word count

Treating word count as a dial you turn up is one of the most durable SEO myths. Google’s own guidance tells creators to ask whether they are “writing to a particular word count because you’ve heard or read that Google has a preferred word count,” then answers plainly: “No, we don’t.” John Mueller has put it more bluntly: “Word count is not a ranking factor. Save yourself the trouble.”

Why length still correlates with rankings

Longer pages often do rank well, which keeps the myth alive. The length is a side effect, not the cause. A page that fully answers a query, covers the obvious follow-up questions, and earns links tends to be longer because thorough coverage takes words. Padding a thin page to hit 1,500 words adds none of that. As Mueller said, “Some pages have a lot of words that say nothing.”

Use word count as a rough depth check, not a target:

• A product spec answer might need 80 words.
• A “how to file taxes as a freelancer” guide might need 2,000.

Let the search intent set the length. If the pages ranking for your term all cover five subtopics and you cover two, the gap to close is coverage, not raw volume. Trim filler that pads the number without adding information. Google’s helpful-content questions reward substance (“Does the content provide a substantial, complete, or comprehensive description of the topic?”), and substance is what a word count is loosely standing in for.