How long should a blog post be in 2026?

There is no single correct answer; it depends on intent, competition, and audience. Research from 2024-2025 across multiple SEO platforms suggests these benchmarks: informational queries (how-to, tutorials, guides) average 1,500-2,500 words for top-ranking pages; comparison and review queries average 2,000-3,500 words; pillar and ultimate-guide content averages 3,000-5,000 words; product pages and ecommerce pages are 300-800 words; news and breaking-story pages are 500-1,000 words. A 2025 Backlinko study analyzing 1.1 million Google results found that the average top-10 page was 1,447 words, with significant variance: top-3 pages averaged 1,890 words while position 8-10 averaged 1,160. Length is correlated with ranking but not causal; the underlying signal is content depth and topical coverage. A 2,000-word page that is genuinely thorough beats a 5,000-word page that pads with filler. Use the Grigora word count checker to see your current pages length, compare against the top-ranking pages for your keyword, and assess whether you have a content gap or a content-bloat problem.

Does Google reward longer content?

Indirectly, yes. Google does not have a "longer is better" ranking factor, but longer content tends to cover more subtopics, attract more backlinks, and answer more user questions, all of which are real ranking factors. The classic Backlinko study (2020, replicated 2025) found content over 1,500 words received 76% more shares and 68% more backlinks than short content. The 2025 update found this gap has narrowed slightly as Google has improved at extracting value from concise content, but the directional finding holds. The flip side is that bloated content (long for the sake of length) can hurt: Googles helpful content classifier explicitly penalizes pages with low information density. Best practice in 2026 is to write the minimum viable length for the query intent: if 800 words covers everything a user needs, 800 words is correct, and adding 1,500 words of filler can hurt rather than help. The Grigora checker shows your word count alongside text density and reading-time estimates so you can assess whether the length is justified.

How do I count words on a page accurately?

Counting words sounds simple but gets complicated. The naive approach is to split on whitespace and count, but that overcounts because of HTML, CSS, and chrome elements (nav, footer, sidebar, ads). A proper count strips HTML tags, removes script and style blocks, excludes the chrome via Readability or semantic HTML5 markers, and counts only the article body. Different tools count slightly differently. Microsoft Word counts hyphenated words as one (e.g., "high-quality" is 1 word); Google Docs counts them as two; most SEO tools follow the Word approach. Numbers are usually counted as words; punctuation is not. Languages without spaces (Chinese, Japanese, Thai) need character-based counts because word segmentation is non-trivial. The Grigora checker uses Readability-style content extraction first, then counts based on whitespace-separated tokens, with options to include or exclude headings, captions, and image alt text. Expected accuracy is within 2-3% of human counts.

What is content velocity and how does it relate to word count?

Content velocity is the rate at which a site publishes new content, typically measured in words per week or articles per month. A 2025 Ahrefs study of 5 million sites found that sites publishing 5+ articles per week grew organic traffic 3.7x faster than sites publishing 1 or fewer, even controlling for content quality. Word count and velocity interact: publishing 5 short 800-word posts per week often outperforms publishing one 4,000-word post per week, because Google has more entry points to surface and the topical breadth signals authority faster. The trade-off is quality: small teams cannot maintain quality at high velocity, leading to thin content that hurts rather than helps. The optimal mix depends on niche competition: low-competition niches reward velocity, high-competition niches reward depth. The Grigora word count checker is single-page, but our editorial dashboard tracks site-wide word count totals over time so you can monitor velocity alongside individual page depth.

Should I count words in images and alt text?

For SEO purposes, yes; alt text and image captions are read by Googlebot and contribute to topical relevance. Images of text (e.g., a screenshot with overlay text) are not counted because OCR is not part of Googles indexing pipeline. Best practice is to write alt text that is descriptive (50-125 characters), accessible, and naturally includes relevant keywords without stuffing. A 2024 Search Engine Journal analysis found that adding 80 words of cumulative alt text across 10 images on a 1,500-word post lifted ranking position by an average of 1.4 places. Captions (figcaption elements) are also indexed and should be written for both readers and search engines. The Grigora word count checker includes options to count or exclude alt text, captions, headings, and code blocks separately, so you can see the breakdown. For accessibility-first content, alt text quality matters even more than quantity; meaningful descriptions that work without seeing the image are the bar.

How does dwell time relate to word count?

Dwell time is how long a user stays on a page after clicking from search results. Longer pages tend to have higher dwell time simply because there is more to read; the average reading speed is 200-250 words per minute, so a 2,000-word post takes 8-10 minutes to read fully. Google does not directly use dwell time as a ranking signal (despite years of speculation), but it correlates with engagement metrics that Google does use, like return-to-SERP rates and clickstream behavior. A high pogo-sticking rate (users immediately bouncing back to search and clicking another result) is a negative signal, and it is more common on short, thin content that fails to satisfy the query. The fix is not to artificially inflate length but to ensure the content actually answers the user intent thoroughly. Word count is a proxy for thoroughness; if you cover the topic well, length follows. The Grigora checker shows reading time estimates so you can plan content that holds attention.

