content
How to fix: Word count meets category baseline
Part of the Content Quality pillar on the Site Integrity Index.
Why this matters
Below a category-specific word floor, pages usually fail to demonstrate framework knowledge, real examples, or buyer-question coverage — regardless of how polished the design is. Depth is a proxy for expertise.
Background
What it checks: the page has enough depth for its content category — thin pages (under roughly 300-400 words for a guide-type page) don't carry enough substance to be treated as authoritative. Why it matters: both ranking and AI-citation systems treat very short pages as low-effort or incomplete, even if technically accurate.
References
Editorial content-quality signal — word-count baseline heuristic. Guide-type pages under 300-400 words consistently underperform in both search ranking and AI-citation eligibility.
How to fix
Expand with genuinely useful detail — examples, edge cases, what happens if you don't fix the issue — not padding. If a topic genuinely only needs 150 words, that's a sign it should be a section within a longer page, not standalone. Don't pad with fluff; instead, ask "what would a reader who found this page still not know at the end?" and answer that.
Verify it's working
Word-count the visible body copy (excluding nav, footer, code blocks). Aim for at least 400 words on any guide-type page; reference cards can be shorter but should link to a longer canonical page.
Want to know if your site has this issue?
Run a free audit — security, GDPR, technical SEO, AEO/GEO, and WCAG accessibility.
Audit my site →