// words · characters · sentences · paragraphs · reading time · keyword density
Word and character counts matter everywhere: Twitter/X has a 280-character limit, SMS is 160, meta descriptions should be under 160, LinkedIn posts up to 3000. Blog posts for SEO typically target 1500–2500 words, while email subject lines perform best under 50 characters.
Reading time uses an average silent reading speed of 200 words per minute (wpm) for adults. Speaking time uses 130 wpm, typical for presentations. These are averages — complex technical content is read ~25% slower, and casual content ~25% faster.
Word count is a fundamental metric for writers, editors, students, and content creators. Academic papers, blog posts, job application essays, and social media posts all have specific length requirements or optimal ranges. Knowing your word count helps you stay within limits and ensures your content is appropriately thorough for its purpose.
For SEO, content length is strongly correlated with search rankings. Blog posts that rank on the first page of Google average 1,400-1,800 words. This is because longer content tends to cover topics more comprehensively, attracts more backlinks, and keeps readers engaged longer — all signals that Google uses to evaluate content quality.
Reading time estimates help you understand whether your content matches your audience's attention span. A 2-minute read is appropriate for a social media post or news update. A 10-minute read suits an in-depth tutorial or analysis. A 30-minute read is appropriate for a comprehensive guide or whitepaper.
Twitter/X — 280 characters per tweet
LinkedIn post — 3,000 characters (shows "see more" after ~210)
Instagram caption — 2,200 characters
Google meta description — 155-160 characters
Google page title — 50-60 characters
SMS message — 160 characters (single), 153 per segment (multi)
Email subject line — 40-60 characters for best open rates
YouTube description — 5,000 characters (first 157 shown in search)
., !, and ? and filtering out fragments. This is an approximation — abbreviations and decimal numbers can occasionally throw off the count.