3 January 2024|4 Comments|Tags Content SEO, Readability, SEO copywriting, Yoast SEO
If you’re a user of Yoast SEO for WordPress or Shopify, then you’re probably familiar with the traffic lights in our plugin. Three parts of Yoast SEO use this system: the content analysis, the readability analysis, and the inclusive language analysis. The first checks whether your post or product pages are SEO-proof, while the latter checks if they’re readable for a general audience. The third checks if your content has language that might exclude people. Of course, these are interconnected, as readable content is crucial if you want your site to do well in the search results. Here, we’ll show you how to use the readability analysis.
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What does the readability analysis in Yoast SEO do?
The readability analysis in Yoast SEO uses an algorithm to determine how readable your text is. We’ve crafted this algorithm to make it as accurate as possible without being too strict. It features several checks that will give you advice when you write your page. In other words, following this advice makes your text easier to read and understand.
It has been said that Yoast SEO suggests dumbing down your writing. Of course, that’s not the case. We merely want to help people write content that’s easy to understand. Just consider the following quote by content design hero Sarah Richards about making your content as readable for humans as possible:
“You’re not dumbing down, you’re opening up.”
By simplifying content, you’re automatically growing your audience as more people grasp the message of your content. Also, you’re not writing your content just for people anymore. Because virtual assistants like Alexa and Siri must also be able to work with it. Even Google increasingly uses well-written content for rich results like featured snippets, not to mention all the AI tools that love good content.
That being said, while the advice in the readability section is not the be-all and end-all advice, it does give you important clues to the perceived difficulty of your text. Writing with readability in mind is crucial, as readability ranks!
Current readability checks in Yoast SEO
The current readability checks are available in Yoast SEO:
Transition words: Do you use transition words like ‘most importantly’, ‘because’, ‘therefore’, or ‘besides that’ to tie your text together? Using these words improves the flow of your article as they provide hints to the reader about what is coming next.
Sentence beginnings: Do any of your consecutive sentences start with the same word? This might feel repetitive to your reader, and that can be annoying. Always keep your sentences varied, so your article is readable and free of obstacles. Unless you want to prove something or use it as a writing style, of course.
Word complexity: It would be a shame if you write something and your readers can’t fully grasp it, right? The more uncommon and complicated words you use, the harder it might be for your visitors to understand your writing. Thanks to the feedback from this assessment, you can easily identify complex words and change them accordingly. We’ll highlight them for you so you don’t have to spend time looking.
Paragraph length: Some people tend to use extremely long paragraphs. Doing so makes your text look daunting as it becomes just one big blob of text. Break it up, use shorter paragraphs and don’t forget to give your core sentences some thought.
Subheading distribution: Similarly to long paragraphs, texts without subheadings are difficult to scan, which makes them rather daunting. So, we check if you use enough subheadings to guide your readers through the text and help them find what they’re looking for.
Sentence length: Sentence length is one of the core aspects that can make a text hard to read. If most of your sentences are too long – over 20 words – people lose track of your point. Readers often have to jump back a few words to find out what you mean. This is very tiring and inefficient. Try to keep the number of words in a sentence in check. Shorten your sentences. Aim for easy understanding, not a complex literary masterpiece.
Passive voice: Using a lot of passive voice in your text makes it appear distant, and your message will be less clear. Your sentences become wordy and difficult because the sentence structure is harder to understand. Whenever you use the passive voice, always consider whether a better, active alternative is available.
Transition words: Do you use transition words like ‘most importantly’, ‘because’, ‘therefore’, or ‘besides that’ to tie your text together? Using these words improves the flow of your article as they provide hints to the reader about what is coming next.
Sentence beginnings (doesn’t apply for Product pages): Do any of your consecutive sentences start with the same word? This might feel repetitive to your reader, and that can be annoying. Always keep your sentences varied, so your article is readable and free of obstacles. Unless you want to prove something or use it as a writing style, of course.
