SEO and readability checks

The checks look at the page as visitors see it, including text from blocks your theme adds. They run while you type, and with Premium also after changes in the Content screen or by the assistant.

SEO checks#

Check	Green when
Focus keyphrase	A keyphrase is set (1–4 words is best).
Used before	No other page has the same keyphrase.
SEO title	It starts with the keyphrase (orange: somewhere in the title).
Meta description	It mentions the keyphrase.
URL	The address contains the keyphrase.
Introduction	The keyphrase is in the first paragraph.
Subheadings	At least one subheading mentions it.
Keyphrase density	0.5–3.5% of the text (from 100 words); more reads like stuffing.
Image alt text	An image describes the keyphrase.
Title width	400–600 px: fits on one line.
Meta description	600–920 px.
Text length	300 words or more (products: 150).
Internal links	At least one link to another page of your site.
Outbound links	At least one link to another site.
Images	The page has an image or a featured image.
Links to this page (Premium)	At least one other page links here.
Cornerstone (Premium)	Cornerstone pages: 900 words or more.

The keyphrase is matched in any word form (“plugins” matches “plugin”) for the languages in Languages. Fix next to a check jumps to the field to change.

Readability checks#

Check	Green when
Sentence length	At most 25% of sentences are long (more than 20 words; 25 in French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic).
Paragraphs	No paragraph is longer than 150 words.
Subheadings	A subheading at least every 300 words (texts over 300 words).
Variety	No three sentences in a row start with the same word.
Reading ease	Score 60 or more (English, German, Dutch, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese).
Passive voice	At most 10% of sentences (same languages).
Transition words	At least 30% of sentences use linking words such as “however” (from 5 sentences).

Under 50 words, readability shows “Not enough text to judge readability yet.”

How the score is calculated#

Every check has a weight (the keyphrase in the title counts more than an outbound link). Green counts fully, orange half, red not at all. The score is the result out of 100: green from 70, orange from 40.

Keeping scores up to date#

A score is stored when the page is saved in the editor. With Premium, it is also measured again after a save in the Content screen and after Apply or Undo in the assistant. ↻ Recalculate scores in the Content screen measures every page at once. A score with ↻ was measured before the last change.

Keep scores up to date (Premium, next to that button): Daily (default), Weekly or Off. When a check is due, the pages are measured again quietly in the background while an administrator is in wp-admin — a few per second, paused when the tab is hidden, continued on the next screen. A change to a title or description template starts a check at once.