Is my homepage headline any good?
A good homepage headline names a result, says who it is for and reads in a glance, with one button that says what happens next. This free grader from InstinctGTM reads your page as the server sends it, scores the headline out of 100 against 11 published checks, and lists the 3 fixes worth the most points.
No signup. The result is yours before we ask for anything.
Grade your own headline
The rules, as published
InstinctGTM starting rules v1.0, published 2026-10-28. Our own rules, never an industry benchmark.
| Check | Points | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Names a result | 15 | The headline holds a result word from the list below, or a number. |
| Says who it is for | 15 | The headline or the line under it names a reader: "for" followed by who, or a word from the audience list. |
| One H1 in the page as served | 15 | Exactly one H1 heading in the HTML the server sends, before any JavaScript runs. More than one is a warning; none fails. |
| Short enough to read at a glance | 10 | Pass at 4 to 12 words. Warn at 3, or 13 to 16. Fail under 3 or over 16. |
| Plain to read | 10 | The headline and the line under it score grade 8 or lower on the Flesch-Kincaid grade, computed in code. Up to 11 warns; above fails. |
| No jargon | 10 | No word from the jargon list. One warns; two or more fail. |
| The main button says what happens | 10 | The first button in the hero is not one of the generic labels listed below. |
| One action, not several | 5 | At most 2 different buttons or links in the hero. 3 warns; more fails. |
| Title tag fits a search result | 5 | A <title> of 30 to 60 characters. Outside that warns; none fails. |
| Meta description fits a search result | 3 | A meta description of 70 to 160 characters. Outside that warns; none fails. |
| A share image | 2 | An og:image tag, so a shared link shows a picture instead of a blank box. |
- Result words
- save, saves, cut, cuts, grow, grows, more, fewer, less, faster, without, stop, stops, get, gets, win, wins, book, books, close, closes, ship, ships, find, finds, double, reduce, reduces, increase, increases, hours, days, weeks, minutes, revenue, customers, sales, replies, calls, paid, never, instantly, today
- Audience words
- founders, founder, teams, team, agencies, agency, startups, startup, marketers, developers, engineers, sellers, small business, small businesses, b2b, saas, shops, stores, clinics, lawyers, accountants, recruiters, creators, coaches, freelancers, consultants, designers, restaurants, landlords, parents, students, nonprofits, ecommerce, brands
- Jargon
- seamless, seamlessly, robust, cutting-edge, game-changer, game-changing, revolutionize, revolutionise, unlock, empower, elevate, supercharge, leverage, synergize, synergy, delve, myriad, plethora, effortlessly, best-in-class, next-generation, next-gen, innovative, world-class, end-to-end, holistic, paradigm, disruptive, ai-powered, transform, transformative, streamline, solutions, state-of-the-art, turnkey, scalable, mission-critical, frictionless
- Generic button labels
- get started, learn more, submit, click here, sign up, start now, start, try it, try it now, read more, discover more, explore, find out more, see more, continue, go, more, let's go, join now, get started free, start free, try for free, try free
- v1.0, 2026-10-28: First published rules: eleven checks, weights adding to 100.
A worked example
Example page: instinctgtm.com, read on 28 Oct 2026, reduced to its hero
“Hire GTM agents that run your go-to-market.”
Paste your website. You get a plan that tests the right channels on a clock, a team that does the work, and an honest report every Monday.
- Fail
- Warn
How this works
- 1The page is read as the server sends it, before any JavaScript runs, because that is what search engines and AI tools read first.
- 2The headline is the first H1 heading. The line under it is the next paragraph or heading with something to say. The buttons are the links and buttons in the same section, leaving out the menu.
- 3Names a result, worth 15 points: The headline holds a result word from the list below, or a number.
- 4Says who it is for, worth 15 points: The headline or the line under it names a reader: "for" followed by who, or a word from the audience list.
- 5One H1 in the page as served, worth 15 points: Exactly one H1 heading in the HTML the server sends, before any JavaScript runs. More than one is a warning; none fails.
- 6Short enough to read at a glance, worth 10 points: Pass at 4 to 12 words. Warn at 3, or 13 to 16. Fail under 3 or over 16.
- 7Plain to read, worth 10 points: The headline and the line under it score grade 8 or lower on the Flesch-Kincaid grade, computed in code. Up to 11 warns; above fails.
- 8No jargon, worth 10 points: No word from the jargon list. One warns; two or more fail.
- 9The main button says what happens, worth 10 points: The first button in the hero is not one of the generic labels listed below.
- 10One action, not several, worth 5 points: At most 2 different buttons or links in the hero. 3 warns; more fails.
- 11Title tag fits a search result, worth 5 points: A <title> of 30 to 60 characters. Outside that warns; none fails.
- 12Meta description fits a search result, worth 3 points: A meta description of 70 to 160 characters. Outside that warns; none fails.
- 13A share image, worth 2 points: An og:image tag, so a shared link shows a picture instead of a blank box.
- 14A check that passes earns its points, a warning earns half, and a fail earns none. The score is the points earned out of the points that applied, so a pasted headline is not marked down for page checks it never had.
- 15The fixes are the 3 checks that cost the most points. Each comes with a fill-in formula from the rules, never a rewrite, and no AI model reads your words.
What it cannot tell you
- It grades how the headline is built, not whether the claim is true or the offer is good. A clear headline for the wrong buyer still scores well.
- Word lists miss things. A result named in words the list does not hold reads as no result, so read each failed check against your own headline before changing it.
- It reads one page and only what the server sends. A site that draws its headline in the browser gets the finding and a box to paste it in.
- The reading grade is a formula built for paragraphs. On a ten-word headline it moves a lot with one long word, which is why it decides a band and never the whole score.
Questions people ask
What makes a good homepage headline?
A good homepage headline names a result the reader wants, says who it is for, and can be read in about the time it takes to look at it. The line under it does the explaining, and one button says what happens next. Claims a reader cannot picture, such as "the future of work", tell them nothing.
How long should a homepage headline be?
Short enough to read at a glance. The grader passes 4 to 12 words and warns up to 16, as a starting rule rather than a law. A longer headline usually holds two claims, and moving the second into the line under it helps both.
Should my homepage headline be an H1?
Yes. One H1 tells search engines, AI tools and screen readers which line is the headline. A page with no H1, or one that only appears after JavaScript runs, leaves them to guess, and many automated readers never run the JavaScript at all.
What should the main button on a homepage say?
What happens when it is clicked, in the reader’s words: "Get my plan", "See pricing", "Book a call". Labels like "Get started" or "Learn more" make the reader guess, and a guess is a reason not to click.
Why does Google not show my homepage headline?
Often because the headline is built by JavaScript after the page loads, so the HTML the server sends has no heading in it. Google can render JavaScript, but later and not always, and most AI tools do not. The grader reports this as a finding when it sees it.
The short version, if you would rather not run it
Most homepage headlines fail in one of two ways. They describe the product in words only the team uses, or they make a claim so wide it fits every company in the category. Both leave a stranger unable to answer the two questions they arrived with: what does this do, and is it for me.
The fix is rarely clever writing. Name the result a buyer wants, name who it is for, and keep the headline short enough to take in at once, with the detail moved into the line beneath. A reading grade of 8 or lower is a fair target for both lines together, because the reader is skimming, not studying.
Then check what a machine sees. A headline drawn in the browser by JavaScript can look perfect to you and be missing from the HTML that search engines and AI tools read first. One H1 heading, sent by the server, is the cheapest search fix most sites never make.
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By Radwan, founder of InstinctGTM · Published 2026-10-28 · Rules v1.0 · What our bot reads