Word count: why a page with two sentences does not rank.
Google ranks pages that answer the search. A cabins page that says "Cozy cabins available, call for rates" under a photo answers nothing, so it ranks for nothing, no matter how nice the photo is. We count the words on every page because the thin ones are almost always the pages that matter most.
IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Google treats pages with very little text as low value and ranks them poorly or not at all. There is no magic number, but a page that answers a real search needs a few hundred words of real information: what the sites are, how long, what hookups, what it costs, what the rules are, how to book. Park websites are commonly thin on exactly the pages guests search for, the sites page and the cabins page, because the builder template had a photo slot and one text box. We flag pages under a threshold and look at what is missing.
What thin content means
Google's term for pages that add little: a heading, an image, a sentence or two, a button. The page exists, but there is nothing on it for a search engine to match a query against or for a guest to decide with. Google would rather send the guest to a competitor's cabins page that lists four cabins with beds, kitchens, rates, and the season, because that page answers the question the guest typed.
What it looks like on a park website
- A sites page that says "Full hookup sites available" and nothing else.
- A cabins page with three photos, "Sleeps 4," and "Call for availability."
- A rates page that is a single image of a rate card, so the numbers are not text at all.
- An amenities page that is a list of icons with no words.
- Location pages for every nearby town, each with the same two paragraphs and the town name swapped, which is thin and duplicate at once.
How much is enough
Enough to answer the search. For a sites page that is the site types, lengths, hookups by amperage, surface, rates or a range by season, and the rules that change a decision. For a cabins page it is each cabin with beds, bathroom, kitchen, linens, rate, and season. For a monthly page it is the rate, what it includes, utilities, mail, laundry, pets, and how to apply. That usually lands between four hundred and a thousand words, written for a guest, not padded for a count. The words have to be text on the page, not inside an image or a PDF.
What it costs a park
The thin page is usually the money page. A cabins page that cannot rank means every "cabins near [town]" search goes to someone else, and those are high-value bookings. A rates page that is an image cannot rank for "RV park rates [town]" and cannot be read by the AI assistants travelers now ask. The park has the cabins and the rates; the site just does not say so in a way anything can read.
How to check your own site
- Open your sites, rates, and cabins pages and select all the text. If it fits in a text message, the page is thin.
- Check whether the rates are text or an image. If you cannot select the numbers with your cursor, they are an image.
- Ask whether a stranger could book from the page without calling. If not, the missing answers are the missing words.
What we do about it
The pages we build answer the search: real site details, real rates or ranges, real rules, in text. We write from a call with the owner, because the owner knows the answers and just never put them on the page. When we take over a site, the sites and cabins pages are usually rewritten first, and they are usually the pages that start ranking first. What each page should contain.
Questions about this.
How many words should an RV park web page have?
Enough to answer the search it is for, usually four hundred to a thousand words on the sites, cabins, and rates pages. Real information in text, not padding, and not inside images or PDFs.
Is a page with just photos bad for SEO?
Yes. Google cannot match a search to a page with no text, and AI assistants cannot summarize it. Photos should sit next to the facts, not replace them.
Should rates be text on the page?
Yes. A rate card as an image cannot be read by search engines or assistants and cannot rank for rate searches. Put rates or ranges in text, with the season.
Do more pages help if they are short?
No. Many thin pages, especially near-duplicate town pages, hurt more than they help. Fewer pages that fully answer their searches rank better.
Want this checked on your park site?
Send us the address. We run the full check and tell you what we found, in plain words. SEO for parks starts at $250 a month.
Part of the RV park SEO guide, section: The technical check. Previous: Structured data: telling Google exactly what your park is. Next: Dead placeholder links: the buttons that go nowhere.