What are Website SEO Checkers and What Do They Actually Do?
Website SEO checkers are like a friendly, super-smart inspector who comes in and has a good look around your shop. They’ll check everything from the signs out front (your website’s titles and descriptions) to how neatly your products are displayed (your content’s structure and readability).
Key Takeaways
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Website SEO checkers are tools that evaluate site health through technical, on-page, and performance metrics.
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Common checks include crawlability, mobile responsiveness, page speed, and Core Web Vitals.
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On-page audits assess meta tags, headers, keyword distribution, and content quality.
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Backlink and internal link analysis highlights link equity flow and opportunities.
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Reporting features help prioritize fixes and maintain optimisation over time.
Like a checkup with a doctor, the automated checkers will send bots that crawl the pages your website and based on what they find, they give your site a health analysis in the form of a health score. Basically, checker sniffs out all the bits and pieces that search engines like Google look at when deciding how high to rank your site in search result pages / SERPS.
What is in the report the checkers provide?
Different SEO checkers may focus on different thing but they will tell you if your website is fast enough, if it works well on mobile phones, if the words you’re using are what people are actually searching for, how may 301 redirects are found on your website and if there are any broken links that might annoy visitors. In short, they help you make sure your shop is shipshape and ready for customers.
A Bit of History and How Website SEO Checkers Have Grown / Evolved
The whole idea of “SEO” – that’s Search Engine Optimisation – has been around pretty much since the internet started to become a thing. Think back to the early days of the web, when search engines were just simple lists. To get your site noticed, some folks would just cram as many keywords as possible onto a page, hoping it would pop up for every search. It was a bit like shouting your business name over and over again!
But search engines, especially Google, evolved and got smarter, quickly. They realised that just stuffing keywords wasn’t helpful for people that are actually looking for information. So, they started looking at and adding other ranking factors and signals – things like how many other reliable websites linked to yours, whether your content was actually useful and well-written and if your website was easy for people to use.
This constant evolution in how search engines work, led to the development of better and better SEO checkers as well as practices. In the beginning, these tools were quite basic, maybe just counting the number of keywords on a specific page. But as search engines became much more sophisticated, they added factors like how fast your page loads, if it’s easy to use on a mobile phone, and even the natural flow of the language you use. As a result, the checkers had to keep up and change.
They transformed from simple counters into comprehensive and in depth website auditing tools. Nowadays, some even use fancy artificial intelligence to give you really detailed insights and and even predict what might work best. It’s been a journey from simple word checks to complex digital detective work.
Source: www.semrush.com
Are SEO Checkers Better Than Hiring an SEO Expert?
The short answer is unequivocally no. They are definitely not better.
While website SEO checkers are incredibly useful tools, they are in no way a replacement for a seasoned SEO expert.
Think of it this way: an SEO checker is like a doctor’s diagnostic machine. It can run tests and flag potential issues, but it can’t offer the deep understanding, strategic thinking, holistic view that a human doctor provides. And they certainly cant fix what ails you / your website
Why aren’t Website SEO Checkers better than an expert?
website SEO checkers give you suggestions on specific, often technical issues, that should be addressed. These include things like missing title tags, or a slow-loading page. All they do is provide the “what” and leave out the bigger picture, which are the “why” or “how”. The “big picture” approach is an important strategic elements that truly drives long-term online success.
Why is an SEO expert better than a checker?
Unlike the checker, an SEO expert may use tools to help analyze a website as part of building out a comprehensive actional plan. SEO experts don’t just see a problem; they understand its root cause and its implications for your entire online presence and can many times fix them. When more complex issues are needed to be addressed. they would bring on website designers and developers to create a far better site with more ranking possibilities.
Think of an SEO more like a master craftsman with a toolbox filled with a variety of tools. They understand that no single tool is perfect for every job. Which is why they use many different tools to check different things. They might use one specific tools to help diagnose specific issues. Like using Google’s Core WEB Vitals to check speed related issues, a different tool for conduction keyword research and a different one to run a comprehensive backlink analysis. They know the strengths and weaknesses of each piece of software and how to combine their insights to form a complete picture.
An expert can shift faster than any automated checker
Even if tools add new features over time, they are still limited by their programming and the data they are fed. A true expert can change approaches and pivot faster than any tool could ever hope to. Search engines like Google have algorithms are constantly changing and evolving, people’s online search trends change all the time and competitors may be ranking higher all of a sudden. An expert can interpret these dynamic changes in real-time, leverage their creativity, and apply nuanced human intuition to develop innovative solutions. They don’t just react to pre-programmed alerts; they anticipate, strategies, and lead.
