On-Page SEO Analysis
The 0–100 SEO score in the editor: when posts are scored, and exactly how content length, keyword density, readability, links and alt text add up.
On this page
- When a post is scored
- How the score is calculated
- Raising the score
- When a lower score is fine
- FAQ
- Does the score affect my rankings directly?
- Is there a checklist of individual checks in the editor?
- Why didn't the score change when I edited the post?
- Does the SEO score need a hydrogenseo.com account?
- Which post types are scored?
- Related reading
Hydrogen SEO gives every post and page an SEO score from 0 to 100, shown as the badge in the header of the SEO Settings sheet. The score is a quick read on five on-page fundamentals you control in the editor: how much content there is, how the focus keyword is used, how readable the sentences are, whether the page links to other pages, and whether its images have alt text. Each is worth 20 points.
This is the per-post companion to Hydrogen SEO's site-wide audits: the audit finds problems across your whole site, while the score keeps each individual piece of content in shape as it is written.
When a post is scored
- Every time it is saved, from the block editor, the Classic editor, or an import.
- When its focus keyword changes.
- Once in the background after updating the plugin, for posts that already existed, so older content gets a score without you opening each post.
Posts are scored in any status from draft to published. Because scoring happens on save, the badge reflects the last saved version of the post, not unsaved edits. Save to see the effect of a change. Saving from Quick Edit on the Posts screen rescores the post too.
The same score appears as a coloured ring in the SEO column on the Posts, Pages and custom post type screens, where you can sort by it and filter to good (80+), needs work (60–79), poor (under 60) or not scored yet. See SEO on the Posts screen.
How the score is calculated
The five parts, 20 points each:
| Part | Full 20 points | Partial points | 0 points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content length | 1,500 or more characters of text | 15 for 800 or more; 10 for 300 or more | Under 300 |
| Focus keyword density | The focus keyword makes up 0.5–2.5 % of the words | 10 if it appears, but outside that range | No focus keyword set, or it never appears |
| Readability | Short sentences (see below) | Scaled by average sentence length | Very long sentences |
| Links | 3 or more internal links and 1 or more external link | 10 for at least one link of either kind | No links |
| Image alt text | Every image in the content has alt text | 10 if some images have alt text | No images with alt text, or no images at all |
Some details worth knowing:
- Content length counts the characters of the post's text with the HTML removed, not words. 1,500 characters is roughly 250 words of English.
- Keyword density is the number of times the focus keyword phrase appears in the text (ignoring case), divided by the number of words, as a percentage.
- Readability is based on the average number of words per sentence. The points are 20 minus 0.4 for every word in the average sentence: an average of 15 words scores 14 points, 25 words scores 10.
- Links counts links in the post content. Internal links point to your own site; external links point anywhere else.
- Image alt text looks at images in the post content. A post with no images at all scores 0 here.
The score is rounded to a whole number.
Raising the score
- Open the post and look at the badge in the SEO Settings sheet header.
- Set a focus keyword in the sheet if there is none. Without one, the keyword part can only score 0.
- Work through the parts in the table: add substance if the post is short, use the keyword naturally if it is missing or overused, split long sentences, link to related posts and a relevant external source, and fill in image alt text.
- Save the post. The badge updates with the new score.
A sensible workflow is to write first and check the score once the draft is complete. Optimising sentence by sentence while writing tends to produce stilted content; the score is a pre-publish review, not a co-author.
When a lower score is fine
The score encodes rough defaults, not laws. A short announcement, a glossary entry, a legal page with no images, or a landing page with no reason to link out will all score lower, and that can be exactly right. Use the score to catch what you forgot, not as a target to game. Consistency across your whole site is what the site health score and site audits are for.
For developers: the hydrogen_seo_seo_analysis_post_types and hydrogen_seo_seo_analysis_results filters let you control which post types are scored and adjust the analysis programmatically; see the filters reference.
FAQ
Does the score affect my rankings directly?
No. The score is a private editorial tool inside wp-admin; search engines never see it. It affects rankings only indirectly, by nudging you to ship pages with enough substance, clear sentences, links and described images.
Is there a checklist of individual checks in the editor?
No. The editor shows one score, 0 to 100, as the badge in the SEO Settings sheet header. The table above explains exactly how that number is made up.
Why didn't the score change when I edited the post?
The score is calculated when the post is saved and when its focus keyword changes. Save the post and the badge updates.
Does the SEO score need a hydrogenseo.com account?
No. Scoring is one of Hydrogen SEO's free, no-account features.
Which post types are scored?
Every public post type except attachments, which includes posts, pages and public custom post types. Developers can change the list with the hydrogen_seo_seo_analysis_post_types filter in the filters reference.
Related reading
Common questions
- What does the SEO score measure?
- Five on-page factors worth 20 points each: content length, focus keyword density between 0.5 and 2.5 percent, readability based on average sentence length, internal and external links, and whether images have alt text. The score runs from 0 to 100 and shows as a badge in the SEO Settings sheet header.
- Should I aim for 100?
- No. The score encodes rough defaults, not laws. A short announcement, a page with no images or a landing page with no reason to link out will score lower, and that can be the right editorial choice. Use the score to catch what you forgot, not as a target to game.
- How is this different from a site audit?
- The SEO score grades one post each time you save it. A site audit looks across every URL for problems that only appear in aggregate — duplicates, orphans, broken links, missing metadata at scale. You want both, at different moments.