How do i check my seo score on google

When I first started dabbling in websites, one of the trickiest things was figuring out, “How do I even check my SEO score on Google?” It felt like trying to find a hidden treasure without a map! What I quickly learned is that Google doesn’t actually give your website a single, magic “SEO score” like you’d get on a test. Instead, it’s about looking at a bunch of different signals and using a mix of Google’s own free tools and some helpful third-party platforms to piece together your site’s overall health and performance. Think of it like a doctor checking various vital signs and running a few tests to get a full picture of your health, rather than just giving you one general “health score.”

This guide is going to walk you through how to understand and check your website’s SEO performance, giving you a clear path to seeing how you stack up in the search results. We’ll explore the best ways to get real insights, what those insights mean, and how you can use them to improve your visibility online. Because, let’s be real, getting your content seen is half the battle, and a strong SEO game is your best ally in that fight. Did you know that in 2024, almost 60% of Google searches in the EU and over 58% in America actually resulted in zero clicks? That means standing out and ranking well is more important than ever to capture that dwindling click share!

What Even Is an SEO Score? And Why Google Doesn’t Give You One

So, let’s clear up that “SEO score” idea. If you’ve ever run a quick online test and gotten a score out of 100 for your website, that’s usually from a third-party tool, not Google itself. These tools create their own “SEO scores” by looking at a bunch of common SEO factors, like your page speed, whether you have meta descriptions, or how many links point to your site. They’re super helpful for getting a quick snapshot and pointing out obvious issues, but Google’s own ranking algorithms are way more complex. Google uses hundreds of factors to decide where your site should rank, and these algorithms are constantly changing.

A good SEO score from one of these third-party tools is typically anything above 80, with a score over 90 meaning your site is really well-optimized. But remember, a high score here doesn’t automatically mean you’ll jump to the top of Google overnight. It just means you’ve got a solid foundation.

Your Go-To Google Tools for SEO Checks

When it comes to getting the real lowdown straight from Google, you’ve got three main, free tools that are absolute goldmines. These are essential for anyone serious about their online presence.

Google Search Console: Your Website’s Performance Dashboard

If there’s one tool you absolutely must use, it’s Google Search Console GSC. It’s directly from Google and gives you a peek into how your site is doing in Google Search results. It tells you about how Google sees your site, any problems it’s having, and what keywords people are using to find you. How to Optimize YouTube Videos for SEO: Your Ultimate Guide to Getting Seen

Here’s what you can learn from it:

• Keyword Rankings: This is huge! GSC shows you the exact keywords your site ranks for, their average position in search results, how many times your site appeared impressions, and how many clicks you got. You can even see trends over time, which is super helpful for spotting if a keyword’s ranking is improving or dropping. For example, if you see a keyword with lots of impressions but few clicks, it might mean your title or description isn’t enticing enough.
• Indexing Status: GSC lets you know if Google is crawling and indexing your pages. If a page isn’t indexed, it won’t show up in search results at all! It also flags any indexing errors that could be holding your site back.
• Core Web Vitals: These are Google’s metrics for user experience, focusing on loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability. GSC reports on how your pages perform here, which is a direct ranking factor.
• Mobile Usability: With over 60% of global online traffic coming from mobile devices in January 2024, your site absolutely needs to be mobile-friendly. GSC points out any issues with how your site appears on phones.
• Security Issues: It’ll alert you to any malware or other security problems Google detects on your site.

How to use it: Once you’ve set up and verified your website with Google Search Console there are tons of guides if you need help with that initial step, head over to the “Performance” report. You can toggle on “Average position” to see your keyword rankings over time.

Google Analytics: Understanding Your Visitors

While Search Console tells you how people find you, Google Analytics GA tells you what they do once they get to your site. It’s all about understanding user behavior and traffic sources.

