Score: 62. Target: publish-ready 80+. The draft was a 600-word vegan protein powder post with good research and bad metadata — no H1, thin alt text, keyword absent from the title. Ninety minutes of targeted fixes later: 84. Score rescue is mechanical, not creative: each red check maps to one concrete edit. This walkthrough replays the exact sequence so you can run it on any draft.
Part of the SEO publishing guide. Score in the SEO analyzer; preview in SERP preview. Method background in the 11-check workflow.
Baseline 62: read the reds in order
The analyzer reported: title missing keyword (−15), no H1 (−10), thin alt coverage (−8), density 0.4% (−12 partial), description 190 chars (−6 partial). Total drag: 51 points of fixable red against 600 words of solid content. Priority rule: title + H1 + density first (37 points, twenty minutes), alts + description second (14 points). Never start with alt text when the title lacks the keyword — weights decide order.
The fix sequence (62 → 84)
| Step | Edit | Score after |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Title → 56 chars with “vegan protein powder” fronted | 68 (+6 partial… full +15 needs slug too) |
| 2 | Slug → vegan-protein-powder-guide | 74 |
| 3 | H1 added with keyword; 12 mentions placed (intro, subhead, 2 alts) | 80 |
| 4 | Description 190 → 154 chars; 3 alts described | 84 |
Density math: 12 mentions in 1000 words is 1.2% — inside the 1–2% band, clear of the 5% stuffing flag. Each fix re-ran the analyzer (rerun after every ~100 words of edits, not once at the end — compounding errors hide in batch runs). The 155-char description and 60-char title were validated in the SERP preview at 540px/880px before publishing (see length guide).
The 80+ publish gate (and when to stop)
Ship at 80 with remaining yellows documented; chase 90+ only for money pages worth another hour. Never trade readability for points: a keyword crammed into every H2 reads as spam to humans and increasingly to models. Post-publish: re-score after 100 words of future edits, monitor Search Console impressions for 2–4 weeks, and refresh when templates change (fonts shift pixel widths and can un-complete previously green checks).
General guidance only. Scores predict fix-completeness, not rankings — demand and authority decide traffic.