How to Use SEO Score Checker (1970 Guide)

YouTube SEO is six small things done consistently: a keyword-led title, a description that says what the video is in the first 150 characters, tags that reinforce rather than expand, chapters with searchable names, hashtags that classify, and captions that are accurate. The SEO Score Checker scores your metadata across all six, explains each deduction, and gives the exact fix.

This guide covers the six checks, which ones actually move ranking, and how to use the checker as a pre-publish gate.

The six checks and their weights

Title (25 pts): keyword present, position, length under 60, no clickbait patterns YouTube penalises. Description (25): keyword in first 150 characters, 200+ words, structure, no link walls at the top. Tags (15): 10–25 tags, primary keyword as first tag, no irrelevant trending tags. Chapters (15): present, 0:00 start, descriptive names. Hashtags (10): 3–5, relevant, positioned last. Captions (10): uploaded or auto with corrections, matching spoken keyword.

Title and description carry half the score because they are what YouTube and Google actually read for ranking. Tags and hashtags are classification aids.

What moves ranking

If your score is under 60, fixing title and description will account for most of the gain. From 60 to 85, chapters and captions matter — they open Google key-moments and improve accessibility signals. Above 85, SEO is no longer your constraint; retention and click-through are.

Pre-publish gate

Paste your draft title, description and tags before uploading. A score of 80+ means publish. Below that, work the fix list — it takes five minutes and prevents the most common metadata mistakes from ever going live.

Tips

• Include the video's primary keyword explicitly in the input so the checker knows what you are targeting.
• Run it on your ten most-viewed older videos; small metadata fixes on videos that already rank give the fastest wins.
• Score after any title change to a live video; it is easy to lose the keyword position while chasing a hook.

Common mistakes

• Optimising for score above 90 — Diminishing returns. Spend the time on the thumbnail.
• Keyword repetition to raise the description score — Density above 3% is flagged and costs points.
• Skipping captions — Auto-captions with a corrected keyword are worth the 10 points and help Google index the video.

Worked example