Here’s what you can discover:

• Organic Traffic: This is a big one for SEO. GA shows you how many visitors come from search engines, which pages they land on, and how long they stay. If your organic traffic is steadily increasing, that’s a good sign your SEO efforts are working.
• User Engagement: Metrics like bounce rate how many people leave after viewing just one page, average session duration, and pages per session give you clues about how engaging your content is. A high bounce rate from organic search might indicate your content isn’t matching user intent.
• Conversions: If you have goals set up like someone buying a product or filling out a form, GA can show you which organic keywords or landing pages are leading to those conversions.
• Audience Demographics: Understanding who your audience is their location, age, interests can help you tailor your content and SEO strategy even better.

How to use it: After connecting your Google Analytics account to your website, check the “Acquisition” report, specifically the “Traffic Acquisition” or “Channels” section, and filter for “organic search” to see how people are finding you through search engines. You can also integrate GSC data within GA to get a clearer picture of which keywords drive traffic to specific pages. Unlocking Your Website’s Potential: A Guide to Using Semrush On-Page SEO Checker

Google PageSpeed Insights: The Need for Speed

Nobody likes a slow website. In fact, if your page takes more than 3 seconds to load, the probability of someone leaving your site jumps by 32%! Google PageSpeed Insights PSI is a free tool that measures your website’s loading performance on both mobile and desktop. Since page speed is a confirmed Google ranking factor, this tool is vital.

What PSI checks for:

• Core Web Vitals: Again, these are crucial. PSI gives you a detailed report on Largest Contentful Paint LCP, First Input Delay FID, and Cumulative Layout Shift CLS, which all measure different aspects of user experience during loading.
• Performance Score: You get a score out of 100. A score of 90 or above is considered good, while anything below 50 is poor. While a perfect 100 isn’t strictly necessary, aiming for 90+ means you’re providing a great user experience.
• Optimization Suggestions: The best part is that PSI doesn’t just tell you there’s a problem. it gives you actionable recommendations on how to fix it, like optimizing images or reducing server response time.

How to use it: Just go to the Google PageSpeed Insights website, enter your URL, and click “Analyze.” You’ll get a report for both mobile and desktop, packed with suggestions.

Beyond Google’s Tools: Exploring Third-Party SEO Checkers

While Google’s own tools are foundational, sometimes you want a more holistic view, different perspectives, or just some simpler, all-in-one “SEO scores.” That’s where third-party SEO checkers come in handy. Many offer free versions or trials that can give you valuable insights. Unlock TikTok’s Potential: Your Ultimate Guide to TikTok SEO

These tools often provide their own SEO score by auditing multiple aspects of your site, including technical SEO, on-page content, user experience, and mobile usability. A good score is generally considered to be 70 or above.

Here are a few types of things these tools can help you check:

• Website SEO Score: Tools like Semrush’s Site Audit or SEOptimer will crawl your site similar to how Google does and give you an overall “health score” based on various technical and on-page factors. They’ll highlight issues like broken links, missing meta descriptions, or slow-loading pages.
• Keyword Rank Checking: While Google Search Console is great, some dedicated rank trackers many popular SEO platforms offer this can give you more granular, real-time data for specific keywords, across different locations, and even for your competitors. This can save you a lot of time compared to manually searching for each keyword, especially since Google personalizes search results based on your location and past behavior, making manual checks less objective.
• On-Page SEO Analysis: Some tools can analyze a specific page’s content, checking its readability, keyword usage, and overall quality against best practices.
• Backlink Analysis: Backlinks links from other websites to yours are super important for authority and ranking. Tools can help you see who’s linking to you and even analyze your competitors’ backlink profiles.
• Competitor Analysis: Many third-party tools let you plug in a competitor’s URL and see their top keywords, estimated traffic, and even their backlink strategy. This can uncover opportunities you might be missing.

Remember, most of these tools have a free tier or a free trial. Use them to get a better understanding of your site’s overall SEO health and to uncover areas for improvement that might not be immediately obvious in Google’s own tools.

