Content and snippets
Headline analyzer
Score a headline from 0 to 100 for length, Google pixel width, specificity, power words and keyword placement, with every point explained and what to change.
Free · No signup · Runs in your browser
How it works
Type your headline, plus the search you want it to show up for if you have one.
We measure it in Google's title font and score seven things, right here in your browser.
You get the score, a line-by-line breakdown and what to change. Edit the headline and the score follows.
How the headline score works
The score adds up seven parts: length (20 points), word count (10), a number (10), specificity (15), power words (15), the type of headline (10) and, if you give a keyword, where it sits (20). Without a keyword the other six are scaled to 100. Clickbait, hype and vague words then take off 5 points each, up to 20.
It's deterministic: the same headline always gets the same score, and every point is shown, so you can see exactly why it moved. That also makes it a checklist rather than a judge. A 100 doesn't make a headline good, and a great one can score 70. Use it to catch the obvious problems, then read the headline out loud.
What a good headline does
A good headline tells the reader what they'll get, makes it concrete enough to believe, and gives them a reason to pick this page over the others on the screen. Specific beats clever. "7 numbers to check before you price a cleaning job" says far more than "Pricing secrets".
Google's guidance on helpful content asks whether a page's main heading or title gives a descriptive, helpful summary of the content, and whether it avoids exaggerating or being shocking. That's why clickbait costs points here. It might win the click, but it loses the reader the moment the page doesn't deliver.
Headline, H1 and title tag
Your headline usually does two jobs. On the page it's the H1, the first thing a visitor reads. In search results it's often the title tag too, and that's where length matters: Google cuts result titles by pixel width, at roughly 600 pixels on desktop. This tool measures width in Google's title font, so "too long" means too wide, not just too many characters. A headline full of W's runs out of room sooner than one full of i's.
A long H1 is fine on the page. If yours goes over, keep it and write a shorter title tag. Google can also replace the title it shows with your H1, another heading or link text; its documentation on title links says so. A headline that already says plainly what the page covers makes that swap less likely to go wrong.
Power words, without the clickbait
Power words are the ones that make a reader care: easy, proven, mistakes, free, checklist. The list here is curated by hand and leans toward words that make a claim the page can back up. One or two help. Four in one line starts to read like an ad, so the score stops rewarding them.
The penalty list is the opposite: clickbait ("you won't believe"), vague words ("amazing", "things", "ultimate") and the hype words that turn up in machine-written copy ("unlock", "elevate", "game-changer"). Long words in capitals and stacked exclamation marks count as shouting.
What this analyzer can't tell you
- Whether anyone searches for it. Check a keyword's demand before you polish the headline around it.
- What already ranks. If the top results are all lists, a plain statement may not match what searchers expect.
- How it performs. Only real impressions and clicks, in Google Search Console, can tell you that.
- Anything outside English. The word lists and the type checks are written for English headlines.
Questions people ask
What is a good headline score?
Above 80 means the basics are covered: it fits, it's specific and it doesn't shout. Between 50 and 80 usually means one or two fixable things, listed in the breakdown. Treat the number as a checklist, not a verdict.
How long should a headline be?
As a title tag, short enough to fit Google's title width of roughly 600 pixels, which is usually 50 to 60 characters. On the page there's no hard limit, but 6 to 12 words is enough for most headlines to say what the page covers.
Should the headline include my keyword?
Usually, near the start, as long as it still reads naturally. People scan the first few words of each result, and long titles get cut at the end. If the keyword makes the headline clumsy, put it in the title tag and keep the H1 for people.
Do numbers in headlines really help?
A number makes a promise the reader can check, which is why list and how-to headlines lean on them. Not every headline needs one. Use it when the page really has a count, a time, a price or a year.
Is the headline analyzer free?
Yes, with no signup. Scoring runs in your browser and your headline isn't sent anywhere. Where it's offered, the optional rewrite sends the headline to Romeo to write new versions, a few times a day for free.
Want it done for you?
Romeo writes the headline and the article behind it
He checks what people search and what already ranks, writes the headline and title tag to match, and sends every change for you to approve before it goes live.
