Text share

What we check

We count the words of the visible text on the home page and calculate what share the text makes up of the whole HTML.

• Fewer than 150 words: warning.
• Less than 5 % text share of the HTML: note.

In the report you see both values. This check counts for little, at most 5 of 100 points in the area.

Why it matters

Many home pages consist of a large image, a slogan, three icons with two words each and a "Contact" button. For people this can look good. For machines it is almost empty.

• AI assistants can only reproduce what is there as text. If someone asks "Which online shop delivers spare parts for coffee machines?", a page where this is stated in one sentence helps more than a beautiful picture of a coffee machine.
• Google needs text to understand what the page is relevant for. A home page with 40 words competes badly with one that describes offer, target group and special features.
• Visitors want to know whether they are in the right place. One or two paragraphs with concrete details create more trust than buzzwords.

A very low text share of the HTML also shows that there is a lot of code around little content, typical of heavy page builders.

How to fix it

On the home page describe in full sentences:

1. What the company or organisation offers. The most important services or products, as concretely as possible.
2. For whom. Private customers, companies, administrations, particular industries?
3. Where. Markets, delivery area or locations, for an on-site offer also town and service area.
4. What sets the company apart. Experience, certifications, guarantees, service, on the market since 1972.
5. How to reach the company. Contact options as text, for locations also address and opening hours.

300 to 600 words are a good guideline for a home page. Structure the text with subheadings and short paragraphs.

Example

Instead of: "Quality. Precision. Passion."

Better: "We are Muster AG and have been developing software for payroll and time tracking since 2005. Our customers are accounting firms, public administrations and companies of every size across Europe."

Text instead of image

If important text is in an image, such as a slogan on the header image or opening hours as a graphic, put it as real text over or next to it.

How to check it yourself

On the home page select all text with Ctrl+A, copy it into a word processor and have the words counted. Subtract menu and footer. What remains is the content that machines understand of the home page.

Frequently asked questions

Does a lot of text not look cluttered?

Not if it is well structured. Short paragraphs with subheadings read easily. Anyone who wants only the essentials skims the headings, anyone who wants to know more reads on.

Does text in images count?

No. Text in images, graphics or videos cannot be read reliably by search engines and AI assistants. It is also missing for people with screen reading software.