Word count and SEO: how long should an article or page be?
Word count is not a ranking factor in itself, but it still plays a significant role in SEO. A minimum number of words helps search engines understand your topic, helps users understand your message, and supports content quality and relevance. The right length for your content depends on search intent, topic depth, competition, and purpose. In this guide, you will learn why word count matters, when length helps or hurts, and how to decide the right length for every page you publish.
Key takeaways
- Aim for over 300 words for posts and 200 words for product descriptions to enhance SEO and user experience.
- Word count helps Google understand context and relevance, though it is not a direct ranking factor.
- Longer content provides opportunities for the inclusion of keyphrases, synonyms, and internal links, thus supporting SEO.
- Prioritize quality and clarity over simply hitting a word count; irrelevant filler can damage user experience.
- Always align your content length with user intent and ensure it adds real value to readers.
What does word count mean for SEO?
Word count refers to the total number of words on a page, including headings, body text, and lists. In SEO, word count is often used as a rough indicator of the amount of information a page contains about a topic. It is not a quality signal by itself, but it strongly influences how much context, explanation, and clarity a page can provide.
Search engines aim to understand what a page is about and whether it satisfies the user’s search intent. A page with sufficient text provides both readers and search engines with the signals they need to interpret meaning, relevance, and usefulness. When word count reflects real depth and not just filler, it supports SEO. If it turns into padding, it works against you. That’s not all, though; in fact, longer articles contribute to SEO in several ways.
Longer content will naturally contain your keyphrase more often. This also gives you more opportunities to use synonyms and related keyphrases, too. Additionally, longer content enables you to utilize more headings, links, and images. These elements help support your keyphrase and enhance how well your page aligns with user intent.
Longer text can also help you rank long-tail variants of your keyphrase. That’s because you have more opportunities to address various topics in a lengthy text. What’s more, if you do some clever internal linking, you’ll drive more organic traffic to your site.
Why very short content often struggles
Pages with extremely low word counts often fail to perform well in search results. This is usually not because they are short, but because they lack sufficient context, depth, and usefulness. Very short pages often leave important questions unanswered. They also provide little supporting explanation and struggle to show expertise and build trust.
From a user perspective, thin content rarely feels complete. From a search engine perspective, it provides fewer clues about relevance and topic coverage. This combination makes it harder for very short pages to compete in most informational and commercial search results. Thin content also weakens your overall site quality signals, which can affect more than just one URL.
Minimum word count guidelines
Minimum word counts exist to help prevent thin content, not to guarantee rankings. As general thresholds:
- Regular posts and pages typically require a minimum of 300 words
- Product descriptions typically require a minimum of 200 words
- Cornerstone content typically requires a minimum of 900 words
These numbers act as a quality floor. You can go above them when a topic requires more explanation, and you can sometimes go below them when the intent is extremely narrow. What matters is whether the page truly fulfills its purpose.
What does Yoast SEO check when it comes to text length?
Yoast SEO checks the length of your content as part of the SEO analysis. You can find this check in the SEO tab of the Yoast SEO meta box or in the Yoast SEO sidebar while you are editing a page. It simply calculates how many words you have added and evaluates whether that amount is likely to be sufficient to support your SEO goals. The same check is also available in the Yoast SEO for Shopify app.
Every page on your site needs to contain a certain number of words to be helpful for your site visitors and for Google. The minimum length of your text depends on the type of page. Taxonomy pages, or collections if you use Shopify, usually require less content than blog posts, while cornerstone content is often your most important content and therefore needs to contain a significant number of words.
How the Yoast SEO text length check works
This length check exists to help you avoid publishing pages that are too thin to be useful. A page with too few words often lacks context, misses important details, and struggles to demonstrate relevance or expertise. By flagging very short pages, Yoast SEO helps you improve the overall quality of your content.
It is essential to note that this check serves as a guideline only and does not guarantee rankings. Adding more words alone will not make a page rank. The goal is to ensure that your page contains sufficient, meaningful content to explain the topic properly, align with user intent, and enhance overall content quality.
In the table below, you can see how Yoast SEO assesses the different types of pages on your site. If a page contains fewer than the advised minimum number of words, you will see a red traffic light in the Yoast SEO analysis. When you meet or exceed the minimum word count, you will receive a green traffic light.
Word count assessment by page type
| Page type | Minimum advised word count |
|---|---|
| Post or page | More than 300 words |
| Cornerstone post or page | More than 900 words |
| Taxonomy description | More than 30 words |
| Product description | More than 200 words |
| Cornerstone product description | More than 400 words |
| Product short description | Between 20 and 50 words |
Content depth vs content length
One of the most common SEO mistakes is confusing length with depth. Content length is the number of words you use. Content depth refers to the thoroughness with which you cover the subject.
Depth means that your content answers the main question clearly and addresses relevant subtopics. It also anticipates follow-up questions and provides enough context for users to understand what they are reading. A page can achieve strong depth with a few hundred words for simple topics, while complex subjects may require far more.
Search engines are increasingly evaluating whether a page demonstrates genuine understanding rather than superficial keyword usage. That understanding comes from depth, not from word count alone. This is also where concepts like E-E-A-T become important.
How user intent determines ideal length
User intent is the foundation of every word count decision. Once you understand why someone is searching, determining the appropriate length becomes much easier.
