Every time I finish a draft, I check my SEO score before I hit publish. Unfortunately, checking my headline meant extra steps: closing that panel, opening the Headline Analyzer, checking its score, revising. Two tools, two areas in the editor, one workflow that never quite felt right.
That changes with AIOSEO 5.0.0.
The Headline Analyzer now lives inside the same area as your TruSEO score. You can locate it in any post or page under the Optimization tab of the meta box. It helps with:
- Drafting a title and checking if it's too generic before you publish
- Rewriting a headline and watching the score change instead of guessing which version is better
- Checking your headline score in the same place you check your keyword and readability scores, without leaving the editor
One panel, one score, one place to fix what's weak before it goes live.
That's the new Headline tab. And like the rest of TruSEO, it's free on every plan, including Basic.
In This Article
How the Headline Analyzer Works
AIOSEO 5.0.0 rebuilds TruSEO from the ground up. Scores now generate automatically and instantly, even outside the post editor, so you're no longer stuck staring at a post stuck on “N/A.”
As part of that rebuild, you’ll find a new tab in the editor’s meta box area, labeled Optimization.
Inside it, a single Content Optimization card shows your overall score out of 100, along with 5 sub-tabs: Keywords, Basics, Spelling, Readability, and Headline.
The Headline tab is where your Headline Analyzer now lives. Same scoring model you've used before, just a new location in the plugin. (You can also find it in the sidebar to the right of the editor.)
Why this move actually matters: it's not just tidier. Your headline score now updates automatically the same way the rest of your TruSEO score does, so you're not stuck re-checking a separate tool every time you tweak a title.
What You Can Do With It
Here are some of the features that make the TruSEO Headline Analyzer different from the other ones you can find online:
- Open the Headline tab and see your actual post title scored out of 100, no copying your headline into a separate tool.
- Edit your headline right in the field and watch the score update as you type, so you can compare multiple versions before you commit to one.
- Move between your Headline score and your Keywords or Readability score without losing your place in the WordPress editor.
And that's just the start. I break down all the details below.
Understanding Your Headline Score
Your Headline score works on a simple scale: aim for 70 or above, 40 to 69 has room to improve, and anything below 40 needs work. It's the same framing the standalone tool always used, just easier to check now that it's sitting next to everything else.
Beneath your score, you have a dashboard of additional insights:
Word Balance looks at 4 categories, each with its own target range:
| Metric | Goal |
|---|---|
| Common Words | 20-30% |
| Uncommon Words | 10-20% |
| Emotional Words | 10-15% |
| Power Words | At least 1 |
Below that, Character Count and Word Count each get their own quick pass or fail check. (A headline that's too short usually means less room for keywords and power words that help both rankings and click-through.) You get a simple explanation instead of a vague answer.
Rounding out that same grid are two more checks:
- Sentiment shows whether your headline reads as Positive, Negative, or Neutral. (Headlines with a strongly positive or negative sentiment tend to get more engagement than neutral ones.
- Headline Type identifies the category your headline falls into, like list or how-to, since some types consistently outperform others.
None of this requires you to know what a “power word” is off the top of your head. The tool tells you exactly what needs work and why it matters.
And that's really the point: you don't have to be a professional copywriter to hit a good score, you just have to fix what's flagged.
My Favorite Feature: Comparing Headlines
If you ask me my favorite part about the Headline Analyzer, it's that you can compare scores of different headlines before committing to one.
Let's look at an example.
In the screenshot below, “Beginner's Guide to Caring for Houseplants” scored 54.
Now, we're going to try a variation.
This title scores 66, showing a “+12” badge to demonstrate the difference from the last headline's score.
Like the result? Click Apply, and it replaces your post title.
Want to keep testing? Click Reset and try another version. Nothing commits until you say so.
One Thing to Know: English Only for Now
I want to be upfront about this instead of glossing over it. The rest of TruSEO 2.0 picks up grading support for 10 or more additional languages in this release, plus the ability to set your analysis language per post instead of locking it to your account language. The Headline tab doesn't get that yet. It's English only for now, with more languages coming soon.
Note: If you're writing headlines in another language, the rest of your SEO score will grade in that language. Your headline score, for the moment, won't.
Free for All Plans, Including Lite
The Headline Analyzer is available to all AIOSEO users, including Lite. No extra costs, no plan change, no separate purchase, and no separate tool to install on top of AIOSEO the way a standalone headline checker would require.
This is one piece of a larger update. AIOSEO 5.0.0 also introduces a rebuilt Spell Checker that catches errors as you type, a smarter Highlighter that shows you exactly where to fix flagged issues in your content, and Optimize with AI for one-click fixes powered by your AI credits.
And if you want a deeper look at what makes a headline score well in the first place, our guide to the best WordPress headline analyzer tools is still a good read.
Update to 5.0.0, open your next draft, and click the Headline tab before you publish.
— Ben Rojas, President of AIOSEO
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Headline Analyzer a new feature in AIOSEO 5.0.0?
No. The Headline Analyzer has been available on every AIOSEO plan for years. What's new in 5.0.0 is where it lives: inside the same Content Optimization panel as the rest of your SEO score, instead of as a separate, standalone tool.
Do I need a paid plan to use the Headline Analyzer?
No. The Headline tab is free on every AIOSEO plan, including Lite.
Does the Headline Analyzer support languages other than English?
Not yet. The rest of TruSEO 2.0 adds grading support for 10 or more additional languages, but the Headline tab remains English only for now, with more languages planned.
What's a good headline score?
Aim for 70 or above. A score between 40 and 69 has room to improve, and anything below 40 needs work before you publish.
Where did the old sidebar Page Analysis panel go?
It's been replaced by a new Optimization tab in the block editor's meta box area, which includes your Headline score alongside Keywords, Basics, Spelling, and Readability.
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