Paragraph length: Some people tend to use extremely long paragraphs. Doing so makes your text look daunting as it becomes just one big blob of text. Break it up, use shorter paragraphs and don’t forget to give your core sentences some thought.
Subheading distribution: Similarly to long paragraphs, texts without subheadings are difficult to scan, which makes them rather daunting. So, we check if you use enough subheadings to guide your readers through the text and help them find what they’re looking for.
Sentence length: Sentence length is one of the core aspects that can make a text hard to read. If most of your sentences are too long – over 20 words – people lose track of your point. Readers often have to jump back a few words to find out what you mean. This is very tiring and inefficient. Try to keep the number of words in a sentence in check. Shorten your sentences. Aim for easy understanding, not a complex literary masterpiece.
Passive voice: Using a lot of passive voice in your text makes it appear distant, and your message will be less clear. Your sentences become wordy and difficult because the sentence structure is harder to understand. Whenever you use the passive voice, always consider whether a better, active alternative is available.
Lists(Product pages only): Using lists in your product pages enable your customers to scan the content on the page, and help highlight the benefits and features of your product. Try to includeat least one list (ordered or unordered) in your product description.
Supported languages
The readability analysis is available in many languages. Check out the languages Yoast SEO supports for an overview. We’re continually working on adding new languages.
How to use the readability analysis in Yoast SEO
You can find the readability analysis in your Yoast sidebar in WordPress and Shopify. In WordPress, you can also find the readability checks in the Yoast SEO meta box underneath the post or page you edit.
It’s very easy to use the analysis to improve your content. You can start writing the article you want to write. The readability score is calculated in real-time, so you can look at it while you write. However, if you want to stay focused, you can also choose not to look at the score while writing your first draft. That way, you can write without being distracted and make the final tweaks afterward.
The readability score helps you by giving you a green, orange, or red traffic light per check. If you get orange or red traffic lights, click on the eye icon to determine where improvements can be made. Easy peasy!
Everyone has their own writing and editing process, and this way isn’t necessarily how you should use it. You have to find out what works for you gradually. Practice makes perfect!
It’s good to note that the word complexity assessment is a Premium feature. If you’re using the free version of Yoast SEO, you’ll see this feature being greyed out. Upgrade to Yoast SEO Premium now to unlock this feature!
Should all traffic lights be green?
We often get this question: no, not every traffic light has to be green. What you should aim for, though, is a green, happy traffic light overall — the one in the tab that reads “Readability”. An orange traffic light for one of the checks, like in the screenshot above, is fine. Your article will still be able to rank even if it doesn’t pass all of the tests. This is merely an indication, not a necessity.
We want everyone to be able to read and understand content, but we also know that there are industries where the language used is different from what most people would use. That’s perfectly fine. Find out what works for you. Need help? Please read our ultimate guide to SEO copywriting.
Try it out!
The readability analysis and content analysis of Yoast SEO help you write excellent, SEO-proof articles and product pages that are easy for anyone to grasp. In doing so, you ensure that every piece of content you write is ready to start ranking in search engines while staying enjoyable for readers. Don’t have Yoast SEO yet? Do you want to use our Premium plugins’ excellent additional features? Find out about all the benefits of Yoast SEO for WordPress and Yoast SEO for Shopify!
Read more: How to use Yoast SEO’s content analysis tool »
Edwin Toonen
Edwin is a strategic content specialist. Before joining Yoast, he spent years honing his skill at The Netherlands’ leading web design magazine.
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4 Responses to How to use the readability analysis in Yoast SEO
anurag singh•3 months ago
great tips
Camille Cunningham•3 months ago
Thanks!
