Every tool starts at zero and earns points for what it does and what it costs. Here is exactly what earns them.
The short version
These tools do different jobs, so each kind has its own checklist: SEO platforms, content optimizers and AI writers on 6 things and WordPress SEO plugins on 5 things. Each checklist is worth 100 points, and a tool is only ranked against its own kind.
The final score is those points out of 10. A tool with 84 points scores 8.4.
Everything comes from the tool's own website. We don't take payment for points.
SEO platforms, content optimizers and AI writers
Keyword research and rank trackingSite audit, competitors and backlinksPricingContent writing and optimizationWorks with your toolsTeam and support
What earns points
1. Keyword research and rank tracking
30 of 100 pointsCan it find keywords worth targeting, and tell you where your pages rank on Google and how often it checks? That is the main job of an SEO tool, so it carries the most points.
Keyword rank trackerup to 3
| Unlimited (some plans) | +3 |
| Scales by plan | +3 |
| Fixed cap | +2 |
| Pages via Search Console | +1.5 |
| None | 0 |
Rank updatesup to 2
| Daily | +2 |
| Weekly / on-demand | +1.3 |
| Monthly | +0.5 |
| Manual only | +0.5 |
| No rank tracking | 0 |
Keyword research with volume and difficultyup to 2
Keyword clusteringup to 1
Countries coveredup to 1
| Global (multi-country) | +1 |
| Limited regions | +0.5 |
Connects Google Search Consoleup to 1
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 30 of the 100.
2. Site audit, competitors and backlinks
20 of 100 pointsCan it scan your website for technical problems, and show you what your competitors rank for and who links to them?
Technical site auditup to 4
Competitor analysisup to 2.5
Backlink analysisup to 2.5
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 20 of the 100.
3. Pricing
20 of 100 pointsWhat the cheapest paid plan costs each month, and whether you can try it for free first. Cheaper plans earn more points.
Monthly price, cheapest paid planup to 6
| Up to $20 | +6 |
| Up to $35 | +5 |
| Up to $50 | +4 |
| Up to $75 | +3 |
| Up to $100 | +2 |
| Up to $150 | +1 |
| Over $150 | 0 |
Free trialup to 1.5
| None | 0 |
| 1 to 6 days | +0.5 |
| 7 to 13 days | +1 |
| 14 days or more | +1.5 |
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 20 of the 100.
4. Content writing and optimization
15 of 100 pointsCan it write articles for you, help you improve a draft, and suggest links between your own pages?
Writes full articlesup to 3.5
Content editor with a scoreup to 2
Internal link suggestionsup to 2
Content languagesup to 1
| 1 language | 0 |
| 2 to 10 languages | +0.5 |
| 11 languages or more | +1 |
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 15 of the 100.
5. Works with your tools
10 of 100 pointsDoes it plug into the tools you already use to write and publish?
Google Docs add-onup to 2
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 10 of the 100.
6. Team and support
5 of 100 pointsCan you share it with a team and clients, and reach a real person when you are stuck?
White-label reportsup to 4
Seats on the cheapest planup to 3
| 1 | +1 |
| 2 | +2 |
| 3 to 4 | +2.5 |
| 5 or more, or unlimited | +3 |
Live chat with a personup to 3
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 5 of the 100.
A real example: Semrush
Here is how Semrush got its 8.3.
| Section | Points |
|---|
| Keyword research and rank tracking | 30 of 30 |
| Site audit, competitors and backlinks | 20 of 20 |
| Pricing | 9 of 20 |
| Content writing and optimization | 11.3 of 15 |
| Works with your tools | 10 of 10 |
| Team and support | 2.5 of 5 |
| Total | 82.8 of 100 = 8.3 out of 10 |
See every fact behind Semrush's score.