Informational searches usually need more explanation, context, and structure. Navigational searches often need only a few words to guide users to the right place. Transactional searches prioritize clarity, trust, and persuasion over lengthy educational content.
When length matches intent, users feel understood. If it does not, they struggle to find what they need. They can also feel overwhelmed by unnecessary information. Our guide on analyzing search intent explains how to align your content with what users actually want.
Cornerstone content and long-form pages
Cornerstone content represents the most important, comprehensive pages on your site. These articles define your expertise around core themes and often serve as hubs for related content through internal linking.
Because of their role, cornerstone articles are naturally longer and more detailed. They typically cover a broad topic comprehensively, address multiple subtopics, and provide a clear structure for both readers and search engines. While 900 words may be a starting point, many strong cornerstone pages grow far beyond that. This happens when the subject matter demands more detail.
When building cornerstone content, ensure that you also mark it correctly in your site structure and internal linking strategy. Our guide on how to create cornerstone content walks you through this step-by-step.
How to decide the right length for your page
Instead of starting with a word target, start with a set of questions. What is the main intent behind this page? What does the user need to know to feel satisfied? What do the top-ranking results already explain? What additional value can you realistically add?
Outlining your content before writing makes this process easier. It also helps you stay focused while you write. When each section has a clear purpose, the final word count becomes the natural result of good coverage rather than an arbitrary goal.
Word count for product pages
Product pages require a careful balance between information and usability. Insufficient content can erode trust and hinder visibility in search results. Too much content can distract users from taking action.
A strong product page clearly explains what the product is, what it does, who it is for, and why it is worth buying. For many products, a few hundred words of clear copy is enough. More complex or high-consideration products often require more detailed explanations. This helps remove uncertainty and build confidence.
Here, clarity matters far more than hitting any specific word target. Good product pages also benefit from solid internal linking and structured data, which are covered in our guide to site structure for SEO.
Word count for blog posts
Blog posts vary widely in length because they serve a range of purposes. Some posts aim to provide a concise answer to a specific question. Others aim to explore a topic in depth and become long-term reference material.
Shorter blog posts can perform well when they are tightly focused and match a simple query. Longer blog posts often perform well for broader or more competitive topics because they allow you to explore nuances, include examples, and cover related questions that users frequently ask.
A long blog post should never feel long. When structure and readability are handled well, even detailed articles remain easy to read. If you want to improve how readable your articles are, see our article on how to improve your readability score.
Word count for landing pages
Landing pages exist to convert, not to provide in-depth education. Their success depends on whether they clearly communicate value, build trust, and guide users toward a single, actionable outcome.
Some landing pages convert best with only a few hundred words. Others need significantly more space to overcome objections and establish credibility. The right length is determined by how much explanation your audience needs before committing.
Testing real user behavior through analytics and A/B testing is the only reliable way to determine the optimal length for landing pages.
How competition affects word count
Search results show what Google already considers competitive for a query. If the top-ranking pages are detailed and comprehensive, users likely expect that level of depth. If the top results are short and direct, that usually signals simpler intent.
Before deciding on your own content length, take time to study the pages that already rank. Look at their structure, coverage, and clarity. Your goal is not to match their word count, but to match or exceed their usefulness.
This process is closely connected to keyword research and SERP analysis. If you need a refresher, our guide on keyword research covers this topic in detail.
Why readability matters more than raw length
Length only helps when people can actually read and understand the content. Long pages fail when they are filled with dense paragraphs, unclear structure, or overly complex language.
Strong readability stems from using short, clear sentences and maintaining a logical flow between paragraphs. It also depends on well-placed headings and simple vocabulary. Good structure makes even long content feel approachable and encourages users to keep reading.
Readability also supports accessibility and user experience. Both of these indirectly influence SEO performance. That is why readability is a core part of how Yoast SEO evaluates content quality.
Internal linking and topical coverage
Word count influences how much topical ground you can cover and how naturally you can include internal links. Internal links help search engines understand your site’s structure and enable users to discover related content.
Longer, in-depth pages naturally create more opportunities for internal links that are meaningful. This is because they touch on more aspects of a topic. Short pages often limit those opportunities. Strong internal linking enhances topical authority and improves the performance of cornerstone content.
If you want to improve your internal linking strategy, you can start with our guide to internal linking for SEO.
Common mistakes with word count
One common mistake is writing only to hit a number. This often leads to repetition and filler that reduce clarity and trust. Another mistake is publishing large amounts of thin content at scale. This can weaken the overall quality signal of a site.
Ignoring user intent is equally damaging. A very long article for a simple query can frustrate users just as much as a very short article for a complex topic. Finally, many sites overlook updating older thin pages as topics evolve and user expectations shift.
Regular content audits help prevent this problem and keep your site aligned with what users and search engines expect.
Conclusion on word count and SEO
Word count can influence how your posts and pages perform, but it should never come at the expense of quality. Writing more words only helps when those words improve clarity, structure, and usefulness. If you stretch your text just to reach a number, you risk making your content harder to read and less helpful for your visitors.
Focus on writing readable, well-structured content that genuinely answers the user’s question. Use headings to guide readers, keep paragraphs clear and concise, and make sure every section serves a clear purpose. That is what helps users engage with your content and what search engines aim to reward.
If you want to go deeper into this balance between optimization and persuasion, see our guide on SEO copywriting and writing for sales.
