How to right-size content length for SEO

"Word count is not a ranking factor" is technically true and operationally misleading. Google has never used raw word count as a relevance signal - but the relevance signal it DOES use (topical comprehensiveness) correlates strongly with word count, because covering a topic comprehensively takes words. Teams who optimize for word count produce bloat; teams who optimize for depth happen to produce long content as a byproduct.

This guide goes straight to the workflow: how to right-size content using the SERP-benchmark method, the depth-vs-length distinction, and the bloat-vs-thin audit that explains both failure modes (too short to compete, too long to read).

Count words on any URL right now

Paste any URL below to count visible body words on the page (excludes nav, footer, scripts) - useful for benchmarking competitor content length when you're sizing a new article.

Why word count looks like a ranking factor (but isn't one)

Studies regularly find that pages ranking #1 on competitive queries average 1,500-2,500 words while pages ranking #10 average 800-1,200 words. The naive conclusion: "longer content ranks better, write more words." This produces bloat content - 2,500 words to say what could have been said in 1,200, padded with restatements and irrelevant tangents.

The actual signal is topical depth. Google's relevance scoring measures how comprehensively a page covers the entities, sub-topics, and adjacent questions a query implies. Comprehensive coverage takes words to express. So:

• A 2,500-word article that covers the topic comprehensively ranks well because of depth, not length.
• A 2,500-word article that pads thin content with restatements ranks worse than a tight 1,200-word article that covers the depth in less space.
• An 800-word article on a topic that genuinely has 2,500 words of depth available will be outranked by competitors who ship the depth.

The right framing: write long enough to cover the depth Google expects for the query, but no longer. Don't pad; don't truncate. The word count is the byproduct of doing the right amount of depth, not the target.

The SERP-benchmark workflow

Don't pick a word count from a generic "best practices" list. Benchmark to the SERP for your target keyword - that's what Google has already calibrated to.

1. Search the target keyword in incognito. Pull the URLs of the top 10 organic results.
2. Count words on each top-10 result. Use the page word counter (or Ahrefs / Semrush content-explorer for batch). Calculate the median.
3. Note the spread. Top-10 word counts cluster around the median for most queries. If the range is 1,800-2,400, the SERP wants ~2,000 words and you should plan in that range.
4. Identify the depth pattern. Read the top 3 results' H2 outlines. The H2s are the topics Google considers "the comprehensive coverage" for the query. Your article should cover at least the same H2s, plus 1-2 angles the top results miss.
5. Plan to the median, not the maximum. If top-10 ranges from 1,200 to 4,800 words, the 4,800-word outlier is probably padded - don't model on it. Plan to the median (~2,000 here) and add depth where you have a genuine angle.

This is the calibration most "long-form content guides" skip. Generic advice ("write 2,000 words minimum") produces bloat on short-intent queries (where 800 words is correct) and underwriting on deep queries (where 4,000 is correct).

Depth, not length: the H2 outline test

The single highest-leverage test for whether a page has the right depth is reading its H2 outline alone. The H2 outline should answer the implied questions of the target query:

• For "what is a CRM" - H2s should cover: definition, core features, types of CRMs, common use cases, pricing models, alternatives. About 6 H2s of substantial content each.
• For "best CRM for small business" - H2s should cover: criteria for selection, top 5-10 specific tools (each as an H3 sub-section), pricing comparison, use-case fit. About 12-15 H2s/H3s of comparison content.
• For "Salesforce login" (navigational) - The query implies one answer. H2 outline should be short or non-existent.

The audit move: write your draft H2 outline first, before any body content. Compare it to the H2 outlines of the top 3 SERP results. If your outline is missing 2+ topics that all 3 competitors cover, you're underwriting depth. If your outline has 5+ topics that none of the competitors cover, you're probably scope-creeping into adjacent topics that don't belong.

The biggest mistake: padding to hit a word count target

The single most common content-length failure: a writer told to "make it 2,000 words" hits the count by adding restatements, generic context, and tangential subsections that don't earn the words. Result: a page that LOOKS comprehensive (it has the right word count) but doesn't FEEL comprehensive when read - because Google's algorithm reads it the way a careful reader would, and the algorithm notices the padding.

Common padding patterns to spot in audits:

• The "what we'll cover" intro that restates the H2 list as a paragraph. Adds 100-200 words of zero-information content.
• The generic "why this matters" subsection that uses three paragraphs to say the topic is important. Cut to one sentence in the intro.
• The "frequently asked questions" section at the end that recycles the H2 content as Q&A. Adds 300-500 words of restatement.
• The closing summary that re-lists everything the reader just read. Cut entirely.
• Long lead-in sentences ("In today's increasingly complex digital landscape, businesses are facing unprecedented challenges..."). Cut to the actual content.

The audit move: read your article's word count after stripping these patterns. The remaining count is your "real" depth. If it's 30% lower than the SERP median, you're padding; rewrite to add genuine depth instead.

What a clean content-length audit looks like

Run this on every new content brief, plus on underperforming pages from your top 50.

1. Pick the target keyword. Run it in incognito; record the top-10 organic results.
2. Count words on each top-10 result. Calculate median; note the spread.
3. Read the top-3 H2 outlines. List the topics they all cover. List the topics each one uniquely covers.
4. Plan your H2 outline to cover the universal topics plus 1-2 angles the top 3 miss.
5. Write to depth, not length. Each H2 should resolve a specific question with 200-500 words of substance. If a section needs more, split it; if it needs less, leave it short.
6. Audit for padding at draft review. Strip restatements, generic intros, FAQ-as-restatement, closing summaries.
7. Compare final word count to SERP median. Should be within +/- 25% of median. Far below = thin; far above = bloat.
8. Re-test rank movement 4-8 weeks after publish. Depth changes propagate as Google re-evaluates the page; shifts in rank from depth optimization typically show within two crawl cycles.

Quick quiz: are you ready to right-size your own content?

Five questions, takes two minutes. We'll show you the right answer and a one-line explanation after each one.

Next up in Keyword Research & Content

Right-sized content covers the depth a query expects. The next risk is fragmenting that depth across multiple URLs that compete with each other. From here:

• Duplicate content pitfalls - how to find and fix duplicate content issues at scale.
• Content briefs that rank - how to write briefs that produce ranking content.
• Tracking and analytics setup - the verification checklist that closes the SEO measurement loop.