Free Headline Analyzer

How to Write Headlines That Get Clicks

A headline is the first thing people see. In search results, in their inbox, on your Google Business Profile. Research shows that 80% of people read headlines but only 20% read the full content. That means your headline does most of the selling.

This analyzer scores your headline across 8 dimensions that determine whether people click or scroll past. Word Balance measures the mix of common, uncommon, power, and emotional words. The best headlines blend all four. Emotional Value checks for words that trigger curiosity, fear, excitement, or urgency. Length ensures your headline fits the medium — the analyzer adjusts scoring based on whether you are writing a blog title, GBP post, page H1, or email subject.

Clarity uses a Flesch reading ease calculation to ensure your headline is understandable at a glance. SEO Strength evaluates structure — numbers, question formats, and keyword placement all improve click-through rates. Power Words checks for psychologically compelling terms. Sentiment measures whether your headline has a clear positive or negative angle. Both outperform neutral headlines.

The eighth dimension is what makes this tool unique: Local SEO. For service businesses, including your city name and industry keywords in headlines signals geographic relevance to Google. No other headline analyzer scores this. Enter your city and industry to see your Local SEO score.

How the 8 Dimensions Work

Headline Analyzer Comparison

Headline Formulas That Actually Work

Every high-performing headline follows a proven formula. The analyzer detects which formula you are using and scores it accordingly. Here are the formulas that consistently outperform:

Power Words That Increase Click-Through Rate

Power words are high-impact terms that trigger psychological responses. Research across millions of headlines shows that power words increase click-through rates by 12-25%.

Trust builders: Free, Proven, Guaranteed, Certified, Trusted, Recommended, Award-Winning, Official, Verified, Backed by

Urgency drivers: Limited, Instant, Now, Today, Fast, Essential, Must, Critical, Hurry, Final

Curiosity triggers: Secret, Ultimate, Exclusive, Insider, Breakthrough, Reveal, Hidden, Little-known, Surprising

For example, "5 Proven Ways to Fix a Leaky Faucet" outperforms "5 Ways to Fix a Leaky Faucet." The word "proven" adds credibility and triggers a trust response. "Free Emergency Plumbing Guide for Austin Homeowners" combines a power word (free), industry keyword (plumbing), and city name (Austin) — hitting three scoring dimensions in one headline.

Headline Length Guide by Content Type

Different platforms have different ideal headline lengths. Getting this wrong means your headline gets truncated. And truncated headlines get fewer clicks.

Blog posts: 50-60 characters. Google displays approximately 60 characters in search results. Front-load your keywords and keep the most important words in the first 50 characters. The analyzer adjusts its length scoring automatically when you select "Blog Post."

GBP posts: 40-80 characters. Google Business Profile gives you more room, and longer headlines with specific details perform well. "Free Teeth Whitening Consultation This Week at Our Austin Office" uses the full range effectively.

Email subject lines: 30-50 characters. Mobile email clients show 30-40 characters. Shorter is better. "Your Smile Makeover Starts Today" beats a longer alternative on mobile screens. The analyzer shows an email inbox preview so you can see exactly how it will look.

Page titles / H1s: 50-60 characters. Same as blog posts. These appear in search results and browser tabs. Keep them focused and keyword-rich. The SERP preview shows you exactly how your headline will appear in Google.

How the AI Rewrites Work

When you enter a headline, the tool sends it to Kimi — an AI writing assistant — along with your content type, industry, and city. Kimi analyzes the headline against proven copywriting frameworks and returns 5 rewritten alternatives.

Each rewrite includes a predicted score (based on the same 8-dimension scoring) and a one-sentence explanation of why it works better. The rewrites use different formulas: one might be a question, another a how-to, another a listicle, another urgent, another superlative. This gives you options that match different tones and contexts.

Click any rewrite to instantly test it in the analyzer. The AI call takes 2-4 seconds and happens after your instant score appears — so you never wait for the core analysis.

How to Use SERP Headline Patterns

Enter a target keyword (like "emergency plumber austin") and the tool fetches the top 10 Google results for that keyword, extracts their headlines, and shows them with pattern tags. This reveals what headline formulas are actually winning for your keyword right now.

Look for patterns: Are all 10 using numbers? Are they mostly questions? Do they include the city name? Is there a superlative arms race ("best," "top-rated," "ultimate")? Use these insights to either match the winning pattern or deliberately differentiate. If every result is a listicle, a how-to might stand out. If no one is using urgency, that could be your angle.

The data comes from DataForSEO — the same database enterprise SEO tools use. It is live data, not cached or estimated.

Frequently Asked Questions

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