Know when you have enough words to rank with a page

Are you struggling to figure out if your pages contain enough content? Do you worry that your word count may negatively affect your rankings?

The bad news is that there is no magic number you can hit and make your pages rank. However, some general guidelines can help you adjust the word count, depending on the type of page you are writing. We did the research for you, and we can help! Yoast SEO contains checks that tell you whether you have enough content for the type of page you are writing. 

Why do I need to check the length of my content? 

The lenght of your content is just one aspect of its quality. Still, it is an important aspect to consider, for a few reasons.

✅ Make sure you have enough words to provide high-quality content

Users search online to find solutions to their problems. Search engines want to give those users the best answers. At the same time, search engines are getting better at reading content. Ok, but what does providing the best answer have to do with word count? Well, although it is not a rule, generally speaking, high-quality content is comprehensive, which often means that it is lengthy.

If your texts are too short, search engines may see that as “thin” content, which rarely qualifies as the best result. Sometimes, you can provide a satisfactory answer in a few sentences. But, more often, to cover a topic well, you will most likely need a lengthier post.

✅ Rank for long-tail keyphrases and synonyms

When you write longer texts, you have a chance to use your keyphrase multiple times. That helps search engines understand your topic. Keep in mind that writing longer posts should not equal keyphrase stuffing. On the contrary, take the opportunity to also use related keyphrases or their synonyms. In that way, you make your text more engaging for your audience, and you increase your chances to rank. 

✅ Adapt the length to the type of page you are writing

There are different types of pages that require different word counts. For example, a cornerstone page that aims to cover every aspect of a topic needs to have at least 900 words. On the other hand, a taxonomy page, where you only need to give an overview of the page’s content, can contain as little as 250 words.

How does it work

Yoast SEO has a set minimum number of words that are required to rank, depending on the page type (see table below). If your content has less than the minimum required words on a specific page, Yoast SEO will give you feedback.

A green bullet point means you have enough words and all is well. A red bullet point means you need to improve the text and increase the word count. Clicking on the links in the feedback will give you more information on what you need to do to improve your text.