Before you hit publish, it helps to know whether your article is well optimized for search. An SEO score is a numerical or color-coded rating provided by various tools that evaluate on-page factors like keyword usage, readability, headings, meta data, and links. While Google does not use any third-party SEO score in its rankings, these tools offer useful checklists that help writers catch mistakes and improve content quality. This guide explains how to check an article's SEO score and how to use the results wisely.
How AAMAX.CO Goes Beyond Scores to Deliver Rankings
A green light from a plugin does not guarantee top rankings. AAMAX.CO is a full-service digital marketing company offering Web Development, Digital Marketing, and SEO Services worldwide, and their specialists evaluate articles the way search engines do: by intent match, depth, expertise, technical health, and authority. Through their comprehensive SEO services, they audit content, fix underlying issues, and optimize articles for both traditional search and AI-driven answer engines, helping businesses turn well-scored content into genuinely high-performing content.
What an SEO Score Measures
Most SEO scoring tools analyze a similar set of factors:
- Presence of a focus keyword in the title, headings, introduction, and URL
- Meta title and meta description length and relevance
- Content length and depth compared with competing pages
- Heading structure and logical hierarchy
- Readability, sentence length, and paragraph length
- Internal and external links
- Image alt text and media optimization
- Coverage of related terms and subtopics
- Technical elements like page speed, mobile friendliness, and schema
Tool 1: Yoast SEO and Rank Math
If you use WordPress, Yoast SEO and Rank Math are the most common options. After entering a focus keyphrase, they provide real-time feedback as you write. Yoast uses a traffic-light system for SEO and readability, while Rank Math displays a score out of 100. Both highlight specific improvements, such as adding the keyword to a subheading or shortening long sentences.
Tool 2: Content Optimization Platforms
Tools like Surfer SEO, Clearscope, MarketMuse, Frase, and Semrush's SEO Writing Assistant compare your article against top-ranking pages for your target keyword. They generate a content score based on how well you cover relevant terms and subtopics, recommend ideal word counts, and suggest questions to answer. These are particularly useful for competitive topics where comprehensiveness matters.
Tool 3: Site Audit and Page Analysis Tools
Semrush, Ahrefs, Moz, SE Ranking, and Sitechecker provide page-level audits that assign scores based on technical and on-page issues. They can identify broken links, missing tags, duplicate content, slow load times, and indexing problems. Free tools like Seobility and SEO Site Checkup also offer quick page analyses.
Tool 4: Google's Free Tools
Google does not provide an "SEO score," but its tools are essential. PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse score performance, accessibility, best practices, and basic SEO. Google Search Console shows whether an article is indexed, which queries it ranks for, its average position, and its click-through rate. These real-world performance metrics are ultimately more important than any predictive score.
How to Check an Article's SEO Score Step by Step
- Define your target keyword: Choose a primary keyword and a few secondary terms that match the article's intent.
- Run an on-page analysis: Use Yoast, Rank Math, or a content optimization tool to assess keyword placement, structure, and readability.
- Compare with competitors: Use a content tool to see how your coverage stacks up against top results.
- Test technical performance: Run the URL through PageSpeed Insights to check speed and mobile usability.
- Review indexing and performance: After publishing, inspect the URL in Search Console and monitor impressions and clicks.
How to Interpret the Results
Treat SEO scores as guidance, not gospel. A perfect score does not guarantee rankings, and a lower score does not mean an article will fail. Tools sometimes recommend awkward keyword repetition or unnecessary length. Always prioritize the reader. If a suggestion makes the content less natural or less helpful, ignore it.
Focus on the recommendations that improve clarity and completeness: answering related questions, adding useful examples, improving headings, and strengthening internal links. These changes benefit both users and search engines.
Factors Scores Cannot Measure
Automated tools struggle to evaluate originality, expertise, accuracy, and trustworthiness. They cannot tell whether your article offers first-hand experience or unique insights, which are central to Google's quality guidelines. They also do not fully account for backlinks, brand authority, or user satisfaction signals. Complement tool-based scores with human editorial review.
Improving a Low SEO Score
If your article scores poorly, start with the basics. Add your keyword to the title and first paragraph, create a clear heading hierarchy, write a compelling meta description, add descriptive alt text, and link to relevant internal pages. Then expand thin sections, answer common questions, and improve readability by breaking up long paragraphs.
Final Thoughts
Checking an article's SEO score is a smart step in any content workflow. Use on-page plugins, content optimization platforms, audit tools, and Google's free resources together for a complete picture. But remember that the real score that matters is how well your content performs in search and how well it serves readers. Use the tools to improve quality, not to chase a number.
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