Key SEO Elements to Check No Matter How You Score

Regardless of the “score” you get from any tool, real SEO improvement comes from understanding and optimizing specific elements of your website. Let’s break down the crucial areas you should always keep an eye on. SEO Digital Marketing Definition: Your Essential Guide to Online Visibility

On-Page SEO: Making Your Content Shine

This is all about the content and elements on your actual web pages. It’s about helping Google understand what your page is about and how relevant it is to a user’s search query.

• Keywords: Are you using relevant keywords naturally throughout your content? This includes in your title tags, meta descriptions, headings H1, H2, etc., and in the body text. But don’t stuff them in! Focus on quality and relevance over quantity. In fact, search intent is a big deal: 52.65% of Google searches are informational, so make sure your content answers questions!
• Content Quality & Depth: Is your content well-written, comprehensive, and truly helpful to your audience? Google loves content that provides value. Longer, more in-depth content often ranks better, but only if it’s high quality. Did you know that content that includes video is 53 times more likely to generate organic search rankings compared to plain text?
• Meta Titles & Descriptions: These are the little snippets that show up in Google search results. Make sure they’re compelling, accurately describe your page, and include your main keywords.
• Headings H1, H2, H3: Proper heading structure makes your content easier to read for both users and search engines. Use your main topic in the H1 and related sub-topics in H2s and H3s.
• Image Optimization: Use descriptive alt text for images, compress them for faster loading, and use relevant filenames.
• Internal Linking: Link to other relevant pages on your own website. This helps users navigate and tells Google which pages on your site are important.

Technical SEO: The Foundation of Your Website

Technical SEO is about ensuring your website is crawlable, indexable, and performs well from a technical standpoint. If your technical SEO is broken, even the best content might not get seen.

• Crawlability & Indexability: Can Google’s “crawlers” those little programs that explore the web easily access and understand your pages? You can check for any issues with the URL Inspection Tool in Google Search Console.
• Site Speed: As we talked about with PageSpeed Insights, a fast loading site is crucial for user experience and rankings.
• Mobile-Friendliness: Your site has to work well on mobile. 72.59% of Google’s visitors come from mobile devices, so this isn’t optional.
• HTTPS: Is your site secure? Google prefers sites that use HTTPS you’ll see a padlock in your browser’s address bar.
• XML Sitemap: This is like a map of your website that you submit to Google Search Console, helping Google find all your important pages.
• Robots.txt: This file tells search engine crawlers which parts of your site they can or cannot access. Make sure it’s not blocking important pages!
• Broken Links: Both internal and external broken links can hurt user experience and SEO. Regularly check for and fix them.

Backlinks: Your Website’s Reputation

Backlinks are links from other reputable websites to yours. Google sees these as votes of confidence or endorsements. The more high-quality, relevant backlinks you have, the more authority and trustworthiness your site gains in Google’s eyes.

• Quantity & Quality: It’s not just about how many links you have, but where they come from. A few links from highly authoritative, relevant sites are far better than hundreds from spammy or irrelevant ones.
• Anchor Text: This is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink. Ideally, it should be descriptive and relevant to the page it’s linking to.
• Competitor Backlinks: Analyzing your competitors’ backlinks can reveal opportunities for your own site.

User Experience UX: Keeping Visitors Happy

Google is increasingly focused on user experience. If users have a good time on your site, they’re more likely to stay, engage, and come back. This positive behavior signals to Google that your site is valuable.

• Dwell Time: How long do people stay on your page? If they click away quickly a high bounce rate, it might mean your content isn’t what they were looking for, which can negatively impact rankings.
• Navigation: Is your site easy to navigate? Can users find what they’re looking for within a few clicks?
• Readability: Is your content easy to read and understand? Use clear language, short paragraphs, and plenty of headings.

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Interpreting Your SEO Checks and Moving Forward

you’ve run some checks, looked at your Google Search Console data, peeked at Analytics, and seen your PageSpeed scores. Now what?

