The scoring rules, point by point
The headline score is a fixed checklist that adds up to a maximum of 100. Nothing is learned from search data or click data, so treat the number as a structured way to notice common headline habits, not as a forecast of performance.
| Check | Points | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Word count | 25 / 15 / 5 | 25 for 6 to 12 words; 15 for 4 to 5 or 13 to 15 words; 5 for anything else |
| Character length | 20 / 12 / 5 | 20 for 60 characters or fewer; 12 for 61 to 70; 5 above 70 |
| Power word | 20 | At least one word from a built-in list of 23, such as proven, free, essential, quick |
| Emotional word | 20 | At least one word from a built-in list such as amazing, surprising, stunning |
| Hook | 15 | Starts with a digit, starts with "how to", or ends with a question mark |
Ratings follow the total: 80 and up is Excellent, 60 to 79 Good, 40 to 59 Fair, and below 40 Needs work. Matching is case-insensitive, and punctuation is stripped from each word before it is looked up, so Proven, still counts. The "Type" label (Listicle / number, How-to, Question or General) comes from the same hook test.
Worked example
These results were produced by running the exact rules above:
| Headline | Words / chars | Score |
|---|---|---|
7 Proven Ways to Write Headlines That Get More Clicks | 10 / 53 | 80: 25 + 20 + 20 (proven) + 15 (starts with a number), no emotional word |
How to Write an Amazing Headline Fast | 7 / 37 | 100: 25 + 20 + 20 (fast) + 20 (amazing) + 15 (how to) |
Headlines | 1 / 9 | 25: 5 + 20, nothing else |
Our Company Blog Post About Some Things We Have Been Thinking About Lately In The Office | 16 / 88 | 10: 5 + 5, and the tool warns it may be cut off in Google |
What the score cannot see
- Meaning. The lists are small, so a strong word outside them earns nothing. "Ruthless" or "foolproof" scores zero as an emotional or power word, and a misleading headline stuffed with listed words scores well.
- Sentiment is displayed, not scored. Positive, Negative or Neutral comes from a separate word list and does not change the number.
- The 60 and 70 character lines are rules of thumb for how much of a title Google usually shows. Google truncates by pixel width, so a title of wide letters can be cut earlier. To see a real snippet, paste the final title into the SERP snippet checker.
- An empty box shows no score. The score and rating display a dash and a prompt to type a headline until there is something to rate.
Using it well
Draft three or four versions of the same headline and compare the breakdown, rather than chasing 100. A headline that honestly describes the page and scores 60 is better than a hollow one that scores 100, because visitors who feel misled leave quickly. Once the title is settled, the supporting snippet matters just as much; the meta description guide covers that half.