Yoast content analysis: what each check is testing and which ones to act on

Yoast runs two separate analyses on every post: an SEO analysis, which checks whether the page is clearly about the focus keyphrase you entered, and a readability analysis, which checks sentence and paragraph construction. Each returns a list of bullets coloured red, orange or green with a short explanation. The useful ones test things that genuinely help a reader and a search engine understand the page: the keyphrase in the title, in the first paragraph, in a subheading and in the slug, a written meta description, internal and outbound links, image alt text and enough text to answer the question. The rest are style suggestions you can take or leave. Write the page for the reader first, then open the panel as a final pass and clear the structural items.

This page covers the analysis panel itself. For what the plugin as a whole does, how the free and premium versions differ and how to set it up, see Yoast SEO explained.

How the panel works

You set a focus keyphrase in the Yoast sidebar or the metabox below the editor. Everything in the SEO analysis is then measured against that phrase. Set it to the phrase people actually search, in the words they use, and set it once per page. Two pages on the same keyphrase compete with each other, which is why Yoast flags a keyphrase you have used before. The readability analysis runs regardless of the keyphrase and looks only at how the writing is built.

The SEO checks, and what to do about each

Check	What it is testing	Act on it
Keyphrase in SEO title	Whether the title tag contains the phrase, and how near the front	Yes. The title is the strongest on page signal and the line people decide to click
Keyphrase in meta description	Whether you wrote a description and used the phrase in it	Yes, write the description. Treat it as the advert for the page
Keyphrase in introduction	Whether the first paragraph is visibly about the topic	Yes. Answering the question in the opening paragraph is good writing and good for search
Keyphrase in subheading	Whether at least one heading reflects the topic	Yes, where it reads naturally. Headings are how both readers and machines scan
Keyphrase in slug	Whether the URL contains the phrase	Yes on new pages. Never change a published URL for this alone
Keyphrase length and distribution	Whether the phrase is short enough and spread through the text	Lightly. Use it where it fits and ignore the nudge to insert it again
Keyphrase density	How often the phrase appears relative to total words	Only as an upper bound. A red flag for too high is worth heeding; a red flag for too low is not worth stuffing the page over
Previously used keyphrase	Whether another page targets the same phrase	Yes. Either differentiate the pages or combine them into one stronger page
Outbound links	Whether you link to any other site	Yes, when you have something worth citing. Link to the primary source rather than to anything
Internal links	Whether you link to your own related pages	Yes. This is the highest value item in the list and the most ignored
Image alt attributes	Whether images have alt text containing the phrase	Write alt text that describes the image. Do not bend it to include the phrase
Text length	Word count against a minimum	As a prompt to check completeness, not a target. Answer the question fully and stop
SEO title width	Whether the title fits the space search results give it	Yes. A truncated title loses the end of your message

The readability checks

These are writing style tests applied by formula. They are a useful second reader and they are not rules.

Check	What it measures	How to treat it
Flesch reading ease	A score from sentence length and syllable count	Use it to spot a page that has drifted into jargon. A technical page for specialists can score lower and still be right
Sentence length	Share of sentences over twenty words	Worth acting on. Splitting long sentences improves almost every page
Paragraph length	Paragraphs over a word threshold	Worth acting on, especially for anything read on a phone
Subheading distribution	Long stretches of text with no heading	Worth acting on. It makes the page scannable and gives you natural places to be quoted from
Consecutive sentences	Three or more sentences starting with the same word	A fair catch. Vary the openings
Transition words	Share of sentences using linking words	Take or leave. Good writing often scores badly here
Passive voice	Share of sentences in the passive	Lightly. Some sentences are better passive, and the check cannot tell which

The order to clear the panel in

• Write the page for the reader, with the answer in the first paragraph.
• Set the focus keyphrase, and check the previously used warning before anything else.
• Fix the title and the meta description. These two decide whether anybody clicks.
• Add two to five internal links to genuinely related pages of your own, with anchor text that describes the destination.
• Check the headings tell the story on their own when read as a list.
• Write real alt text for every image.
• Scan the readability bullets and act on sentence length, paragraph length and subheading distribution. Leave the rest.
• Publish. Then come back in six weeks with Search Console and see which queries the page actually attracted, which is better information than any plugin can offer.

Premium additions worth knowing about

The premium version lets you add related keyphrases and have the analysis run on them too, recognises synonyms and word forms so you are not penalised for writing naturally, suggests internal links as you write, and adds an insights view of the words your page uses most. The free version covers the checks that matter for a single page well. The premium features earn their place on a site with a lot of related content, where the internal link suggestions save real time.

What to pair the panel with

Yoast reads the page. It does not know what people typed to reach it, which competitors rank for the same phrase, or whether your page actually answers the question better than theirs. So pair it with two free things: Search Console for the queries and clicks each page really gets, and the search results page itself for what the current top results contain. For choosing the keyphrase in the first place, see keyword research in five steps.

Where people get stuck on yoast content analysis

Do I need every bullet to be green?

No. Aim for green on the title, the meta description, the introduction, the subheading, internal links and alt text. Leave transition words and passive voice wherever the writing is better as it is.

What is a good keyphrase density in Yoast?

Yoast treats a band in the low single digits as acceptable and warns above it. Use the warning as a ceiling, write naturally, and spend the attention on titles and headings instead, which carry more weight than repetition does.

Why does Yoast say my keyphrase was used before?

Because another post or page on your site already targets it. Two pages aimed at one phrase split your own signals. Either make one of them clearly about a different question, or merge them and redirect the weaker URL to the stronger one.

Does the readability score affect rankings?

It is Yoast own measure rather than a search engine signal. It matters because clearer writing gets read, shared and quoted, which is the route by which readability shows up in your results.

Is the content analysis different in Rank Math or All in One SEO?

The checks are similar, with each plugin weighting them slightly differently and some offering a single numeric score instead of coloured bullets. The underlying work is identical, so a page built well for one panel scores well in the others.

One thing the panel cannot see yet

Yoast checks the page against the phrase you typed. There is now a second audience reading the same page. When someone asks ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude or Google AI Overviews which company to use or how something works, the reply is assembled from pages like yours and names a few businesses with its sources listed. The structural work the panel pushes you towards, a direct answer in the opening paragraph, honest headings, real internal links, is exactly what makes a page quotable in those answers. What the panel cannot tell you is whether it worked. Those five systems answer differently and cite different sources, so it takes a check of its own. AI Knows Us measures which businesses those answers name in your category and which pages they cite. See how the check works.