1. Don’t Obsess Over a Single Score: Remember, no single “SEO score” is the be-all and end-all. Use them as indicators to find areas that need attention, not as a definitive judgment of your entire SEO strategy.
2. Prioritize Issues: Most tools will give you a list of “errors,” “warnings,” and “opportunities.” Start with the critical errors, especially those impacting crawlability, indexability, or Core Web Vitals, as these can have the biggest impact.
3. Focus on User Intent: When analyzing keyword performance, think about what people are really trying to find when they type in a search query. Your content should match that intent.
4. Compare and Benchmark: Look at how your site performs against competitors. If they’re ranking higher for your target keywords, what are they doing differently? What does their technical setup look like?
5. Small Changes Add Up: You don’t have to overhaul your entire website overnight. Start with small, manageable improvements. Optimizing image sizes on a few key pages or improving a couple of meta descriptions can make a difference.
6. SEO is an Ongoing Process: The digital is always changing. Google updates its algorithms frequently, and new trends emerge hello, AI Overviews!. Regularly checking your SEO performance and adapting your strategy is key to long-term success. Over 91% of marketers reported that SEO positively impacted website goals and performance in 2024, highlighting its continued importance.

By consistently using these tools and insights, you’ll not only understand your SEO score but also actively work towards improving it, driving more relevant traffic to your website, and ultimately achieving your online goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good SEO score for a website?

A good SEO score from most third-party tools is generally considered to be between 70 and 100, with scores over 80 being excellent and 90+ placing you among the top technically optimized websites. For Google PageSpeed Insights, a score of 90 or above is considered good.

How can I check my website’s SEO score for free?

You can check your website’s SEO score for free using several methods. Google offers free tools like Google Search Console for performance and technical health, Google Analytics for traffic and user behavior, and Google PageSpeed Insights for website speed. Additionally, many third-party SEO tools like Semrush, Ahrefs, SEOptimer, and Seobility offer free website audits or limited free accounts that provide a comprehensive SEO score and recommendations.

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Does Google actually use an SEO score to rank my website?

No, Google does not use a single “SEO score” from any third-party tool as a direct ranking factor. Google uses its own complex algorithms that consider hundreds of factors, including technical SEO, content quality, backlinks, user experience, and page speed, to determine search rankings. Third-party SEO scores are useful indicators of your website’s overall health and optimization, helping you identify areas for improvement that indirectly contribute to better rankings.

How do I check my SEO ranking on Google for specific keywords?

You can check your SEO ranking for specific keywords in a few ways. The most reliable free method is Google Search Console, where you can go to the “Performance” report to see the keywords your site ranks for, their average position, impressions, and clicks. You can also use free keyword rank checker tools often part of larger SEO platforms where you enter a keyword and your domain to see its position. Be careful with manual Google searches as results can be personalized based on your browsing history and location.

What are the most important factors for improving my SEO score?

Improving your SEO score and overall search visibility involves several crucial factors. Key areas to focus on include: high-quality, relevant content that meets user intent. strong technical SEO site speed, mobile-friendliness, crawlability, indexability. a healthy backlink profile from reputable sources. and an excellent user experience low bounce rate, good engagement. Regularly optimizing these elements will contribute to better search engine performance.

How often should I check my website’s SEO score and rankings?

It’s a good practice to check your website’s overall SEO score using audit tools monthly or quarterly to catch any new technical issues or missed optimization opportunities. For keyword rankings and performance metrics in Google Search Console and Google Analytics, it’s beneficial to review them more frequently, perhaps weekly or bi-weekly, especially if you’ve recently made significant changes to your content or website. This allows you to monitor trends, react quickly to drops, and capitalize on new opportunities. How to Use Generative AI for SEO to Boost Your Online Visibility

Can a good SEO score guarantee top rankings on Google?

While a good SEO score indicates that your website is well-optimized according to common best practices, it does not guarantee top rankings on Google. Google’s ranking algorithms are complex and dynamic, considering many factors beyond what a typical SEO score measures. A high score is a strong foundation and increases your chances of ranking well, but actual rankings depend on competition, search intent, user experience, and continuous optimization efforts. It’s more about building a valuable, user-friendly website that Google wants to show its users.