Experts understand that effective SEO isn’t just about fixing errors; it’s about building a sustainable online presence that continuously adapts to the digital landscape.
So, while you can use checkers to get an overview health evaluation an expert will be the best way to go.
Do Website SEO Checkers Make Site Changes?
No they do not. They’re analysts, not doers.
As we talked about earlier SEO checkers are just instilments for check different things. But an expert will do the treatment plan and create the road map for succus SEO ranking results.
For example, if an SEO checker tells you that your website’s title is too long or that your images don’t have proper descriptions (called “alt text”), it’s up to you, your expert and / or developer, to log into your website and make those changes.
Pros and Cons of Relying on Them
If you have someone who can implement the SEO checkers suggestions there are some advantages for relying on them.
Pros of relaying on checkers:
- Quick and Efficient: They can scan your entire website or just a few specific pages in a jiffy, finding problems that would take a human ages to discover. It’s like having a digital bloodhound.
- Cost-Effective: Many offer free versions that are really useful, and even the paid ones are generally much more affordable than hiring a full-time SEO expert or agency. They offer great bang for your buck.
- Accessible: They make SEO insights available to everyone, even if you don’t have deep technical knowledge. It’s like having a simplified guide to something quite complex.
- Objective: They just report the facts and figures, without any personal opinions or biases. It’s all about the data.
Great for Spotting Technical Glitches: They’re absolute champions at finding things like slow-loading pages, broken links, or if your website doesn’t look right on a mobile phone. These are often easy fixes that can make a big difference.
Cons of using a checker:
- Lack of Context: They can’t truly understand your business, the nitty-gritty of your industry, or your specific marketing goals. For example, a checker might flag a page with very few words as an “issue,” but if it’s a product page designed to be super concise and visual, that might actually be the best approach for your customers.
- False Positives or Misinterpretations: Sometimes, what a checker flags as a “problem” might not actually be a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, or it might not be the most important thing to fix first. They can’t prioritise for you based on human understanding.
- Cannot Judge True Content Quality or Strategy: While they can check if you’ve used certain keywords or if your text is easy to read, they can’t truly understand if your content is engaging, insightful, or strategically aligned with what your audience really wants to know. They don’t get creativity or human emotion.
- Limited Competitive Insight: While some tools offer competitive analysis, they might not give you the full, nuanced picture of what your rivals are doing, or how the entire market landscape is shifting. An expert can often see beyond the data points.
No Implementation: As we’ve discussed, they tell you what to do, but they don’t actually do the work on your website. That part is still on you.
So Why Do People Use SEO Checkers?
People use website SEO checkers for a whole heap of reasons, a bit like how a good tradie always has the right tool for the job. They offer a fantastic starting point for anyone who wants to boost their website’s visibility without having to spend a fortune on an expert right away. They give you a clear, actionable list of things to work on, making the often-complex world of SEO feel a bit more manageable and less daunting.
How Would Small Businesses Use These Checkers?
For smaller businesses, they’re a truly cost-effective way to get some runs on the board in terms of their online presence. Many simply want to understand where their website stands, spot any immediate / pressing issues and empower themselves to make smart decisions about their online strategy. They’re also brilliant for regular check-ups, helping you stay on top of your site’s health and quickly adapt to minor changes as search engine algorithms continue to evolve. They’re like having a handy digital assistant always on standby.
The Continuous Journey of SEO: It’s Not a One-Off Fix
It’s common for people to think of SEO as a single task you tick off a list, like building a house or painting a room. You do it once, and then you’re done, right? Well, with SEO, that’s not quite the case. Optimising your website is more like tending a garden – it needs time, ongoing care, attention and regular adjustments to truly flourish.
There are a few key reasons why SEO is a continuous journey:
- Algorithms are Always Changing: Search engines like Google are constantly tweaking and updating their algorithms. What worked perfectly for ranking last year might not be as effective today. These updates are designed to deliver the best possible results to searchers, which means websites need to adapt to stay relevant.
- Your Competitors Aren’t Standing Still: While you’re working on your SEO, so are your competitors. They’re also aiming for those top spots, making it a dynamic environment where you need to continuously monitor and adjust your strategy to stay ahead of the game.
- User Behaviour Evolves: How people search, what they look for, and the questions they ask online can change over time. Keeping an eye on these shifts ensures your website continues to meet the needs of your audience.
- Content Needs to Stay Fresh: Search engines often favour websites that regularly publish fresh, high-quality, and relevant content. This signals that your site is active, authoritative, and a valuable resource for users.
At the end of the day website SEO checkers problem identifiers not problem solvers.
