Content analysis checks

While you write, RankKit SEO checks the post against a list of on-page SEO basics: title and description length, content length, links, images, subheadings and where your focus keyword appears. The results give the post an SEO score from 0 to 100, shown in the Analysis section of the RankKit SEO panel in the block editor (and the score badge in its header), the Classic Editor box, the Elementor drawer, the SEO column on your posts and pages lists, and the Score column of the bulk SEO editor.

The checks update as you type. They are guidelines, not rules: a short answer page can rank well with 300 words. Use them to catch what you forgot, not to chase 100.

Where to find the checks

In the block editor, click the RankKit SEO button in the editor toolbar to open the RankKit SEO panel, then choose Analysis. The SEO Score Analysis card shows the score ring, a score for each focus keyword and the checklist (Edit SEO in the block editor).

A new post: Not analysed yet

A new, empty post has nothing to score, so instead of a misleading low number the panel header shows "Not analysed yet" and the card shows "No SEO analysis yet". The score appears as soon as the post has a title and some content. You can also click Calculate Score to score the post right away. From then on, the score updates live as you write.

Without a focus keyword, the card says "Add a focus keyword under General to unlock the keyword checks."

The SEO column on posts and pages lists

Posts → All Posts, Pages and the lists of other public content types have an SEO column. For each post it shows:

• The SEO score badge: green from 80, amber from 50, red below 50.
• The focus keyword, with "+N" when there are more, or "No focus keyword".
• An Improve link that opens the post in the editor.

Click the SEO column heading to sort by score. On a long list, scores for posts that were never scored fill in a few at a time (up to 25 each time the list loads).

How the checklist works

Each check ends in one of three states, and the checklist groups them that way:

Group	Meaning	Counts toward the score
Problems	The check failed.	Nothing
Improvements	Partly there, or a nice-to-have.	Half its weight
Good results	The check passed.	Its full weight

The score is the points earned divided by the total weight of all checks shown, as a percentage. Click Explain (Explain with AI) next to a problem or improvement to get an explanation, steps and an example for this post (needs an AI provider).

The AI Assistant card above the score can also review the content as a whole and give it a separate content-quality score. See AI assistant in the editor.

The checks look at the SEO title and meta description that will actually be output. If you leave the fields empty, the templates are checked instead.

General checks

These run on every post.

Check	Passes (Good)	Improvement	Problem	Weight
"SEO title length: %d characters (aim for 30–60)."	30–60 characters	Any other length	Empty	8
"Meta description length: %d characters (aim for 120–160)."	120–160 characters	Any other length	Empty	8
"Content length: %d words (600+ performs best for most topics)."	600 words or more	300–599 words	Under 300 words	10
"Internal links: %d."	At least one link to a page on your site	–	No internal links	6
"Outbound links to sources: %d."	At least one link to another site	No outbound links	–	3
"Images in content: %d."	At least one image	No images	–	3
"Images without alt text: %d."	Every image has alt text	–	One or more images without alt text	5
"Subheadings (H2/H3): %d."	At least one H2 or H3, or the post is under 300 words	–	300+ words and no H2 or H3	4

"Images without alt text" only appears when the post has images.

Focus keyword checks

These use the main (first) focus keyword. Matching ignores upper and lower case. See Focus keywords.

Check	Passes (Good)	Improvement	Problem	Weight
"No focus keyword set. Add one to unlock keyword checks."	–	–	Shown instead of the checks below when no keyword is set	10
"Focus keyword appears in the SEO title."	The SEO title contains the keyword	–	It doesn't	10
"Focus keyword is near the start of the title."	The keyword starts in the first half of the SEO title	Later in the title, or missing	–	3
"Focus keyword appears in the meta description."	The meta description contains the keyword	–	It doesn't	6
"Focus keyword appears in the URL slug."	The slug contains the keyword in slug form ("mango pickle" → mango-pickle)	–	It doesn't	5
"Focus keyword appears in the first paragraph."	The keyword is in the first 120 words	–	It isn't	5
"Focus keyword appears in a subheading."	An H2 or H3 contains the keyword	No subheading contains it	–	4
"Keyword density: %1$s%% (%2$d uses). Aim for 0.5–2.5%%."	Density between 0.5% and 2.5%	Used, but below 0.5%	Not used at all, or above 2.5%	5

Keyword density is the number of times the keyword appears, multiplied by the number of words in the keyword, divided by the post's word count. For example, a two-word keyword used 5 times in a 1,000-word post is 1%.

With more than one focus keyword, each keyword also gets its own score from the keyword checks alone. Expand a keyword under Focus keywords to see its checks.

How to fix common problems

Problem	Fix
Title too long or short	Rewrite the SEO title to 30–60 characters, or use Suggest with AI.
Description missing or too short	Write a Meta description of 120–160 characters that says what the reader gets.
No internal links	Link to one or two related posts on your site. Pro's Internal links panel suggests them.
Images without alt text	Select each image in the editor and fill in Alternative text. See Image SEO and AI alt text.
Keyword not in the slug	Edit the permalink. On a published post, RankKit SEO creates a redirect from the old URL (Automatic redirects).
Density too high	Replace some uses of the keyword with natural variations. Repeating it doesn't help.

Page builders

For Elementor, Divi, Oxygen, Breakdance and Bricks pages, the analysis reads the builder's content from the server, so word counts, links and headings reflect what visitors see.

FAQ

Why does my new post say Not analysed yet?

The post has no title or content yet. Add both, or click Calculate Score under Analysis, and the score appears.

Does the score affect my rankings?

No. Search engines never see the RankKit SEO score. It is a checklist for you, and a high score only means the basics are covered.

Why does "first paragraph" check more than one paragraph?

The check looks at the first 120 words, so a keyword in a short opening paragraph or the start of the second one both count.

Where else are these checks used?

The site audit runs similar checks across all posts, and AI agents can run the same analysis on any post with the analyze_post tool.