Headline analyzer
What are Power Words in a Headline?
Seeklyn targets 1–3 power words per headline: 0 scores 0 (no persuasive signal), 1–3 scores 100, and more than 3 scores only 30 — a clickbait penalty that rewards restraint. Power words are persuasive trigger words (examples: "proven", "ultimate", "best") that signal strong value to a reader and lift click-through rate.
Seeklyn highlights power words with a distinct chip colour in the Word Balance panel and reports their count alongside guidance — visible at /dashboard/headline.
What makes a word a "power word"?
A power word is a persuasive term that triggers an emotional or cognitive response and signals high value to the reader. Words like "proven", "ultimate", "best", "fastest", and "essential" fit this category because they promise a concrete, compelling outcome. Seeklyn maintains a curated power-word lexicon; any token in the headline that matches the list is tagged as power in the word-balance breakdown.
Power words differ from emotional words. An emotional word has a strong valence on the LabMT hedonometer scale (below 4.0 or above 6.0), but it is not necessarily persuasive — "terrible" is emotional but not a power word. When a token qualifies as both power and emotional, Seeklyn counts it as power (priority order: power first).
How many power words should a headline have?
1–3 power words is the recommended target for a headline. Below that range the headline lacks a persuasive hook; above it the headline reads as hype and loses credibility. Seeklyn scores the power bucket at 100 for 1–3 words, 0 for none, and 30 for more than 3 — the 30 is a partial credit that penalises overuse without collapsing the entire word-balance score.
| Power-word count | Bucket score | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | No persuasive signal; add 1 power word |
| 1–3 | 100 | Ideal range — persuasive without clickbait |
| 4 or more | 30 | Clickbait penalty — trim to 1–3 |
Why does using too many power words hurt the score?
Using more than 3 power words triggers a clickbait penalty because readers and AI engines discount hyperbolic phrasing. A headline like "The Ultimate Best Proven Fastest Guide" accumulates 4 power-word tags and scores 30 on the power bucket instead of 100 — dropping the word-balance score and the CTR component. The 1–3 threshold aligns with CoSchedule-style headline analysis.
Where do power words appear in the Seeklyn UI?
Every power word in the headline receives a distinctive chip colour in the Word Balance token row. The Power bucket card shows the count, whether it is in band, and a one-sentence guidance message. If the count is 0 the message suggests an example: "Add one power word (e.g. 'proven', 'ultimate') to make the headline more persuasive."
Frequently asked questions
Do power words help with AEO as well as CTR?
Power words contribute to the CTR component via word balance. They also interact with the clarity check: more than 3 power words makes a headline less clear, which can affect the AEO extractability score. The primary benefit is CTR.
Is "best" always a power word in Seeklyn?
"Best" is in Seeklyn's power-word lexicon, so yes — it is always tagged as power regardless of context. The same applies to other superlative terms such as "top", "ultimate", and "proven".
How is the power-word list maintained?
Seeklyn ships a curated lexicon embedded in the backend. The list is not user-editable in the current version; additions follow the same publish-and-deploy process as other backend changes.