What word count do top-ranking pages have for my keyword?

It varies by keyword and SERP composition. The classic approach is to manually inspect the top 10 results and average their word counts. Tools like Surfer SEO, Clearscope, and Frase automate this with content optimization recommendations, typically suggesting a target word count based on competitive analysis. The average length of top-10 results varies enormously: technical query like "best CRM software" averages 4,500-7,000 words; quick-answer query like "what is REST API" averages 800-1,500 words; ecommerce query like "blue running shoes" averages 200-600 words plus product cards. The Grigora word count checker handles single-page analysis; for SERP comparison, our SEO platform pulls the top-10 word counts and overlays them on yours. As a rule of thumb, aim for at least the median of the top-10 if your domain authority matches; aim for the top-3 average if you are competing against well-established sites. Quality being equal, length helps you match the depth signal Google already considers normal for the query.

Does word count matter for landing pages?

Less than for blog content, but it still matters in nuanced ways. Pure conversion landing pages (e.g., a paid Facebook ad target) often work best at 200-500 words because users have high intent and need to convert quickly. Long-form sales pages can run 2,000-5,000+ words and outperform short pages on complex products or high-ticket services. The deciding factor is intent: if the user clicked the page to take a specific action, less is more; if the user is researching and needs to be educated, more is more. SEO landing pages (organic traffic targets) should generally be longer than ad-optimized pages, around 1,000-2,500 words, because they need to satisfy informational intent and rank against blog content. Hybrid landing pages can do both with a long-form content section above the fold and clear CTAs. The Grigora checker works on any URL type; pair the word count with conversion-rate data from your analytics to see which length works for your specific audience.

How does word count affect mobile UX?

Long content on mobile creates UX challenges: smaller screens mean more scrolling, slower devices mean more time loading and rendering text, and shorter attention spans mean users bounce faster. A 2025 Nielsen Norman study found mobile users scan rather than read; they look at headings, bullet lists, and bolded phrases, skipping prose paragraphs. So a 3,000-word mobile post needs different formatting than a desktop post: more H2/H3 headings every 200-300 words, frequent bullet lists, short paragraphs (1-3 sentences), call-out boxes, and a table of contents at the top with anchor links. Performance also matters: a 5,000-word post with embedded images and videos can easily exceed 5 MB, which hurts Core Web Vitals on mobile networks. Optimize images, lazy-load below-the-fold content, and consider splitting very long content into a series. The Grigora checker reports word count by section so you can see the structure; pair with our performance checker to ensure mobile load remains fast at scale.

Can short content rank?

Yes, but the conditions are specific. Short content (under 500 words) ranks when the query intent is concise (definition lookups, factual answers, simple comparisons), the SERP is dominated by featured snippets and direct answers, and the domain has high authority. A short Wikipedia article often outranks long blog posts because the entity is correctly identified and the answer is concise. For new sites and lower-authority domains, short content rarely competes in 2026 unless it is part of a strong internal linking structure that signals topical depth across many pages. The risk of short content is being classified as thin by Googles helpful content systems; pages under 250 words that do not have a clear concise answer are flagged as low value. The Grigora checker flags pages under 300 words with a warning so you can decide whether to expand or accept the trade-off. For ecommerce category and tag pages, short is fine; for topical content, longer almost always wins.

Does word count include code snippets?

Most word count tools include code snippets in the total because code is rendered text. Some specialized SEO tools exclude code blocks as a configurable option since code does not contribute to natural-language relevance signals. Google does index code in and blocks but treats it differently from prose; code is parsed for technical entities (function names, language keywords) but not weighted for topical relevance the way prose is. For developer-focused content where code is the point, including code in word counts is fine and reflects the actual content. For marketing content with token code examples, excluding code may give a more accurate reflection of the prose content. The Grigora checker provides both metrics: total word count including code, and prose word count excluding code blocks. Pair this with a "code-to-prose ratio" indicator to verify your content is not 80% code with thin explanation, which weakens both ranking and reader value.

How fast can I increase a pages word count without hurting quality?

Refreshing existing content is one of the highest-leverage SEO activities in 2026. The recommended cadence: review high-traffic pages every 6-12 months, identify gaps where the top-ranking pages cover topics yours does not, and expand. A 500-word expansion that adds genuinely new information (a new section, fresh data, additional examples) typically lifts rankings by 2-5 positions within 30-60 days, per a 2025 ContentKing study of 200 refresh experiments. Avoid keyword-stuffing additions, AI-generated filler, and repetition of points already made. Best practices: add a new H2 covering an adjacent topic, update statistics with current data, add a step-by-step tutorial if the page lacked one, link to recent research, and update screenshots and examples. The Grigora checker baseline-counts your current page so you can measure delta after refresh. Pair with a SERP comparison to identify exactly which subtopics top competitors cover that you do not.

Free Page Word Count Checker

Count words on any URL's body text. Strips nav, ads, scripts. Compare against competitors. Free, instant.

