How to Fix Thin Content and Improve Readability

What these checks test

SiteCurl runs two related checks on your page content. The thin content check flags pages with fewer than 200 words of body text. The readability check measures Flesch Reading Ease, a score from 0 to 100 where higher means easier to read. A score below 40 means the text is difficult for most adults.

Both checks focus on the visible text content, not navigation, footers, or boilerplate.

Why it matters

Search engines struggle to understand and rank pages with very little text. A page with 50 words gives Google almost nothing to work with. There is no keyword context, no depth, and no reason for a searcher to stay on the page.

Readability matters because people scan web content. If your sentences average 30 words and use specialized vocabulary, most visitors will leave. Studies show that content written at a 6th-8th grade reading level performs best for general audiences.

How to fix thin content

The goal is not to pad your pages with filler. It is to add useful information that serves the visitor.

Ask what someone landing on this page needs to know. If it is a product page, describe the product, its use cases, and what makes it different. If it is a service page, explain what the service includes, who it is for, and what happens after someone signs up.

Aim for at least 300 words on important pages. Blog posts and guides should be 500 words or more. Landing pages can be shorter if the content is focused and the page has a clear call to action.

Pages that should be short

Not every page needs 500 words. Contact pages, login pages, and utility pages are fine with minimal text. SiteCurl flags these as informational, not critical.

How to improve readability

Sentence length

Break long sentences into shorter ones. If a sentence has more than 20 words, see if it can be split in two. Read your content out loud. If you run out of breath, the sentence is too long.

Word choice

Replace complex words with simpler alternatives. “Utilize” becomes “use.” “Facilitate” becomes “help.” “Implement” becomes “set up.” Your content is not a research paper.

Paragraph structure

Keep paragraphs to 2-3 sentences. Use subheadings to break up long sections. Bullet lists help readers scan for the information they need.

How to verify the fix

Check your Flesch Reading Ease score at any free readability tool online. Aim for 60 or higher. Run a SiteCurl scan to check word counts and readability scores across all your pages at once.

Related checks

Thin content issues often appear alongside missing meta descriptions and title tags. Pages with little content tend to have weak metadata too.

Start a free trial to scan your site for thin content and readability issues.