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Well-written content can spark a reader’s imagination, letting them visualize using your product or service. But remember, people are busy, and they want to get a good idea of what they're getting into when they start reading your blog.
Just as authors break books into chapters to give readers a place to breathe, headings can serve a similar purpose for your online content. Headers are also a great place for keywords, which is why heading tags help your search engine optimization (SEO).
Learn more about the importance of heading tags and how to use them effectively.
What Are Heading Tags?
Heading tags are pieces of code that define headers and subheaders on your page. These tags tell search engines how your site is organized. They also help users navigate your site. Heading tags are structured in a hierarchy of 1-6, with 1 being the most important.
If you’re building a webpage, you would tag the header with: <code><h1>Main Web Page Topic</h1></code> Since the H1 header is the main subject, only use one per page.
For example, on your website, “About Us” would include an H1 tag. If you’re breaking the information on the page into sections, your subheaders might include “Firm History,” “Our Mission,” and “Our Services.”
Nested Heading Tags
Always follow the H1 > H2 > H3 structure when organizing your website, blog, or landing pages. Your heading tags set a logical structure for your site. It’s how you tell human readers and search engines which information is most important and what you’ve included for support or clarity.
The Importance of Heading Tags for SEO
Knowing how to use H1, H2, and H3 tags for SEO will help you enhance the user experience (UX) for humans and search engines.
Heading Tags for SEO
Search engines use heading tags to understand how your site is structured. Adding H1 tags to your web page titles helps a search engine determine whether your site is relevant for a user’s search.
For example, when you’re writing a blog, H1 is the title. It should be concise, relevant, and include your primary keyword. Including an H1 tag on a blog post titled “How To Find a Probate Lawyer in NYC” will help match your blog to people searching for that topic.
H2 tags and lower help search engines establish your relevance based on user intent. They put your main topic into context. They also help search engines rank your page for secondary keywords.
Heading Tags for UX
Heading tags enhance UX for anyone on your website by breaking up large blocks of text and making posts skimmable. If someone doesn’t have time to read the whole blog, they can skip to the sections they’re most interested in.
According to Yale University, including headings and subheadings also makes your website compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). People with visual impairments often use screen readers to read websites and other digital documents. These devices use heading tags to navigate the site and find information.
How To Use Heading Tags: H1 to H6
Improve UX and your search engine ranking by knowing when to use each heading tag:
- H1 tags are the most important and are used for the main title of a web page or blog post.
- H2 tags are for your main subheadings.
- H3 tags are for subheadings within each section.
- H4, H5, and H6 tags let you break subsections down further.
Many websites only use H1, H2, and H3 tags. As you read this blog, note the font size of each heading. H2s are bigger, so you can easily jump to another section. Some sections also include H3s to break up the text even more.
H4 to H6 Tags
Unless you’re writing a detailed product manual, creating a how-to guide, or covering a complex topic, you probably won’t use H4 to H6 headers on your website. You only need them when you need to add an extra level of detail.
For example, if you’re writing a medical study overview for a university’s website, you might have an H2 titled “Study Methodology.” This section likely has multiple H3 tags detailing each step of the study. The H3 titled “Data Collection” may also include multiple H4 subheadings for each method used to collect data.
Best Practices for Using Heading Tags
Improve SEO readability by following these best practices as you structure your content.
Use a Logical Hierarchy
Structure your content logically so users and search engines can follow it. Avoid using an H1 heading more than once. H1 tags and SEO go hand in hand. H1 establishes your main topic.
From there, don’t skip a heading level. It can confuse readers and disrupt UX.
Include Keywords
Including primary, secondary, related, and long-tail keywords in headings helps search engines match your content to search terms. Keep it natural and avoid overusing keywords.
Even with SEO writing, you want your headings to read like a conversation. If your keyword sounds awkward, put it somewhere in your body copy where it fits through natural keyword placement.
Be Clear and Concise, but Engaging
Keep your headings short for the algorithms and engaging for your readers. Your headers should be simple and descriptive. Improve click-through rates with actionable language that tells readers what to do.
Avoid vague language such as “...and more.” Your headers should give readers context about each section. Don’t use jargon, and avoid overly complicated language. Consider these examples:
- Why You Need a Probate Lawyer
- You’re Making It Too Complicated To Settle Your Estate
The first example is clear and includes the keyword “probate lawyer.” The second doesn’t give the reader any context about the post. A probate lawyer will make it easier to settle a complicated estate, but Google doesn’t know that.
Match Headings To Search Intent
Consider the words and phrases people will use to find you on search engines and use them to write your headings. Include long-tail keywords to capture voice searches. Add location-specific information where it makes sense for local SEO.
Optimize Headings for Featured Snippets
Featured snippets are excerpts that directly answer user questions. They improve your visibility online and help you get traffic from zero-click searches. They include:
- Paragraph snippets: Add a short, one-to-two sentence answer to a user query.
- List snippets: Answer questions with numbered or bulleted lists, such as a how-to.
- Table snippets: Structure answers in a table format so users can compare. For example, if you’re selling clothes, you might include a dress size conversion chart.
- Video snippets: Include a short video clip that answers how-to or action-oriented questions.
H2 and H3 headings make it easier for Google to match your content to a relevant search. Research relevant long-tail questions or phrases you can answer as part of your content optimization.
Make On-Page Adjustments for Headings
Because they tell Google and other search engines how to read your page, headings are important for on-page SEO. Use a tool such as Screaming Frog to crawl your site and flag issues with header tags.
You can also use a tool like SEMrush for an on-page SEO audit. A manual or automated SEO audit includes a review of heading tags and site structure. If yours aren’t structured correctly, learn how to optimize them with an audit.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
Your heading tags are vital for UX, SEO, and ADA compliance. When putting them together, avoid these common mistakes:
- Having multiple or missing H1 tags: A missing H1 tag makes your website unclear to people and search engines. Multiple H1 tags also confuse search engine algorithms because they can’t tell which information is most important.
- Using headers for style instead of context: Your headers should always relate to their topic. H2 tags delve deeper into H1 topics. Don’t add a header tag to an unrelated topic just for style.
- Skipping hierarchy levels: Skipping a heading level confuses readers and search engines. It also potentially impacts your website’s ADA compliance.
- Stuffing keywords and using vague labels: Adding too many keywords in headings makes your content seem like spam. Vague labels don’t put your content into context for users and search engines.
Examples of a Strong Heading Structure
Consider these sample headings when structuring your site.
- H1: How To Bake a Cheesecake
- H2: Ingredients
- H2: Necessary Equipment
- H2: Step-By-Step Instructions
- H3: Step 1. Pre-Heat Your Oven
- H3: Step 2. Prep Your Pan
- H3: Step 3. Make the Crust
- H3: Step 4. Make the Cheesecake Batter
- H3: Step 5. Assemble the Cheesecake
- H3: Step 6. Bake at 375 Degrees
- H3: Step 7. Cool and Chill
This simple heading structure makes it easy for people to prepare a shopping list, check their kitchen for spring form pans and other supplies, and follow the recipe. The main header targets a specific keyword, and the other headers are numbered for snippets.
Let Composely's Experts Enhance Your SEO Efforts
Make the most of your website headers with an SEO audit or SEO strategy. With Compose.ly’s SEO services, we can revamp your headers to make them logical and optimized for any search engine.
We also offer content writing services to scale your SEO content. You’ll receive SEO-optimized content with structured headers that offer readers a great experience and improve your online visibility. Contact us today to learn more.
