How long should an article or page be? • Yeast

Word count is not a ranking factor in itself, but it still plays an important role in search engine optimization. A minimum word count 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’ll learn why word count matters, when length helps or hurts, and how to set the right length for every page you publish.

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 search engine optimization, word count is often used as a rough indicator of how much information a page contains on a topic. It’s not a quality signal per se, but it heavily influences how much context, explanation, and clarity a page can provide.

Search engines want to understand what a page is about and whether it meets the user’s search intent. A page with enough text provides both readers and search engines with the signals they need to interpret meaning, relevance and usefulness. When the word count reflects real depth and not just filler words, it supports SEO. When it becomes padding, it works against you. However, that’s not all; In fact, longer articles contribute to search engine optimization in several ways.

Longer content will naturally contain your key phrase more often. This also gives you more opportunities to use synonyms and related key phrases. Additionally, longer content allows you to use more headings, links, and images. These elements support your key phrase and improve your page’s match to user intent.

Longer text can also help you rank long-tail variants of your key phrase. This is because you have more opportunities to address different topics in a longer text. In addition, you can ensure more organic traffic to your website with clever internal linking.

Why very short content often causes problems

Pages with extremely low word counts often do not 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 rarely provide supportive explanations and have difficulty demonstrating expertise and building trust.

From a user perspective, thin content rarely feels complete. From a search engine perspective, it provides less evidence of 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 the quality signals of your entire site, which can impact more than just one URL.

Minimum word count guidelines

There are minimum word counts to prevent thin content and not to guarantee rankings. As general thresholds:

• Regular posts and pages usually require at least 300 words
• Product descriptions typically require at least 200 words
• Cornerstone content typically requires at least 900 words

These numbers serve as a quality floor. You can go above if a topic requires more explanation, and sometimes you can go below if the intent is very narrow. What matters is whether the site really fulfills its purpose.

What does Yoast SEO check for text length?

Yoast SEO checks the length of your content as part of the SEO analysis. You can find this checker in the SEO tab of the Yoast SEO metabox or in the Yoast SEO sidebar while editing a page. It simply calculates how many words you’ve added and evaluates whether that amount is likely enough to support your SEO goals. The same check is also available in the Yoast SEO for Shopify app.

Each page on your website must contain a certain number of words to be helpful to your website visitors and to Google. The minimum length of your text depends on the type of page. Taxonomy pages or collections if you use Shopify typically 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.

This is how the Yoast SEO text length checker works

This length check is intended to help you avoid publishing pages that are too thin to be useful. A page with too few words often lacks context, lacks important details, and struggles to demonstrate relevance or expertise. By tagging very short pages, Yoast SEO helps you improve the overall quality of your content.

It is important to note that this check only serves as a guide and does not guarantee a ranking. Simply adding more words will not result in a page ranking. The goal is to ensure that your page contains sufficient and meaningful content to properly explain the topic, match the user’s intent, and improve the overall quality of the content.

In the table below you can see how Yoast SEO ranks the different page types on your website. If a page contains fewer than the recommended minimum number of words, you will see a red light in the Yoast SEO analysis. If you meet or exceed the minimum word count, you will receive a green light.

Word count rating by page type

Page type	Recommended minimum word count
Post or page	More than 300 words
Cornerstone post or page	More than 900 words
Description of taxonomy	More than 30 words
Product description	More than 200 words
Cornerstone product description	More than 400 words
Short description of the product	Between 20 and 50 words

Content depth vs. content length

One of the most common SEO mistakes is confusing length and depth. Content length is the number of words you use. Depth of content means the thoroughness with which you cover the topic.

Depth means that your content clearly answers the main question and addresses relevant subtopics. It also anticipates follow-up questions and provides enough context for users to understand what they are reading. For simple topics, a few hundred words can add a lot of depth to a page, while complex topics can require many more words.

Search engines are increasingly evaluating whether a page reflects genuine understanding and not superficial keyword usage. This understanding comes from depth, not just word count. Concepts such as EEAT are also gaining in importance here.

How user intent determines the ideal length

User intent is the basis of any word count decision. Once you understand why someone is searching, determining the appropriate length becomes much easier.

Information searches typically require more explanation, context, and structure. Navigational searches often require just a few words to guide users to the right place. In transactional searches, clarity, trust and conviction take precedence over lengthy educational content.

When the length matches the intent, users feel understood. If this is not the case, they will have difficulty finding what they need. You may also feel overwhelmed by unnecessary information. Our search intent analysis guide explains how to align your content with what users actually want.

