Introduction
RankPath performs comprehensive SEO analysis by examining over 50 individual factors across multiple categories. This article provides a complete technical breakdown of what we analyze, how we detect issues, and why each factor matters for your search rankings.
Each factor is assigned a severity level (Critical, Warning, or Info) based on its impact on SEO performance. Critical issues have the highest negative impact and should be addressed first.
2. Heading Structure
Proper heading hierarchy helps search engines understand your content structure and improves accessibility.
Missing H1 Tag Critical
Detection: RankPath scans for at least one <h1> element.
Why it matters: The H1 tag signals the main topic of your page to search engines. Every page should have exactly one H1.
Multiple H1 Tags Warning
Detection: More than one <h1> element is flagged.
Why it matters: While technically valid in HTML5, multiple H1s can dilute the primary topic signal. Best practice is one H1 per page.
Empty Headings Warning
Detection: Headings (H1-H6) with no text content or only whitespace.
Why it matters: Empty headings confuse screen readers and provide no SEO value. They often indicate template issues or deleted content.
Skipped Heading Levels Info
Detection: Jumping from H1 to H3 without H2, or similar gaps.
Why it matters: Proper hierarchy (H1→H2→H3) helps both users and search engines understand content structure. Skipping levels indicates disorganized content.
Heading Too Long Info
Detection: Headings exceeding 70 characters.
Why it matters: Headings should be concise summaries. Long headings often contain full sentences that should be in paragraph text.
3. Image Optimization
Images significantly impact page load time and provide additional ranking opportunities through image search.
Missing Alt Text Warning
Detection: Images without alt attributes or with empty alt values (except decorative images).
Why it matters: Alt text is essential for accessibility (screen readers) and helps search engines understand image content. It also displays when images fail to load.
Good: <img src="chart.png" alt="SEO score trend showing 15% improvement over 3 months">
Bad: <img src="chart.png">
Missing Image Dimensions Info
Detection: Images without explicit width and height attributes.
Why it matters: Specifying dimensions prevents Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), a Core Web Vitals metric. The browser reserves space before the image loads.
Images Without Lazy Loading Info
Detection: Below-the-fold images without loading="lazy".
Why it matters: Lazy loading defers loading of off-screen images, improving initial page load time and reducing bandwidth usage.
Large Image Count Warning
Detection: Pages with more than 50 images.
Why it matters: Excessive images increase page weight and load time, potentially harming performance metrics and user experience.
4. Link Analysis
Links pass authority and guide search engines through your site. RankPath analyzes both internal and external links.
Broken Internal Links Critical
Detection: Internal links pointing to non-existent pages (404 errors).
Why it matters: Broken links waste crawl budget, frustrate users, and indicate poor site maintenance to search engines.
No Internal Links Warning
Detection: Pages with zero internal links to other pages on the same domain.
Why it matters: Internal links help search engines discover content and distribute page authority. Orphan pages may not be crawled or indexed.
External Links Without noopener Info
Detection: External links with target="_blank" but missing rel="noopener".
Why it matters: Security vulnerability - the opened page can access window.opener and redirect your page. Modern browsers handle this, but explicit declaration is best practice.
Links Without Descriptive Text Warning
Detection: Links with generic anchor text like "click here", "read more", or "link".
Why it matters: Descriptive anchor text helps search engines understand the linked content and improves accessibility.
Excessive Links Info
Detection: Pages with more than 100 links.
Why it matters: While there's no hard limit, excessive links dilute page authority and can appear spammy to search engines.
5. Open Graph & Social
Open Graph tags control how your pages appear when shared on social media platforms.
Missing OG Title Warning
Detection: Missing <meta property="og:title">.
Why it matters: Without og:title, Facebook and LinkedIn will attempt to scrape the title, often with poor results.
Missing OG Description Warning
Detection: Missing <meta property="og:description">.
Why it matters: Controls the preview text when your page is shared on social platforms.
Missing OG Image Warning
Detection: Missing <meta property="og:image">.
Why it matters: Posts with images get significantly more engagement. Recommended size: 1200x630 pixels.
Missing Twitter Card Info
Detection: Missing <meta name="twitter:card">.
Why it matters: Twitter will fall back to OG tags, but dedicated Twitter cards provide more control over the preview.
6. Technical Factors
Technical SEO factors affect how search engines crawl and index your pages.
Missing Language Declaration Warning
Detection: Missing lang attribute on the <html> element.
Why it matters: Helps search engines serve the right content to the right audience and is essential for accessibility.
Fix: <html lang="en">
Missing Charset Declaration Warning
Detection: Missing <meta charset> declaration.
Why it matters: Without explicit charset, browsers may misinterpret special characters, causing display issues.
Mixed Content Critical
Detection: HTTP resources loaded on HTTPS pages.
Why it matters: Browsers may block mixed content, causing broken images/scripts. It also triggers security warnings that erode user trust.
Missing Favicon Info
Detection: No favicon link in the page head.
Why it matters: Favicons appear in browser tabs, bookmarks, and some search results. They help with brand recognition and professional appearance.
Inline CSS Overuse Info
Detection: Excessive inline style attributes on elements.
Why it matters: Inline styles increase page size, can't be cached, and make maintenance difficult.
7. Content Quality
Content signals help search engines assess the quality and relevance of your pages.
Thin Content Warning
Detection: Pages with fewer than 300 words of main content.
Why it matters: While word count isn't a direct ranking factor, thin pages often lack depth to fully address user queries.
No Structured Data Info
Detection: Missing JSON-LD or microdata markup.
Why it matters: Structured data enables rich snippets in search results (stars, prices, FAQs) which can significantly improve click-through rates.
Duplicate Content Indicators Warning
Detection: Multiple URLs serving identical content without canonical tags.
Why it matters: Duplicate content dilutes ranking signals and wastes crawl budget.
8. Scoring Methodology
RankPath calculates an overall SEO score from 0-100 using weighted deductions for each issue found.
Severity Weights
- Critical issues: -15 to -25 points each
- Warning issues: -5 to -10 points each
- Info issues: -1 to -3 points each
Score Interpretation
- 90-100: Excellent - Minor optimizations possible
- 70-89: Good - Some issues to address
- 50-69: Fair - Multiple issues affecting SEO
- 0-49: Poor - Significant SEO problems
The score is designed to be actionable - fixing critical issues first will have the biggest impact on your score and SEO performance.