Heading tags are used to provide meaning to users by grouping relevant text together. They are often used as a classification system understood by search engines, bots, assistive technologies, and browsers. The most essential heading tags are H1 for titles, H2 subheadings, H3 sub-sub headings, etc. Heading tags in html can drastically improve the readability of your page.
Importance of Heading Tags in SEO?
Heading tags are an essential part of your site because they describe the web content for search engine bots and browsers. Well-formed headings structures make websites readable and help both the visitor and the search engines organize content effectively. Their SEO value can illustrate the value of heading tags. Heading tags are important in SEO, not because of their role in HTML but for their relevance to your users. Today I am going to share with you the most important tags and why they are so important.
Types of Heading Tags in SEO
It’s pretty common knowledge that using multiple H1 (the most crucial heading, larger fonts, bolded) tags on a page creates a duplicate content penalty. What isn’t commonly known is that there are five different types of heading tags: H1 through H6 (in HTML terms, any text between and including <h1> and </h1> ). I’ll explain each one, tell you the benefits and disadvantages of each, and show you examples of each.
H1 Tag
H1 tags are the most important search engine optimization factor for any page. The h1 heading tag is used to denote the topic of the page. According to Google’s Webmaster Guidelines, this heading tag should be present on every page of your website. Writing a unique and descriptive h1 tag can improve your site structure and overall user experience for both you and your readers. Few things to remember about H1 tags:
- Avoid using the h1 tag for navigational purposes.
- H1 tags are for headers and titles only.
- If you’re using a content management system, create custom titles for each page.
- The h1 tag is generally used to provide primary navigation.
- The h1 tag should be the first tag on the page.
H2 Tag
The heading 2 tag or H2 tag can be used in an article or page to help provide structure and importance to the content. This tag allows the user to identify important elements in the content. The H2 tag will appear larger than normal text and bolded. Depending on your CSS, it can look like a significant improvement over the H1 but usually doesn’t quite get the job done when getting additional meaning from your tags.
- <h2> tags should NOT be followed by a <span> or <em> tag.
- <h2> tags should NOT be more than 6 words.
- <h2> tags should NOT repeat words.
- <h2> tags should NOT be longer than one line.
- <h2> tags should contain a keyword.
- <h2> tags should have the keyword in the first line of the heading tag.
- <h2> tags should NOT contain special characters (e.g., &, <, >, etc.)
H3 Tag
The H3 element or heading 3 is one of the 6 heading tags in HTML. The H3 heading tag is most commonly used with subheadings to designate the topic of your subheading. The H3 tags convey essential information about the page contents, and readers should be able to glance at this page and instantly know what section they are in. Though h3 heading tags aren’t the most important, they still have a role to play. The search engines consider h3 heading tags important, too, so use them appropriately.
H4 Tag
The h4 tag is a level 4 heading element within an HTML document, often used with h1-h6 tags. This tag aims to group sections of a document or, if used with other heading tags, to create a hierarchical structure for better accessibility. In contrast to the h1 to h6 tags, H4 is defined as a sectioning element. A sectioning element typically includes a heading and some relevant text followed by the main content of the page or section.
The h4 heading tag is the perfect way to organize and format your content. You can introduce a new subject line and or topic without screwing everything up.
H5 Tag
The h5 heading tag is one of the small elements on a webpage that can improve your website’s usability. It works similarly to h1, h2, h3, etc., but “h5” is used for paragraphs. The h5 heading tag is important in html to give main ideas or sub-topics that are needed, but it depends on how you want to use this tag. It will be better to put sub-topics under the h3 heading tag instead of h5.
H6 Tag
When it comes to designing your blog, the h6 heading tag might not be a top priority. But if you want to make sure no other text will overlay your content, it’s good to properly use the h6 heading tag. The h6 heading tags are used for sectioning content on a page. They are the smaller heading tags after h1, h2, h3.
Heading level 6 is a heading for a text that is smaller than heading level 3. It should be used as an aid to navigation, as a group header, or as the heading of a sub-section of a document. Heading level 6 uses the <h6> tag and can be styled using CSS, Transitional DSSSL, and XSL: FO.
Conclusion
Heading tags are used to structure web pages. The heading tags are important for SEO keywords because if you choose the right heading tags, you will make the search engines understand better what your content is about. This is why it is crucial to know how to write heading tags in SEO correctly so that your website will rank well on search engines. If you’re not sure how to implement heading tags correctly, then you take the help of SEO professionals or a top-rated seo company near your location.