Cornerstone content and long pages

Cornerstone content represents the most important and comprehensive pages on your website. These articles define your expertise on core topics and often serve as a hub 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 can be a starting point, many pages go well beyond that with strong cornerstones. This happens when the topic requires more detailed information.

As you create cornerstone content, be sure to properly identify it in your site structure and internal linking strategy. Our guide to creating cornerstone content walks you through this step-by-step.

How to determine the right length for your page

Instead of starting with a word goal, start with a series of questions. What is the main intention behind this site? What does the user need to know to be satisfied? What do the top ranking results already explain? What added value can you realistically create?

Outlining your content before writing will make this process easier. It also helps you stay focused while writing. When each section has a clear purpose, the final word count becomes the natural result of good reporting rather than an arbitrary goal.

Word count for product pages

Product pages require a careful balance between information and usability. Inadequate content can undermine trust and reduce visibility in search results. Too much content can distract users from taking action.

A meaningful product page clearly explains what the product is, what it does, who it is intended for and why it is worth buying. For many products, a few hundred words of clear text is enough. More complex or elaborate products often require more detailed explanations. This helps reduce uncertainty and build trust.

Here clarity is far more important than achieving a specific word goal. Good product pages also benefit from solid internal linking and structured data, which are covered in our website structure for SEO guide.

Word count for blog posts

Blog posts vary greatly in length because they serve different purposes. Some posts aim to provide a concise answer to a specific question. Others aim to explore a topic in depth and serve as long-term reference material.

Shorter blog posts can perform well when they are narrowly focused and match a simple search query. Longer blog posts often work well for broader or more competitive topics because they allow you to explore nuances, include examples, and address related questions that users commonly ask.

A long blog post should never feel long. If structure and readability are handled well, even detailed articles remain easy to read. If you want to improve the readability of your articles, check out our article on improving your readability score.

Word count for landing pages

Landing pages are designed to convert, not provide in-depth information. Their success depends on clearly communicating value, building trust, and guiding users to a single, actionable result.

Some landing pages convert best with just a few hundred words. Others need significantly more space to overcome objections and build credibility. The right length depends on how much explanation your audience needs before engaging.

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 to be competitive for a search query. If the top ranking pages are detailed and comprehensive, users are likely to expect that level of depth. If the top results are short and direct, it usually indicates a simpler intent.

Before you decide on the length of your own content, take the time to study the pages that are already ranking. Look at their structure, coverage and clarity. Your goal is not to match their word count, but to meet or exceed their utility.

This process is closely related to keyword research and SERP analysis. If you need a refresher, our keyword research guide covers this topic in detail.

Why readability is more important than pure length

Length only helps if people can actually read and understand the content. Long pages fail when they are filled with dense paragraphs, unclear structure, or overly complex language.

Good readability comes from using short, clear sentences and maintaining a logical flow between paragraphs. Well-placed headings and simple vocabulary are also important. A good structure ensures that even long content appears accessible and encourages the user to continue reading.

Readability also supports accessibility and user experience. Both indirectly affect SEO performance. This is why readability is a core part of Yoast SEO’s content quality assessment.

Internal linking and current reporting

The number of words influences how much thematic topic you can cover and how naturally you can include internal links. Internal links help search engines understand the structure of your website and allow users to discover related content.

Longer, more detailed pages naturally create more opportunities for meaningful internal links. This is because they touch on more aspects of a topic. Short pages often limit these options. Strong internal linking increases topic authority and improves the performance of important content.

If you want to improve your internal linking strategy, you can start with our internal linking for SEO guide.

Common Word Count Mistakes

A common mistake is writing just to hit a number. This often leads to repetition and filler that compromises clarity and confidence. Another mistake is publishing large amounts of thin content at scale. This can weaken a website’s overall quality signal.

Ignoring the user’s intent is equally damaging. A very long article on a simple search query can frustrate users just as much as a very short article on a complex topic. Finally, many websites neglect updating older thin pages as topics evolve and user expectations change.

Regular content audits will help prevent this problem and ensure your website meets user and search engine expectations.

Conclusion on word count and SEO

Word count can affect the performance of your posts and pages, but it should never come at the expense of quality. Writing more words only helps if those words improve clarity, structure, and usefulness. If you stretch your text just to fit a number, you risk making your content harder to read and less helpful to your visitors.

Focus on writing readable, well-structured content that truly answers the user’s question. Use headings to guide the reader, keep paragraphs clear and concise, and ensure that each section serves a clear purpose. This is what helps users interact with your content and what search engines want to reward.

If you want to dive deeper into this balance between optimization and persuasion, check out our guide to SEO copywriting and writing for sales.