(Entry was posted by Aleta Curry on this post in the Dumb SEO Questions community on Facebook, 07/24/2013).

Should you `dumb down` your writing to help your SEO?

Do you folks `dumb down` your writing to help your SEO? (And, parenthetically, how important is the Flesch Reading Ease test?)

I`m working on a new site and in my quest for ever-better SEO, I`m using a program that analyses each page on the site for SEO.

One of the consistent results I`m getting is that my content is considered hard to read by the Flesch Reading Ease test. This is depressing news, as I don`t think my web writing is particularly erudite. Lord only knows what abysmal score I would get for my academic writing.

I am not inclined to change the way I write, but perhaps I should not be so stubborn. Would you say this was an important part of SEO?

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YOUR ANSWERS

Selected answers from the Dumb SEO Questions Facebook & G+ community.

Yasser Mohamed: Totally agree - I tried "dumbing down" my writing and it was still rated as difficult to read! ; For the most part, I ignore the Flesch reading ease assesment and concentrate on the keywords, descriptions, images, headings, titles, etc. I am not sure how much weight the Flesch carries in terms of SEO - anyone?
Aleta Curry: Thanks for the fast response, +Yasser Mohamed

I'm with you, but need validation from the experts, particularly if this is something I need to consider to improve business performance - sigh.
Carthage Buckley: I am no expert either but I ignore the Flesch rating. I re-read my posts to check that they say what I intended to say and then I send them out into the ether.
Lori Eldridge: I don't bother with Flesch. I write for my target audience which is site owners who know next to nothing about SEO.
Matt Raynes: Write content for your audience. ; Emphasis on keywords should be placed within the semantics - title tags, h1s -> 3s and alts.
Nevin Thompson: Writing in natural language - how people search - is key. Google does not take into account readability, but does track actions such as conversions (traveling to a different part of the site), time spent on site, how quickly visitors exit the site. Readability is a key factor effecting visitor behavior. Calls to action are important, as are links to then click through to other parts of the site. So, not only are you measuring visitor behavior, Google is too, and poo r on-page engagement will harm your Search ranking. So, write using the natural language of your audience and prospective customer.
Jim Munro: Aleta, I am sorry. Somehow i missed putting your question on the run list for last night. I will make sure it's the first one we cover next week.
Aleta Curry: It's not a problem, Jim!

I should have made clear that the suggestion the SEO program makes is for me to write using shorter sentences and less difficult words.
;Perhaps you could add that in?
Jim Munro: yep. :)