Some of the Best Free and Paid SEO Checkers and What Makes Them Good:
When it comes to picking a good SEO checker, there’s a fair few to choose from, each with its own special powers.
Free Checkers:
Google Search Console:
- Why it’s good: Google Search Console / GSC provides information directly from Google, which means the insights you get are gold standard – they tell you exactly how Google sees your site. It’s not guessing; it’s the real deal.
- What it’s known for: It’s your direct line to Google. You can see how often your site appears in search results, what search terms people are using to find you, if there are any technical problems Google found while trying to “read” your site, and you can even tell Google when you’ve made updates. It’s your site’s report card straight from the source.
Another solid free option is Google PageSpeed Insights:
- Why it’s good: In today’s world, a slow website is a dead website. People bail if a page doesn’t load quickly. This tool tells you exactly how fast your site loads on both desktop and mobile devices.
- What it’s known for: It gives you a detailed breakdown of what’s slowing your site down and provides specific, actionable suggestions on how to fix it – like optimising your website images or improving server response times. It’s all about making your site speedy for a better user experience.
Though limited in pages it crawls, Screaming Frog SEO Spider does have a free version:
- Why it’s good: It’s a “crawler,” meaning it acts like a search engine bot, methodically going through every page on your site. This helps you uncover technical issues that you might never spot otherwise.
- What it’s known for: It’s a champion at technical audits. You can find broken links, identify pages with missing title tags or meta descriptions, spot duplicate content, and uncover redirect issues. It’s fantastic for deep dives into your site’s architecture.
Paid Checkers:
Moving into the paid tools, you’re often getting a much more comprehensive suite of features and deeper insights – it’s like upgrading from a backyard cricket set to a full-blown Ashes series!
Semrush and Ahrefs are often seen as the big guns in this space.
- Why they’re good: They offer extensive capabilities that go far beyond just checking your own site. They allow you to spy on your competitors’ strategies, find hundreds or thousands of profitable keywords, track your rankings over time, and much more. They’re all-in-one SEO platforms.
- What they’re known for:
- Semrush: Often lauded for its incredible competitive research features. You can plug in a competitor’s domain to analyse it and see exactly what keywords they rank for, how much traffic they get, even their advertising strategies. It’s also fantastic for content marketing ideas and understanding your market.
- Ahrefs: Widely regarded as having one of the largest and most accurate backlink indexes in the world. If you want to know who’s linking to you, who’s linking to your competitors, and find new link opportunities, Ahrefs is your go-to. It’s also excellent for keyword research and site audits.
Another highly regarded paid tool is Moz Pro.
- Why it’s good: Moz has a strong focus on on-page SEO (making sure your content and site structure are perfect for search engines) and link building support. They also have their own widely recognised metrics, Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA), which give you a quick indicator of a site’s overall strength and potential to rank.
- What it’s known for: Its user-friendly interface, strong educational resources, and those famous DA/PA scores which are a good general measure of a website’s authority in the eyes of search engines. It’s excellent for understanding your site’s overall “mojo.”
Finally, SE Ranking is another solid choice that offers a good balance of features
- Why it’s good: It aims to provide a comprehensive SEO toolkit without being overly complex or breaking the bank. It’s often a good middle-ground option for businesses that need more than a free tool but aren’t quite ready for the full suite of a Semrush or Ahrefs.
- What it’s known for: Good all-around website audits, reliable keyword tracking, and useful backlink monitoring capabilities, all within a well-designed platform.
Paid tools are generally better because they pull in a lot more data, use more sophisticated analysis to dig deeper, and provide advanced features that allow for much more detailed competitive analysis and truly strategic SEO planning.
The free tools are great for getting started and addressing immediate concerns.
Source: www.semrush.com
How do I check the SEO on my website?
Checking your website’s SEO generally involves using one of those handy SEO checker tools we’ve been talking about! It’s a straightforward process.
- You usually go to the website of the SEO checker, type in your website’s address (URL), and hit a “check” or “analyse” button.
- The tool will then “crawl” or examine your website, just like a search engine would. After a short while, it will present you with a report. This report usually highlights various aspects of your site’s SEO performance, like:
- On-page elements: Are your titles and descriptions good? Are you using keywords effectively in your content?
- Technical aspects: Is your site fast? Is it mobile-friendly? Are there any broken links or technical errors?
- Content quality: While basic, some tools might give you an idea of content length or readability.
- Backlinks: Who is linking to your site, and what’s the quality of those links?
Many tools also offer specific sections, like a “site audit” or “health check,” which walk you through the identified issues and often provide explanations on how to fix them.
When using a checker, what is considered a good SEO score?
