The name of the readability web app is Originality.ai. But their readability scoring feature is just one of an arsenal of features. They specialize in helping content writers publish original content by making sure their written content is non-plagiarized, non-paraphrased and not AI generated.

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Case Study | Google Readability Scoring

According to a case study documented by Jonathan Gillham of Originality.ai, the top 20 ranking web pages on Google have approximately the same level of readability.

That means readability is a metric Google uses to rank pages in SERPs. So you should pay very close attention to the level of readability in your documents if you want to rank, especially if you’re in a competitive niche.

Google has accumulated tonnes of data on user behavior already so we can assume that the level of readability they are rewarding in SERPs is the optimum level. They have long figured out the sweet spot readability score which satisfies the majority of people querying for answers in Google.

The problem with this sweet spot is that it is not the same for different types of readability scoring systems. Each system has its own way and scale of calculating the readability score. So the right readability score to target when writing content depends on the system you’re using to measure your readability.

Readability score to target

These are the optimum readability scores for readability systems used by the most popular writing software.

This is just a handful. There are lots of them. If you feel like, you can learn about more readability scoring systems here. Another problem related to this that I am sure most people face here is that they don’t know which readability system is used by the writing software they use. So here is a pairing of the most popular writing softwares and the readability scoring system they use.

My experience writing and optimizing readability

I have used most popular writing softwares and wordpress plugins and each has its pros and cons. My writing workflow typically involves first writing the article, then copying and pasting my writing in different softwares to check for plagiarism, paraphrase plagiarism, ChatGBT plagiarism and of course, readability.

If you’re only a student writing a college essay, your writing will only go as far as getting you grades at the end of the semester. So it may not be necessary to go through all the hussle of pushing the boundaries of perfection in writing.

But if your writing determines how engaged your customers/clients are in your product/service, how many leads you generate, the conversion rate of your landing pages and how much money you make; then PERFECTION IS NECESSARY.

That’s why readability is stressfully important. Your success is hinged to it. I have already shown you the level of readability you should target to be appealing to most people and to rank better in SERPs. However, that does not make writing any easier. You still have to sit down and grind.

But grinding using multiple tools just to maintain a certain level of enticement and authenticity can be pricey and tedius. I’ve stopped using other tools like grammarly and Word (no offense, Grammarly is freaking awesome) to audit my writing because it’s not enough anymore.

We’re now competing with AI. ChatGBT has made it possible for every Tom and Jerry out there to write and publish hundreds of articles at the click of a button. AI generated content is fine but it lacks one thing. It is not original. And that’s your competitive advantage when you’re competing with AI.

So if you couple optimized readability and originality, that’s your killer bomb to win in this AI-content flooded marketplace. Writing original content is hard if you do things manually. But if you use a tool like Originality.ai, it’s smoother.

That’s the tool I’m using now. Their readability analyser is tuned to specifically fit Google’s prefered readability level. And at the same time the tool scans my writing to check for originality and different forms of plagiarism. So not only do I optimize for readability but I stand out from the AI crowd.

After the Google Helpful Content Update, the dominant metric determining the SERPs is “info gain“. Info gain refers to new content that is not found anywhere else on the internet.

That just translates to original content. It is only original content that is being ranked at the top nowadays. That’s why Reddit is outranking full-fledged topical-authority-based keyword-optimized backlink-infested blogs. So go original and provide value in your writing, thank me later.

Key Takeaways

• Know the readability scoring system used in the writing software you use.
• Audit your writing to fit the optimum readability level that satisfies the majority of people.
• Take readability more seriously, your success sits on it.
• Write original content, do not use AI for professional and money-at-stake writing.