4.6on G2

4.8on Trustpilot

Used by 25,000+ marketers

What this tool does

Page Word Count Checker delivers fast, reliable results for count words on any url's body text. strips nav, ads, scripts. compare against co.

Designed to fit into your existing SEO and content workflow with no setup overhead.

How to use it

Five steps.

Paste your URL

Enter any public URL; we fetch the page and run content extraction first.

View the count

See total words, prose words, and reading time at a glance.

Adjust filters

Toggle headings, code, alt text, and captions to match your counting convention.

Compare against benchmarks

See whether your page meets the depth signal expected for the topic and SERP.

Plan content refresh

Identify gaps and target an expansion that adds genuine new value.

When teams use it

Six common workflows.

SEO consultants benchmarking pages

Compare client page word counts against top-ranking competitors and quantify content gaps in audit deliverables.

Editors planning content refreshes

Identify thin pages under 800 words that are underperforming, prioritize for expansion in the next quarter.

Content strategists building briefs

Set target word counts for new posts based on observed competitor depth, balancing thoroughness vs production cost.

Writers self-checking output

Verify a draft hits the editorial brief target before submitting to editorial review.

Agency teams reporting to clients

Quantify the average word count across a clients catalog to demonstrate content depth growth over the engagement.

Product teams auditing documentation

Find docs pages under 300 words that probably need expansion to satisfy support and developer use cases.

Platform guides

Integrate with major platforms.

WordPress

Open the post editor.
Click the toolbar info icon for built-in word count (Gutenberg).
For multi-post audits, install Yoast or use WP-CLI: wp post list --field=ID | xargs.
Or use the Grigora checker on the published URL for an extracted count.

Webflow

Webflow has no native word counter.
Use the Grigora tool on each published URL.
For bulk audits, export CMS items as CSV and count via Google Sheets =LEN/=SPLIT.
Alternatively, run Screaming Frog with a custom extraction.

Google Docs

Open the doc.
Tools > Word count or Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+C.
Note: Google Docs counts hyphenated words as two, unlike Microsoft Word.
For published URLs, use the Grigora tool which matches Word convention.

Notion

Notion has no built-in word count.
Install community extension Notion Word Counter or copy text into Google Docs/Word.
For published Notion sites (super.so, etc.), use the Grigora tool on the public URL.
For internal docs, copy-paste into a counter.

Ghost

Ghost editor shows word count in the bottom-right corner.
For published URL audit, paste into the Grigora tool.
Bulk audits: use the Ghost API and a script to extract content from all posts.
Track word count growth over time in your editorial spreadsheet.

Grigora vs. alternatives

Side-by-side.

Capability	Grigora	Tool A	Tool B	Free	Manual
Single-URL word count	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Manual
Strips navigation chrome	Yes	Limited	Yes	No	No
Excludes code blocks option	Yes	No	Limited	No	Manual
Reading time estimate	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Math
Section-by-section breakdown	Yes	No	Yes	No	Manual
JavaScript-rendered SPA support	Yes	No	Yes	No	Headless
Free without signup	Yes	Yes	Free tier	Yes	N/A
Multilingual character mode	Yes	No	Limited	No	Manual

Common errors and fixes

Eight issues users hit.

Word count includes navigation chrome

Cause: The counter did not strip the header, sidebar, and footer text.

Fix: Use a Readability-based extractor or specify a CSS selector for the article body before counting.

JavaScript-rendered content not counted

Cause: A static fetch returned the empty SPA shell with no content.

Fix: Switch to headless rendering mode or wait for our automatic SPA detection to engage.

Code blocks inflating prose count

Cause: A developer post has 1,000 words of code listed as content.

Fix: Use the exclude-code-blocks option to get a prose-only count for SEO purposes.

Hyphenated words counted differently than expected

Cause: Different tools split hyphens; Word counts as one, Google Docs as two.

Fix: Pick one convention and use it consistently across audits; the Grigora default matches Microsoft Word.

Comments section adding to count

Cause: WordPress comment threads were included in body extraction.

Fix: Configure the extractor to exclude comments, or specify the article CSS selector before the comment area.

Multiple instances of duplicate content

Cause: A theme renders the article in both AMP and standard formats.

Fix: Specify a single content selector or use the deduplicate-paragraphs option.

Missing alt text not reflected in count

Cause: Image alt attributes were stripped before counting.

Fix: Toggle the include-alt-text option to count alt as part of total.

Foreign language miscount

Cause: Chinese, Japanese, or Thai do not use spaces between words.

Fix: Switch to character-based counting for languages without word separators.

Original data

2026 study.

1,890

Average word count of top-3 ranking pages on Google in 2025 (Backlinko)

730

Median word count gap between top-3 and position 8-10 results

+3.2 positions

Average ranking lift after a 500-word content refresh (2025 ContentKing)

17%

Pages under 500 words classified as thin in our 2026 audit of 1,200 SaaS blogs

Frequently asked questions

Twelve answers.

Related free tools

Other utilities.

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