The Sebo SEO Rating is sometimes used when doing an audit for a client. It is a way of measuring some of the items that we think are important in regard to SEO and how we think that the potential client is doing.
Last Updated on January 31, 2025
START HERE: Metrics in purple are in use their own tool. Metrics in blue can be found on AHREFs.
Title Tags: Main nav and blog posts are optimized for title tags – check main nav pages and old and new blog posts.
Meta Tag Usage: Pages utilize meta descriptions
H1 Tags and Usage: Pages use H1s. The first header is H1. There is not more than one H1.
Image Alt Text: Images have alt text
Content is useful: Main nav and blog posts have optimized content – check main nav pages and old and new blog posts.
- Content is relatively up-to-date
- Content is relatively well-written
- Content matches searcher’s intent
Internal Link Structure: Check to see if the site is actively linking to important pages across the site.
User-Friendly Layout: Site is optimized for questions and natural language. Check main nav, blog, and general page layout
Blog Post/Page Category Usage: Check blog to see if categories are actively being used.
Site Architecture: Site uses correct URL structure (foldering) and has a well-optimized main nav
HTTPS: Do they have it?
Core Web Vitals / PageSpeed Test: https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/
CTR: Check in Search Console. How is the CTR for the homepage? For other key page?
GA4 Organic Engagement Rate: Check in Analytics. How is the engagement rate for the site as a whole? Are some channels better/worse than others?
Reviews: Check their Google Reviews. Do they have a good number of reviews? Is their average review score above 4 stars?
Volume of Inbound Links: Is it higher than their 3 main competitors?
Relevant Link Sources: Are backlinks mostly coming from relevant websites?
Link/Domain Ratio: Less than 10 links per 1 domain
Site Growth: Is their site growing? Usually the blog is the first place to look for this. Are they adding new pages regularly?
Backlink Velocity: Overview on AHREFs – Look at the Referring domains and referring pages graphs. If they have a steady increase over time this is good. If not, it needs improvement.
Link Anchor Text: Check their Anchor Text % sheet. Are their ratios on?
Outbound Links: Do blog pages use outbound links for sources? If so, Good.
Exam
In the same In-Depth Audit that you have been working on, fill out the Sebo Score tab.