You may not realize it, but AI's effect on search engine ranking runs deep. Not just in terms of improving the ranking algorithm but also leveraging machine learning and AI tools to improve search results. With AI's continued march toward more advanced, more accurate developments, you can expect it to have a greater impact on your website, for better or worse.
One of the best ways to make these developments work in your favor is by improving your website's Readability. With so much of a focus from search engine optimization experts on choosing the right keywords, making sure the website is mobile-friendly and fast-loading, Readability can get pushed to the back burner.
But according to a new study from Originality.AI, having a readability score comparable to other top ranking content can give you the best chances of competing. In the study, their team analyzed the top 20 ranking sites for 1,000 different keywords. They wanted to know if readability scores can influence a site's Google Search rank.
What They Found Out Will Surprise You
They discovered in the course of the study that the highest-ranking pages on Google (those in the top 20) have similar Readability scores and that the cluster of scores between them were all very narrow, no matter what the topic.
However, before you rush out to find out how your site's content scores on the Flesch-Kincaid or other popular readability methods used by common tools, you should know about another key point of the study they uncovered: not all readability methods are created equal.
In fact, popular readability methods like SMOG, Flesch-Kincaid and Coleman-Liau lump college level and higher scores all under the umbrella of Grade 12 readability (17-18 years old). As you can imagine, the lumping of such data majorly skews results, rendering it very difficult to find any kind of correlation whatsoever.
Furthermore, many of the popular content tools that website owners, writers and publishers use to "grade" their content and optimize it for the search engines leverage these very same readability systems. See chart below:
Tool / Readability Method:
Grammarly / Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level
Hemmingway / Automated Readability
MS-Word / Flesch-Kincaid Grade/Flesch Reading Ease
YOAST SEO / Flesch Reading Ease
In some cases, the optimization suggestions go against what the top ranking pages reveal. For example, Readable.com recommends a FORCAST grade of 9-10, a Gunning Fog score of 8 and Flesch Reading Ease of 60-70, however these scores are significantly lower than the content that is ranking well on Google.
Many tools, including search engine optimization tools, suggest writing for around a 10th-grade reading level (16-17 years old). However, content that's ranking within the top 20 results in Google has shown that the mean readability grade is 12 or higher in nearly every case.
Keep in mind that these grading scales were not developed for measuring readability as it relates to search engine algorithms, AI or any of the other tools we leverage today as we work to make our respective sites as authoritative as possible.
With that in mind, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't use these tools at all, but rather keep in mind that the methodology espoused by current SEO experts and related tools could be based on outdated information when it comes to readability as a ranking signal.
So Then, What Guidelines Should Be Used Instead?
Originality.AI's study determined that if your goal is to rank on Google, then you should use the following readability systems and score targets for optimal results:
Method / (Score):
Forecast / (12 - 14)
Gunning-Fog / (11 - 13)
Flesch Reading Ease / (45 - 60)
Dale Chall / (6 - 7)
The majority of online text content caters to people with a grade 12 level of education and readability scores are tightly clustered between those top ranking pages. So, if your goal is to rank, make your scores comparable to those who are ranking.
Originality.AI's Modern Readability Tool
The same team that did this Data Analysis that I have been referencing used the results from their study to inform their build of a new, up to date and modern Readability tool.
Building upon the work that had already been done by readability methods which rated high-ranked content more accurately, they created a comprehensive and intuitive tool to analyze a piece of content and offer guidelines and suggestions as to its likelihood of ranking well in Google based on its readability.
Using several different reading scales for better precision, along with the plagiarism detection and AI writing detection that are already built into the system, Originality.AI's readability tool goes beyond the basics, yet keeps its recommendations easy to understand and follow.
For example, you can assess your content using the Gunning Fog index, which is a metric that accounts for sentence length and complex words to determine readability, or you can use Flesch-Kincaid to determine readability based on sentence length and syllables per word. This multi-pronged accuracy lets you approach readability from a number of different angles so that you get the fullest picture possible of how well your site could rank.
The good news is that you can scan for readability using the different metrics just as easily and affordably as you can scan for plagiarism and AI writing within the Originality.AI platform. This makes it easier than ever for website owners and content publishers alike to create original content that reads at a similar level to other top ranking pages.
This comprehensive suite of useful, data driven and modern quality control tools, especially during challenging and uncertain times with the prevalence of AI, is truly a Content Marketers dream.