WordPress SEO plugins
On-page SEOAI writing and linkingSearch data and trackingPricingSupport and agencies
What earns points
1. On-page SEO
30 of 100 pointsWhat it does on your posts and pages: a score against a focus keyword, several keywords on the free version, schema types, redirects, a 404 monitor, local and WooCommerce SEO, and an llms.txt file for AI search.
Content analysis against a focus keywordup to 2
Several focus keywords on the free versionup to 1.5
Schema typesup to 1.5
| None | 0 |
| 1 to 5 types | +0.5 |
| 6 to 12 types | +1 |
| 13 types or more | +1.5 |
Redirect managerup to 1.5
WooCommerce product SEOup to 1
llms.txt for AI searchup to 0.5
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 30 of the 100.
2. AI writing and linking
15 of 100 pointsWhether it writes content, titles and meta descriptions with AI, suggests internal links, and whether that AI comes with the cheapest paid plan or as a separate subscription.
Writes content with AIup to 3
AI titles and meta descriptionsup to 2
Internal link suggestionsup to 2
AI on the cheapest paid planup to 3
| Included in the price | +3 |
| limited | +2 |
| Paid add-on | +1 |
| No | 0 |
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 15 of the 100.
3. Search data and tracking
20 of 100 pointsSearch Console and Analytics data inside WordPress, keyword rank tracking and how many keywords the cheapest plan tracks, and a site-wide SEO audit.
Google Search Console dataup to 3.5
Keyword rank trackingup to 2
Keywords tracked on the cheapest paid planup to 1.5
| None | 0 |
| 1 to 100 | +0.5 |
| 101 to 500 | +1 |
| 501 or more, or unlimited | +1.5 |
Site-wide SEO auditup to 2
Google Analytics dataup to 1
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 20 of the 100.
4. Pricing
25 of 100 pointsWhat the cheapest paid plan costs each month (most are billed yearly, so the yearly price divided by twelve), how many sites it covers, a free version and a money-back guarantee.
Monthly price, cheapest paid planup to 5
| Up to $5 | +5 |
| Up to $8 | +4.5 |
| Up to $12 | +3.5 |
| Up to $20 | +2.5 |
| Up to $35 | +1.5 |
| Over $35 | +0.5 |
Sites on the cheapest paid planup to 2.5
| 1 | +0.5 |
| 2 | +1 |
| 3 to 5 | +1.5 |
| 6 or more, or unlimited | +2.5 |
Money-back guaranteeup to 1
| None | 0 |
| 1 to 14 days | +0.5 |
| 15 days or more | +1 |
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 25 of the 100.
5. Support and agencies
10 of 100 pointsLive chat with a person, white-label reports for clients, and an API or MCP access.
Live chat with a personup to 4
White-label reportsup to 3
Each section adds up to 10, then counts for 10 of the 100.
A real example: Rank Math
Here is how Rank Math got its 8.8.
| Section | Points |
|---|
| On-page SEO | 30 of 30 |
| AI writing and linking | 12 of 15 |
| Search data and tracking | 19 of 20 |
| Pricing | 21.3 of 25 |
| Support and agencies | 6 of 10 |
| Total | 88.3 of 100 = 8.8 out of 10 |
See every fact behind Rank Math's score.
When a tool doesn't say
If a tool's website doesn't answer a yes-or-no question, it gets half the points for that item. Not zero, because a missing answer isn't the same as a no, and not full marks, because silence shouldn't beat a vendor who answers honestly. For a number, like a price, it gets the typical value of the tools that do publish one. Every item scored this way is marked on the tool's scorecard.
If a tool leaves out more than a third of what we check, we don't show a score for it at all. A number built mostly on guesses wouldn't be fair to you or to the tool. Right now 31 of the 31 tools we checked have enough information to be scored.
What the score doesn't tell you
We score what a tool offers and what it costs, as its own website describes it. That's not a hands-on test. The score can't tell you whether a tool is easy to use, whether its data is accurate, or whether support answers quickly. The review covers that.
See the AI SEO & Content tools ranked or read how we review tools in general.