Google has never listed "readability" as a ranking factor — it does not have to. It measures what readers do: bounce, scroll, return to results. Hard-to-read pages lose those behavioural votes, and now AI answer engines add a second penalty, because convoluted prose is hard to extract answers from. Clear writing wins twice.
The Flesch Score, Decoded
Flesch Reading Ease scores text from 0–100 using sentence length and syllable density. 60+ reads easily for most adults; 40–60 is workable; under 40 is heavy going. Most top-ranking commercial pages score 55–75 — not childish, just clear. Our free content analyzer computes yours instantly.
"Nobody has ever left a website because it was too easy to understand."
The Three Fixes With the Biggest Effect
Cut sentence length. Average under 20 words; anything past 28 gets split. Swap jargon for the word a customer would say. "Utilise" is "use" wearing a lanyard. Front-load answers. First sentence answers, following sentences elaborate — the pattern both skimming humans and AI extractors reward.
Structure Is Readability Too
Subheadings every few paragraphs, one idea per paragraph, questions as H2s where natural. The analyzer's Pro report goes further — flagging your longest sentences verbatim, detecting passive voice, and measuring transition-word flow.
Test a Page Right Now
Paste your homepage copy into the analyzer. If it scores under 50, you have found a cheaper ranking improvement than any backlink campaign.