Part of the SEO audit
See how much content each page has
SiteCurl counts the visible words on each scanned page. Word count is not a ranking factor, but seeing your content depth at a glance helps you decide where to invest writing effort.
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What this check does
SiteCurl counts the visible words on each page in your scan. The count includes headings, body text, and list items. It skips nav, footer, script, and style tags.
The result is informational. SiteCurl reports the word count but does not treat low counts as a failure. A contact page with 45 words or a landing page with 80 words may be doing exactly what it should.
Google has confirmed that word count is not a ranking factor. What matters is whether the page answers the visitor's question, not how many words it uses.
How this shows up in the real world
Google's Danny Sullivan said at WordCamp US 2025: word count does not matter. John Mueller has repeated the same point many times. The December 2025 Helpful Content Update reinforced that Google evaluates content quality and intent, not length.
Short pages regularly outrank long ones when they answer the query better. An 800-word post that solves a problem outranks a 3,000-word post that circles around it.
That said, some pages are thin because they were never finished. A category page with no blurb. A service page with a heading and nothing else. Seeing the word count helps you spot those gaps without treating every short page as a problem.
The real question is not 'how many words does this page have?' but 'does this page fully answer the visitor's question?' Word count is one signal among many, and SiteCurl shows it as context, not a verdict.
Why it matters
Content depth is useful context for site owners. Pages with very few words may be intentionally concise (a contact form, a checkout page) or they may be incomplete (a stub that was never filled in).
Seeing word counts across your site helps you prioritize writing effort. If a key landing page has 30 words and your competitors cover the same topic in depth, that is worth knowing.
But adding words for the sake of hitting a number does more harm than good. Google actively penalizes filler content. Every sentence should earn its place.
Who this impacts most
Online stores with hundreds of product pages can use word counts to find listings that are just a title and price. Adding real descriptions, specs, and use cases helps buyers decide, not because of word count but because of usefulness.
Service firms can spot placeholder pages that were created in a site redesign but never written. A page with 20 words is probably a stub, not a finished page.
Blog publishers can compare post lengths across their archive. Short posts are not inherently bad, but a pattern of 100-word posts may signal a content quality issue.
How to fix it
Step 1: Review your word counts. Run a SiteCurl scan and look at the content depth data. Focus on pages that matter most for your business: landing pages, product pages, and content meant to rank.
Step 2: Ask if the page serves its purpose. A contact page with 45 words is fine. A product page with 20 words probably is not. The fix is not 'add more words' but 'does this page answer the visitor's question?'
Step 3: Expand pages that need depth. For pages that should rank in search, add useful content: specs, benefits, FAQs, or process details. Write for the visitor, not for a word count.
Step 4: Merge or remove true stubs. If a page has no real purpose and cannot be grown, merge it into a related page with a 301 redirect. Fewer quality pages beat many empty ones.
Common mistakes when fixing this
Padding pages to hit a word count. Adding filler text to reach 300 or 500 words does not help. Google evaluates content quality, not length. Filler content can actually hurt your rankings.
Treating every short page as a problem. Contact pages, login pages, checkout pages, and portfolio galleries are short by design. That is correct, not a flaw.
Ignoring content intent. A page that ranks well with 200 words does not need 800 words. If visitors find what they need and stay engaged, the page is working regardless of word count.
How to verify the fix
After updating content, run a new SiteCurl scan to see the updated word counts. Focus on whether the content is useful and complete, not whether it hits a specific number.
Check Google Search Console over the following weeks. Pages with genuinely improved content (not just more words) may see better engagement and ranking signals.
The bottom line
Word count is not a ranking factor. SiteCurl shows content depth as context so you can spot stubs and prioritize writing effort. Focus on answering the visitor's question, not hitting a word count.
Example findings from a scan
Page has 850 words of content
Page has 120 words
Page has 45 words
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Frequently asked questions
Is word count a Google ranking factor?
No. Google's Danny Sullivan and John Mueller have both confirmed that word count is not a ranking factor. Google evaluates content quality, relevance, and intent. A short page that answers the query well outranks a long page that does not.
How many words should a page have?
As many as it needs to serve its purpose. A contact page may need 50 words. A guide may need 2,000. There is no correct number. The test is whether the page answers the visitor's question.
Can I check content depth without signing up?
Yes. The free audit reports word count as part of a full SEO, speed, security, accessibility, technical health, uptime, and AI readiness scan. No signup needed. Results in under 60 seconds.
Should I add more words to short pages?
Only if the page is incomplete. If a product page is just a title and price, adding a real description helps buyers. But padding a contact page with filler text does not help anyone.
Check your content depth now