A readability score is a calculated metric, based on formulas like Flesch-Kincaid, estimating how easy or difficult a piece of text is to read, typically factoring in sentence length, word complexity, and overall structure.
While readability isn’t a direct Google ranking factor, genuinely readable, well-structured content tends to perform better on engagement metrics and is more likely to be shared and linked to, indirectly supporting SEO performance.
Readability targets should be calibrated to a specific audience; content for a technical, expert audience naturally warrants a different readability level than content aimed at a general consumer audience.
We calibrate readability appropriately for each audience within our SEO Content Strategy service.