Reading Level filters and rankings

[moehits]

I'm looking for research on reading level settings and Google rankings.

Is there any solid research on how or if this affects the default rankings?

It looks like it varies based on the query term. If I set it to various reading levels, sites I manage will go up and down in the rankings. Would it worth trying to "fit in" with or "stick out" with the other results?

Is this area worth exploring, if so, any pointers would be helpful.

[tedster]

I have never seen a study and it certainly does sound worthwhile to me. Rather than giving you pointers, I just want to give you encouragement. You may well be a pioneer!

[moehits]

I was wondering if anyone who has a site that got hit by panda can check rankings while matching what Google says the reading level of the page is, and see what happens.

This could be nothing, it's a much smaller result set when you change the levels.