Does reading grade level affect rankings? What level should I write for?

[stevenw]

Search engines measure the reading level of your page.

But how does it affect ranking? Should I be aiming more for a low or high Flesch–Kincaid grade level?

[DougRoberts]

Write for people, not search engines and then keep it simple. Everyone understands simple - even rocket surgeons!

The only caveat here is when you're talking to a very specific audience. In which case you'll want to use language that they use/understand otherwise you can be perceived as an "outsider" or "amature".

So - think of your audience and then keep it simple as you can.

[My-Favourite-Holiday-Cottages]

I can't quite anser how google uses it, but after looking at this recently, I was suprised at the large portion of the adult workforce has a reltivly low reading comprehension. Make sure your target audiance can read your content, then worry about google second. You might find that this alone restricts you to the point where theres not enough wiggle room to worry about the score.