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Content Length Checker

Count the words in the main content of any page and see reading time, paragraph and sentence length, and the text-to-HTML ratio.

Fetching and analysing the page…

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Content Length Checker - results and guide

What the Content Length Checker checks

  • Word and character count of the main content, without navigation and footer
  • Estimated reading time
  • Thin content: pages with too little text to describe their topic
  • Text-to-HTML ratio
  • Number and average length of paragraphs and sentences
  • Long text with too few headings
  • How much of the visible text is boilerplate

Why measure content length?

Word count tells you how much there is for a reader and a search engine to work with. A page with a few dozen words rarely explains anything, and search engines call such pages thin content when a site has many of them. At the other end, a long page with no structure is hard to read.

This tool separates the main content from navigation, header and footer, because menus and legal links can add hundreds of words that say nothing about the topic.

How many words should a page have?

There is no minimum. Google has stated more than once that word count is not a ranking factor. The right length is whatever fully answers the search: a definition may need 150 words, a buying guide 2,000. A practical method is to look at the pages that already rank for your query and judge how much depth searchers expect.

Text-to-HTML ratio is the share of the download that is readable text. It is not a ranking factor either, but a very low ratio often means heavy templates, inline scripts or content that is only rendered by JavaScript. Check the page weight with the Web Page Size Checker.

How to use the Content Length Checker

  1. Enter the address of the page you want to check. You can leave out https://.
  2. Press Count words. The page is fetched from our servers, the way a search engine crawler would fetch it.
  3. Read the findings from top to bottom: problems first, then warnings. Each one says what to change.

Common problems and how to fix them

The count is much lower than what I see in the browser

The content is added by JavaScript after the page loads. Crawlers may index it later or not at all. Render the main text on the server.

The page is thin

Add what a visitor would ask next: details, examples, steps, prices, comparisons, answers to common questions. Do not pad it with filler.

Paragraphs are very long

Split them where the subject changes and add subheadings. Short paragraphs are far easier to read on a phone.

Frequently asked questions

Is word count a Google ranking factor?
No. Google has said that word count does not determine quality or ranking. Longer pages often rank because they cover a topic thoroughly, not because of the number.
What counts as thin content?
Pages with little or no original, useful text: empty category pages, doorway pages, auto-generated text. A short page that answers its question completely is not thin.
How is reading time estimated?
By dividing the word count by an average reading speed of about 220 words per minute.
What is a good text-to-HTML ratio?
Most content pages fall between 15% and 60%. Below 10% is worth a look, as it usually means a lot of markup or script for little text.

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