Checks
Reading ease
Scores the page's extracted main content using a Flesch reading-ease heuristic and flags text that reads as very difficult due to long sentences or complex words.
What this check looks for
Using the readability-extracted main content, this check computes a Flesch reading-ease score from average sentence length and word complexity. It requires at least 50 words of extracted text to run at all — otherwise it reports "na". A score under 30 (very difficult, comparable to dense academic or legal writing) warns, citing the score along with the average sentence length and sentence count as evidence. A score of 30 or higher passes.
Why it matters
Reading ease correlates with how much cognitive effort a page demands, and demanding, jargon-heavy prose loses both search visibility and conversions — most searchers, even in technical fields, scan rather than study, and a page that reads like a legal contract gets abandoned before its useful information is found. It matters just as much, arguably more, for AI answer engines: a model extracting a citable claim from your page has an easier time isolating a clear, direct sentence than untangling a 40-word sentence with three nested clauses, and clearer prose is simply more likely to survive intact into a quoted answer.
How to fix it
Shorten sentences and prefer plain words over dense phrasing:
<!-- Hard to parse -->
<p>The implementation of adaptive noise-cancellation technology, which leverages
a dual-microphone array in conjunction with real-time digital signal processing
algorithms, facilitates the attenuation of ambient acoustic interference.</p>
<!-- Clearer -->
<p>Adaptive noise cancellation uses two microphones and real-time processing
to block out background noise as you listen.</p>Aim for a reading-ease score above 50 where the topic allows — some technical or legal content will always score lower, but most marketing and support copy shouldn't.
See how your site scores on this check