Keyword Position Checker
Placement beats frequency. This checks the eight places a keyword genuinely earns its keep.
View the page source in your browser (Ctrl+U or ⌘+U) and paste the whole thing. Nothing is uploaded.
Where it appears
A partial match means some of the keyword's words are present but not the exact phrase — often perfectly fine, and sometimes better than forcing the exact wording.
What the keyword Position Checker does
Where a keyword appears matters far more than how often. A term in the title tag carries more weight than the same term repeated eight times in the body, because position signals what the page claims to be about rather than how enthusiastic the author was about a phrase.
This checker looks at eight placements in descending order of usefulness: the title tag, the H1, the first hundred words, the first paragraph, the meta description, subheadings, image alt text and the URL slug. For each one it reports an exact phrase match, a match where all the words are present but separated, a partial match, or nothing.
The distinction between exact and scattered matters less than people assume. Best running shoes for flat feet and the best shoes for runners with flat feet are understood as the same topic, and forcing the exact string into a heading it does not fit produces stilted writing for no gain. Treat a scattered match as a pass and only reach for the exact phrase where it reads naturally — usually the title and the H1.
Three placements are worth a specific caution. Every subheading containing the keyword reads as manipulation, not emphasis; one or two is the right number. Alt text exists to describe an image for someone who cannot see it, so putting the keyword there is only correct when the image genuinely depicts it. And the URL slug is worth getting right before publishing, because changing it later means a redirect and a period of lost equity.
How to use it
- Enter the phrase the page is targeting.
- Paste the page's HTML source below it.
- Aim for a green result on the title, H1 and first paragraph at minimum — those three do most of the work.
- Ignore a missing alt-text or subheading match unless the placement would be genuinely natural.
A worked example
A page targeting running shoes for flat feet scores 6/8:
✓ Title tag Exact match
✓ H1 heading All words present
✓ First 100 words Exact match
✓ First paragraph Exact match
✓ Meta description All words present
✗ A subheading Not found
! Image alt text Some words present
✓ URL slug All words presentThat is a strong result and needs no further work. The missing subheading is worth adding only if there is a section that genuinely covers the term — renaming How we tested to How we tested running shoes for flat feet would be forcing it. The partial alt match is fine: the image shows a test rig, and describing it accurately is more valuable than inserting a keyword that does not describe what is in the picture.
Frequently asked questions
Does the keyword have to appear in the URL?
It helps a little and it reads well when the link is shared, but it is a minor factor. Never change an established URL purely to insert a keyword — the redirect and the temporary loss of equity cost more than the placement gains.
Should the title and H1 be identical?
They can be, and often are, but they serve different readers. The title competes in a search result and may carry a brand suffix; the H1 greets someone who has already arrived. Making them slightly different is natural and entirely safe.
Is it bad if the exact phrase never appears?
Usually not. Search engines match topics and synonyms, so a page about “shoes for runners with fallen arches” can rank for “flat feet” perfectly well. Getting the exact phrase into the title and H1 is still worth doing where it reads naturally.
How early should the keyword appear?
Within the first paragraph, and ideally the first sentence. That is less about ranking than about a reader deciding in three seconds whether they have landed on the right page.