SEO Score API – Free SEO Audit API for Developers

TL;DR

TL;DR: SEO Score API gives developers 82 SEO checks in a single API call — on-page, performance, accessibility, and AI-readability scoring — with SDKs for Python, Node, n8n, and GitHub Actions.

Source and Accuracy Notes

• Official site: https://seoscoreapi.com
• API docs: https://seoscoreapi.com/docs
• GitHub Actions integration: https://seoscoreapi.com/github-actions

What Is SEO Score API?

SEO Score API is a free developer-focused SEO audit tool that runs 82 checks against any URL and returns a structured JSON response. Checks cover on-page SEO, page performance, accessibility, AI readability, and SXO/AEO/AIO scoring dimensions.

The API is designed for automation: CI/CD pipelines, content workflows, and builder tools that need to validate SEO health without opening a browser.

Setup Workflow

Step 1: Get an API Key

Sign up at seoscoreapi.com — no credit card required. Free tier includes a generous daily call limit suitable for local development and small projects.

Step 2: Run Your First Audit

curl -X GET "https://seoscoreapi.com/v1/score?url=https://example.com" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

A successful response looks like:

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "overall_score": 72,
  "on_page_score": 68,
  "performance_score": 81,
  "accessibility_score": 75,
  "ai_readability_score": 64,
  "sxo_score": 70,
  "checks": [
    { "id": "meta-title-length", "status": "pass", "score": 10 },
    { "id": "image-alt-text", "status": "fail", "score": 0, "message": "3 images missing alt text" }
  ],
  "audited_at": "2026-06-14T19:15:00Z"
}

Step 3: Integrate with Python SDK

pip install seoscoreapi

from seoscoreapi import SEOClient

client = SEOClient(api_key="YOUR_API_KEY")
result = client.audit("https://example.com")

print(f"Score: {result.overall_score}/100")
print(f"Failed checks: {[c['id'] for c in result.checks if c['status'] == 'fail']}")

Step 4: GitHub Actions Integration

Add SEO audits to your CI pipeline:

# .github/workflows/seo-audit.yml
- name: Run SEO Audit
  run: |
    curl -s -X GET "https://seoscoreapi.com/v1/score?url=${{ env.SITE_URL }}" \
      -H "Authorization: Bearer ${{ secrets.SEO_API_KEY }}" \
      | jq '.overall_score'

Deeper Analysis

What sets it apart: Most SEO tools are GUI-first dashboards. SEO Score API is built for developers who want programmatic, scriptable SEO checks — ideal for content pipelines, site generators, and automated QA.

Scoring dimensions:

• On-page SEO — meta tags, heading hierarchy, canonical URLs, structured data
• Performance — Core Web Vitals signals, render-blocking resources
• Accessibility — ARIA labels, color contrast, keyboard navigation readiness
• AI readability — Flesch-Kincaid, sentence length, paragraph density
• SXO/AEO/AIO — Search Experience Optimization, Answer Engine Optimization, Index Engine Optimization signals

SDK availability: Python, Node.js, n8n node, and GitHub Actions official integration. Community SDKs may exist for other languages.

Practical Evaluation Checklist

• [ ] API returns structured JSON within 5 seconds for a standard page
• [ ] Response includes actionable checks array with pass/fail per rule
• [ ] Overall score aligns with manual audit in another tool (e.g., Ahrefs, Screaming Frog)
• [ ] Python SDK correctly surfaces all 5 scoring dimensions
• [ ] GitHub Actions workflow passes with a passing score threshold
• [ ] Free tier limits are clearly documented and sufficient for dev workflows

Security Notes

• API key is passed via Authorization: Bearer header — never in query parameters
• No storage of audited URLs on the service side (stateless audit)
• HTTPS enforced for all API calls
• Rate limiting is per-key; implement exponential backoff if you hit 429s

FAQ

Q: Is the free tier sufficient for production use? A: The free tier has a daily call limit (check seoscoreapi.com for current limits). For high-volume production use, the paid tier is required. The free tier is designed for development, CI workflows, and small sites.

Q: Does it crawl JavaScript-rendered pages? A: The API performs a server-side fetch. Heavily JavaScript-dependent pages may not render fully — test your specific use case. For SPA sites, you may need to provide a pre-rendered URL or use a rendering service upstream.

Q: How does the score compare to Ahrefs or Screaming Frog? A: SEO Score API uses a similar rule set but a different weighting model. Treat it as a relative indicator, not an absolute truth. Use it for trend tracking and CI pass/fail gates rather than authoritative rankings.

Q: Can I audit multiple URLs in bulk? A: Yes — loop over your URL list and call the API per URL. For large batches, implement concurrency limits to stay within rate limits.

Conclusion

SEO Score API fills a gap for developers who want SEO validation embedded in their workflows rather than bolted onto a dashboard. The 82-check model, free tier, and GitHub Actions integration make it a practical addition to any content or site-quality pipeline.

If you are already using Screaming Frog or Ahrefs for manual audits, SEO Score API complements those tools for automated, scripted checks in CI.