Next, you should reduce the use of excessive or redundant words. Sometimes, to make the text longer, writers add too many bridging sentences or less relevant information.
Good article writing does not necessarily have to be long, but it should be relevant, coherent, and informative. Focus on crafting sentences that get straight to the point to make it easier for readers to understand.
3. Use Simple Words
Next, you need to choose words that are easily understood by a wide audience. Simpler words will make it easier for your readers to grasp the content of your writing.
4. Split Into Multiple Articles if Too Long
A common mistake among article writers is trying to combine a single topic with too much content into one article.
Even if the topic is important and interesting, providing too much information in one article can overwhelm the audience and make it difficult to follow the discussion.
This can also cause them to lose interest and leave the article before finishing it.
Therefore, you can try breaking up the larger topic into multiple, more focused articles that are easier to read. This way, each article will be shorter, clearer, and more aligned with the interests and needs of the audience.
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