What Are Header Tags, Anyway?
Header tags, also known as H tags, are HTML segments that help to organise your website. Ranging from H1 to H6, they provide structure and order to your content. Almost every webpage will have a H1 tag, because this is the title or main heading. It should reflect what your audience is seeking and be easily discoverable by search engines. An example of a H1 tag in HTML is our very own title of this blog:
<h1>Why Header Tags are Vital to Your Webpage</h1>
Is a H1 tag the same as a title tag?
In short, no. Both play an important role in SEO, but they serve different purposes. A H1 tag is used within the body of the webpage, and it defines the main heading of the content. Readers can see it on the page and search engines use it to decipher the structure and content of the page. A title tag is relevant to the title of the webpage. You can find it in the browser and it’s identified by search engines to be placed on search engine results pages. The title tag is not visible on the actual webpage content.
What’s the difference between H1 tags to H2, H3 and H4 tags?
While H1 tags should take precedence on your webpage, it’s important to give all your heading tags the same amount of love. H2 tags serve as subheadings for your content, while H3–H6 tags further break up your webpage, bookmarking each section. Although each number indicates progressively lesser importance, well-constructed H2-H6 tags still play an important role in structuring your page and further enhancing your SEO value.
There are several reasons why you need to make sure your H tags are easily identifiable and well structured.
They act as signposts: H tags guide the reader and allow them to quickly grasp the general flow of what will be covered on the webpage. Acting as visual markers, they help the audience easily locate specific points in the text they are seeking.
SEO optimisation: H tags help search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of your content, improving webpage visibility in search results and ensuring your content reaches the right audience.
Improve user experience: Well-utilised H tags enhance the reader’s experience by making the content easier to navigate, more readable, and digestible through clear subcategories. H tags also mean a a logical and organised structure is established, making it easy for users to follow and understand the information presented.
Accessible to all: Screen readers use H tags to deliver content in a structured and meaningful way, improving the navigability of your website and making it more accessible to users with visual impairments or other disabilities.
Getting the Most Out of Your H1 Tags
- You need a heading! – Did you know that 59.5% of sites have missing H1 tags? Without a H1 tag your webpage lacks direction. Not only will your page be much harder for users and SEO to locate, but webpages without a heading look unprofessional and disorganised.
- Keep it to one – Although you can have as many H2 or H3 tags as you like, it’s crucial to keep H1 tags to just the one. According to ahrefs Report, 51.3% of sites out there have multiple H1 tags , and having multiple primary headings looks clumsy and can confuse your reader, whereas keeping it to a single H1 tag helps to clearly define your main topic and adds significant SEO value.
- Short and Snappy – It’s good practice to keep your H1 tag concise. Not only does a short heading look professional, it offers clarity to your reader and helps to improve your SEO ranking. With mobile devices becoming the primary method of internet access, a short H1 tag ensures that your heading is readable and mobile friendly.
- Keep it relevant – A H1 tag is there to summarise your content and act as a short and snappy outline for your audience, telling them what they can expect to find on your webpage. It aids navigation for search engines, offering a snapshot of the page’s content and structure.
- Match user intent – When H tags accurately reflect user intent, they help visitors quickly find relevant information, leading to a more satisfying and efficient browsing experience. Additionally, aligning H tags with user intent ensures that search engines understand what readers are looking for, which can potentially improve your webpage’s position in search results.
- Include Keywords – Make sure to include one or two key keywords in your H1 heading; this will enhance your SEO ranking and help your audience find what they’re looking for. However, avoid overloading the heading with too many keywords or unnecessary jargon, as a cluttered heading can make it harder for users to understand and the shoehorning of SEO words becomes obvious, impacting on readability.
Now you have a better understanding of header tags, take the time to play around with some tags of your own. Discover which ones resonate well with readers and SEO, and which ones don’t get the same traction. Experimenting with heading tags presents a great opportunity to perform some A/B testing to see what sticks and what doesn’t.