Prettify Creative•3 months ago
Certainly! It’s fantastic that Yoast search engine marketing presents a complete approach to content optimization, masking SEO, clarity, and inclusive language, thanks to making it simpler for users to ensure their content meets these crucial standards. Readability is certainly a key element for engaging a broader audience and improving search performance. This function not most effectively assists in search engine marketing however additionally emphasizes the importance of making content material this is accessible and inclusive. Thanks for sharing this valuable information! Great post.
The Yoast readability analysis will give you a green light if most of your sentences are under 20 words. If you get an amber or red light here, you can click on the eye symbol to see which sentences are too long and shorten some of them.
You can find the readability analysis in your Yoast sidebar in WordPress and Shopify. In WordPress, you can also find the readability checks in the Yoast SEO meta box underneath the post or page you edit. It's very easy to use the analysis to improve your content. You can start writing the article you want to write.
This grade is on a scale from 0 (most difficult to read) to 100 (easiest to read). You don't have to strive for a score of 100. That would mean that every single sentence is short and words are two syllables, max. But a score of 60 to 70 is good to aim for, and that's what Yoast will give you a green light for.
The average sentence length as well as the average number of syllables per word are determined, with both then used to calculate the Flesch score based on the formula: 206.835 - 1.015 * x - 84.6 * y, where x is the average sentence length and y is the number of syllables per word.
The readability analysis in Yoast SEO checks your content for long sentences and points them out for you to fix. Also, Yoast SEO checks for overlong paragraphs. Long paragraphs form a wall of text that might be hard for users to conquer.
Yoast scores your blog post against a number of key readability criteria: sentence length, paragraph length, subheading distribution, use of transition words, use of passive voice, consecutive sentences and Flesch reading ease.
Readability matters for SEO because it impacts user experience, engagement metrics, and backlinks. Difficult-to-read content leads to a high bounce rate, which can hurt rankings, while well-written content increases engagement, leading to more traffic and backlinks.
Let's be clear: your rankings won't immediately soar when you improve the readability of your texts. But, writing a readable blog post is an essential part of every SEO strategy. If you want your readers to read your entire blog post or page, your copy should be easy to read.
Readability plays a major role in content marketing and can greatly improve your SEO results. In general, readability is the ability of your target audience to digest your content. High readability allows you to attract attention, establish authority, and communicate your message effectively.
Text aimed at the public should aim for a grade level of around 8. That will ensure your text is readable by roughly 85% of the public. Popular fiction rarely scores above grade level 6. It's worth noting that even if you are writing for a highly educated audience, a lower score is still preferred.
The remedy to a high score is to shorten sentences and reduce word complexity. Some ways to do this include eliminating or moving clauses, reducing passive verb use, and avoiding jargon or sophisticated vocabulary.
Although the Yoast SEO plugin has many useful features for optimizing a website, the plugin is not a substitute for an SEO strategy. For example, while the plugin will help you optimize an individual page for a target keyword, you still need to know how to select a target keyword in the first place.
The results were just fantastic! The SEO Analysis of Yoast has really helped me on how I can improve my content. This has helped me improve the traffic on my website by 10 folds, but we started ranking on the 1st page of Google on the majority of our searches. I really thank Yoast SEO for helping me grow my website.
Both plugins make it easy to edit SEO settings on a post-by-post basis. However, All in One SEO offers a more actionable plan with a TruSEO score and Focus Keyphrase score. Dynamic tags in the title and description also give it an edge over Yoast SEO.
In Windows, go to File > Options > Proofing and select "Show readability statistics." On a Mac, go to Preferences > Authoring and Proofing Tools and click Spelling and Grammar; then under Grammar, select "Check grammar with spelling" and "Show readability statistics."
The most common measurement for readability in English is the Flesch-Kincaid test, which is two tests: one measuring reading ease and one measuring grade level. For reading ease, the higher the score, the easier it is to read. Grade level indicates which level of education is required to understand it.
What is a Readability Score in WordPress? The readability score indicates how easy it is to read a piece of content. It affects the user experience, which in turn can have a positive impact on your site's SEO performance.
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