Have you ever wondered how SEOs determine how well a website will rank on Google or Bing? The process involves finding your SEO score and using it to improve the ranking of your page. These experts optimize a number of search metrics that will ultimately determine how your articles and blogs compete for selected keywords.
You can use this tool to find your free SEO score.
What is SEO Score?
The SEO score is the overall technical rating that a website obtains by completing criteria established by the Google search engine. Google works to provide relevant data to search queries, and of such, uses a range of standards, called algorithms, to select the best response.
SEO scores are established by four main metrics, but some SEO Apps such as KeySearch, detail as many as 12. Here are the most commonly used
1. Meta tags
Meta tags are descriptive phrases used to communicate directly with search bots. They are usually not visible to the public, even though the title may show up at the top of a loaded page.
Search engines use these tags to index a website title and description. Google may choose to select a part of the introduction instead of the meta description.
Meta Title: The title is a short phrase that describes your website or article. It has a maximum of 60 characters including space.
SEO Tip: Try to keep it closer to 55. This weighs heavily on your SEO score, so make sure it is well-written and that it includes your primary keyword.
Meta Description: The description tag is a brief summary of what your website or blog is about. The standard is 160 characters including space.
SEO Tip: Try to keep it closer to 150. Google may decide to use it or use part of your introduction paragraph. Keep it well defined and be sure to include your primary keyword.
Meta Tags: The meta tags are the keywords that you wish to be ranked for. Most articles are created around a main keyword or phrase known as the primary keyword.
SEO Tip:: Try to use about five.
2. Content structure and usage in SEO Score
The second metric used to establish the SEO score of a website or blog is how the content is structured. SEOs write around a primary keyword or phrase. The piece is then written against an outline that includes the main subtitles with secondary keywords.
Use the primary keyword or phrase once in the header, once in the introduction, in the conclusion, and at least once in the body, depending on the length of the article.
Sometimes SEOs may choose to distribute a number of LSI keywords throughout the document to improve its corporal authority value. Making sure not to use them too frequently. Once or twice should do the trick.
SEO Tip: Use your primary Keyword in at least 40% of your subheading. For longer articles, you may consider increasing the volume.
Images: when inserting images in your work be sure that they are free stock photos, and they will impress your viewer. Pay close attention to this, images add value to your piece
- Use alt tags with your images and be sure to include your primary keyword
- You can use a guiding rule of 1 image per 400 words, unless your competitor used more in the piece
Internal and external links: Insert up to 3 internal links, or pages on your website. Make sure that they relate to the keyword you are linking them to.
It is necessary to add up to three external page links in your articles. These could be sources or highly relevant websites. Try to use websites that have an extension such as .edu, .gov, or org.
There is something else to consider especially for longer articles, how will readers react?
3. Readability Score
The readability score defines how well it will be digested by readers. How has the author shared his ideas. It evaluates the tones, the transitions and the responses. Some SEO tools can help you with this metric, while others do not consider it important. Here are some tips:
- Use short sentences with twenty words maximum.
- Try to vary the number of sentences in your paragraphs between 3 -4 is good, but every now and then use a 2 or a 1.
- Use bulleted or numbered listings
- Use inviting titles or subleaders
- Try to avoid using ‘I’ and ‘we’ or references to yourself. Instead, focus on the user, your audience.
4. Backlinks
You may have heard people mentioning ‘off-page SEO’ or, sometimes local SEO. These are different but are not done on your website. The most important of these two is backlinking.
Backlinks allow Google to understand how people feel about your website. So, if there are more people referring to your page, then it must be of value to them.
This is no longer true, since what has happened is the birth of a new business called guest posting.
In guest posting the user creates a blog for another website. Some websites charge for these posts, while others allow them freely. The benefit is a high valued backlink on an authority website.
Having many backlinks will improve your overall SEO score. When investigating the score of your competitors, search also for the number of backlinks that you will need to compete. Apps such as KeySearch can provide this information.
Please note that some websites will refer to this as the keyword difficulty score. For an in-depth guide on how to do on-page SEO and build links see the article: How to Write SEO Content in 7 Easy Steps
Website SEO Score
Some SEO toolkits can provide a live SEO score for your website. This score can help you understand how you fare for a given keyword. Some website score Apps may be different than Google’s or your in-house SEO tool. Use these services only as a guide.
Here are some free SEO Score tools