Most will say 80 and above. But in all honesty, there’s no single, universally agreed-upon “good SEO score” that applies across all tools or even all situations. Think of it more like a school report card where different subjects have different weighting, and what’s “good” can depend on the school.
Many website SEO checkers will give you a percentage or a score out of 100. A higher score generally indicates fewer detected issues and better alignment with common SEO best practices. While aiming for 80% or higher is often a good target, it’s more important to focus on the details behind the score.
Here’s why relying solely on a score can be misleading:
- Different tools, different metrics: Each checker might prioritise different factors or use slightly different algorithms, leading to varying scores for the same website.
- Context is key: A perfect technical score means little if your content isn’t useful or doesn’t resonate with your audience. A tool might flag a missing keyword, but an expert might tell you that keyword isn’t relevant to your target customer anyway.
- Focus on action, not just the number: Instead of chasing a perfect score, concentrate on the actionable insights the checker provides. Fixing critical errors and implementing key suggestions will have a much bigger impact than trying to tick every single box for a perfect number.
In reality, a “good” SEO score isn’t about reaching 100; it’s about making genuine improvements that lead to better search engine visibility, more relevant traffic, and ultimately, a more successful online presence for your business.
Website SEO checkers that measure speed?
Website speed is incredibly important for both user experience and search engine rankings, so it’s a smart thing to check! Luckily, there are some excellent tools specifically designed to measure how quickly your site loads.
One of the absolute best and most widely used is Google PageSpeed Insights.
- What it does: It provides a comprehensive report on your page’s performance on both mobile and desktop devices. It goes beyond just giving you a score; it tells you exactly what factors are slowing down your page and offers specific recommendations for improvement. It uses a range of metrics, including Core Web Vitals, which are crucial for Google’s ranking.
- What makes it good: It’s a Google tool, so the insights are directly aligned with what Google itself prioritises for user experience and ranking. It also provides detailed, technical suggestions.
Another popular and valuable tool is GTmetrix.
- What it does: It analyses your page’s loading speed and performance using various metrics. It offers detailed waterfall charts, which show you exactly how each element on your page loads, helping you pinpoint bottlenecks.
- What makes it good: It’s known for its detailed breakdown of loading times and its ability to simulate loading from different locations and device types.
You can also find speed reports within comprehensive SEO suites like Semrush and Ahrefs, as part of their broader site audit features. These tools often integrate speed analysis along with other technical and on-page SEO checks.
What would be considered a good speed score?
Again, it’s not just about hitting a magic number, but there are strong guidelines to aim for, especially with Google PageSpeed Insights.
Metrics For Google PageSpeed Insights:
- 90-100 (Green): This is excellent! Your page is performing very well and is likely offering a great user experience in terms of speed.
- 50-89 (Orange/Yellow): This indicates that there’s room for improvement. Your page might be a bit sluggish, and addressing the suggestions could significantly boost performance.
- 0-49 (Red): This signals poor performance. Your page is likely very slow, which can negatively impact user experience and search rankings.
Beyond the numerical score, Google also focuses on Core Web Vitals, which are three specific metrics that measure a page’s real-world user experience: - Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): How quickly the main content on your page loads. Aim for 2.5 seconds or less.
- First Input Delay (FID): How quickly your page responds when a user first interacts with it (e.g., clicks a button). Aim for 100 milliseconds or less. Note: FID is being replaced by INP (Interaction to Next Paint) in March 2024, which measures overall page responsiveness. Aim for 200 milliseconds or less for INP.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): How much content on your page unexpectedly jumps around while loading. Aim for 0.1 or less.
For tools like GTmetrix, a “Grade A” or “Grade B” is usually a good sign, coupled with very low loading times (ideally under 2-3 seconds for a full load, though this can vary depending on page complexity).
But again, a good speed score isn’t just a number; it’s about delivering a fast, smooth experience for your users. These metrics act like signals to search engines that your site is high-quality and worth ranking.
Need help?
Since we at OMG are one of leading online digital marketing companies in Australia, we have a deep understanding of pretty much all website SEO checkers out there. We can help you understand what each elements means, set priorities and even implement those recommendations. Our SEO Agency services experts can put together a comprehensive strategy that will increase you website ranking. They rely on just one tool or one report. They analyse you site using many different tools to get the full picture of you your site needs from a technical perspective. But it does not end there. Our team will then look at you competitive landscape, evaluated the content on your site and create and implement the changes you need and give you the results you deserve based on your goals. We use data driven approaches to prove real impactful results for you business.
So feel to reach out, book a free strategy session and get you own SEO audit that we create specifically for you.
About the Author
Danny Andrawes
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