Keyword Density
How to use the Word Counter
Word counts drive content briefs, social-post limits, and SEO targets. The counter calculates everything in real-time as you paste or type.
Paste your text
Drop in any text — article draft, social post, email body, ad copy. The counter updates as you type.
Read the metrics
Words, characters (with and without spaces), sentences, paragraphs, average word length, and estimated reading time (based on 230 wpm).
Use for content targets
Common targets: 1,500 words for blog posts, 280 chars for X (Twitter), 110 chars for SERP descriptions, 60 chars for SEO titles, 30 secs reading time for landing-page hero copy.
Why word count is a content-strategy lever, not just a metric
Word count alone doesn't predict SEO success — but matching content depth to user intent does. Knowing exactly how long your competitors' pages are, and matching that depth, is one of the simplest competitive checks.
Word count benchmarks by content type
- Blog post (informational) — 1,500–2,500 words.
- Pillar page / hub — 3,000–5,000+ words.
- Listicle — list length × 100–200 words/item + intro/conclusion.
- Product page — 300–800 words (concise sells).
- Landing page — 600–1,200 words (depends on price point).
- Meta description — 140–160 characters.
- SEO title — 50–60 characters (or under 580 px).
- X (Twitter) post — 280 characters.
- LinkedIn post — 1,300 characters before truncation.
How to use word count for SEO
The most useful word-count strategy: extract the median word count of the top 10 ranking pages for your target keyword and match it. Going much shorter signals thin content; going much longer signals padded content. Match the depth Google has already decided is right for the query.
Reading time formula
Standard reading speed: 230 words per minute for adult silent reading of average-difficulty text. Technical content reads slower (180 wpm); fiction reads faster (260 wpm). Reading time is useful for landing pages (under 30 seconds for hero copy), email newsletters (under 5 minutes), and full articles (under 12 minutes for general audiences).
Frequently asked questions
What's the ideal word count for a blog post?
Depends on the keyword. The reliable approach: pull the top 10 ranking pages for your target keyword, calculate the median word count, and match. Most informational queries land at 1,500–2,500 words. Pillar pages run 3,000–5,000+. Product and landing pages are shorter (300–800 words).
Does longer content always rank better?
No. Word count correlates with rankings only when the depth matches user intent. A 5,000-word essay on a query with simple intent gets bounced; a 1,200-word focused answer on the same query dwells. Match length to intent, not to a target number. Padding hurts; depth helps.
What's the average reading speed?
230 words per minute for adult silent reading of average-difficulty text. Technical or academic content reads slower (~180 wpm). Fiction reads faster (~260 wpm). Reading aloud is much slower (~150 wpm) — useful when calculating audio or video script length.
How do I count words in different languages?
Word boundaries vary. English uses spaces, so word count is straightforward. Chinese and Japanese have no spaces between words, so "word count" usually means character count instead. The counter handles space-delimited languages directly; for CJK languages, use the character count metric.
Should I write longer content for SEO?
Only if the topic genuinely needs the depth. Padding to hit a word count target is the most common mistake — Google rewards focused depth, not bulk. Cover the topic thoroughly without filler. The right length is whatever it takes to answer the user's question completely, no more.