Are You Making the Most of Your Page H1 Tag?
Despite the fact that it is still unconfirmed and unclear how much heading tags affect the actual search algorithm, H1 tag is most likely to matter a lot (I believe many SEOs will testify for that relying on their experience). Therefore it is really essential to use it correctly.
So today I am offering an essential checklist for you to proofread your global H1 tag usage:
- H1 tag should be present on each page: heading is an integral part of any page.
- H1-wrapped element of the page should comply with common rules of any heading: make it catchy, concise, descriptive and short;
- H1 tag should the first header tag in the source code: so that people, search bots and screen readers immediately understand what the page is going to be about.
- H1 tag should be unique from page to page: H1 tag is another effective way to avoid internal duplicate content. Keep it focused and unique from page to page.
- H1 tag should contain the page target keywords: i.e. put your key terms in the most prominent (textual) part of the page.
- There should be only one H1 element per page. A frequent mistake on blogs is to use H1 tags for each post title on the home page. In fact, the post title should wrapped in H1 tags only on the post page.
- H1 element shouldn’t be linked: the top-level heading on the page – the only way to link it is to link to that same page – and no page should link to itself.
Have I missed anything? Please share!
Ann Smarty
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56 Responses to “Are You Making the Most of Your Page H1 Tag?”
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Are You Making the Most of Your Page H1 Tag? http://tinyurl.com/deqyqc
is reading interesting short news on SEO for H1 tags http://tinyurl.com/deqyqc
???? h1 Tag ??????. http://tinyurl.com/deqyqc
Are you making the most out of your H1 tag? http://tinyurl.com/deqyqc
RT @seosmarty: My Wednesday SEO tip on H1 tags: http://tinyurl.com/deqyqc
Good Stuff: RT @seosmarty My Wednesday SEO tip on H1 tags: http://tinyurl.com/deqyqc
My Wednesday SEO tip on H1 tags: http://tinyurl.com/deqyqc
Pretty conclusive. Don’t think you missed anything!
- L
Please explain why having more than one H1s is a problem. I was concerned about this initially (for my sites), but was told by another respected SEOer that I should not worry about it. Right now on many of our pages the first h1 (through css) pulls in the logo. The second is the page title. Please elaborate!
Ann Smarty Reply:
February 25th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Erin, H1 tag represents the main heading of the page – it’s like you can’t have to titles for an essay. You have one heading and all the rest are sub-headings.
Erin Reply:
February 25th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
I know, I just took the previous SEOer seriously because it is an effort to change the way the css pulls in the site’s logo.
I agree in theory and thought this immediately when I saw the way my site did this. But I haven’t actually seen any down side. If I keyword target the page well enough, I shoot up the SERPs pretty quickly.
My point. I agree in theory, but without any evidence it will be hard for me to get web dev to make a change. So, do you have any “proof”?
Barry Welford Reply:
February 25th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Erin
You should be using h2 tags as well so why not have the others you thought might be h1′s as h2′s. This way you can think of it as slices within the same blog post. If you have multiple h1′s, it is as if you had several blog post contents all packaged one after the other within the single entry. I hope that isn’t too confusing.
Barry Welford’s last incredible blog post..The NOW Web From An Even Higher Place
Ann Smarty Reply:
February 25th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
True and if you follow the link in the first paragraph – you’ll see another post discussing how much H-tags influence rankings. Most sites have completely screwed HTML semantic structure and rank fairly well. So your point is valid.
The main point is to be focused. Do you target different terms in both H1 headings? If not, why have two of them? If yes, you might end up having major keyword cannibalization problems.
seo bag Reply:
February 25th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
You can add more than 1 H1 tags on every page and see the results from 2-3 month. After that you can edit site pages and leave only one H1 tag and compare what better.
My site actually uses an H1 and and H2 to pull in the logo. Then I use the H1 and H2 to target keywords . . . provide good content for users.
That would be a nice experiment.
I don’t mean to say you are wrong, Anne, just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing anything huge. Came in to SEO this site after it was built . . .
Please fix point 7. AFAICS there’s an “Don’t” at the front that wants to get deleted.
Thanks for a good list!
Ann Smarty Reply:
February 25th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Ooops, thanks Daniel – corrected.
Another very important piece of the integrating the H1 tag is to use CSS to style the H1 appropriately within your pages.
You could even “mask” it into your content.
,Michael Martin
Google And Blog
Headings should be hierarchically spread through the page. But sometimes it is hard to achieve that when using cms to build site. At some pages at my blog I have one h1 and few h3 tags. Do you think it is not in good seo manner to skip h2?
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I think of H2s as the subheads on the page. Can you pull the H2 from your meta description? I find that works very well.
Another good tip to share is to make sure you vary your H1 from your title tag. I’ve seen many sites that use the exact same keyword dense phrases in both their title and their H1. This could cause “over-optimization” red flags to fly up in Google’s ranking of the page. Everything else you mentioned is top notch!
Thanks!
Erin Reply:
February 25th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Well, the title tag would have the name of your site after the title and the the H1 wouldn’t contain that. But I am now on to my fifth site that repeats the title tag in the h1. No problems, just doing better in SERPs.
Just wondering what you mean by _cathy_ in the phrase “common rules of any heading: make it cathy, concise, descriptive and short;”. Nice reminder post.
maybe you miss one…
tag should be the same as tag??? or the content in tag must be included in the ??
sorry, some words can’t display
h1 tag should be the same as title tag??? or the content in h1 tag must be included in the title tag ??
feedbb’s last incredible blog post..101???????
Flash actionscript developer Reply:
February 26th, 2009 at 4:47 am
You should take one of targeted keyword from your title tag to put it on H1 tag. as far concern to h1 tag should include main targeted keyword with pretty gud context. t
Flash actionscript developer’s last incredible blog post..How to improve aesthetic appeal of a website
Nice tips, as always, Ann.
I have a question – is it ok to have multiple H2, H3 tags on the same page?
iCan't Internet Reply:
February 26th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Yes it is… Think of the H1 tag as the title of that specific page, and the H2 tags as the first lines of the different alineas in your article. Same goes for H3, but a level lower.
This way, you use your Hx tags to create structure in your article/page
iCan’t Internet’s last incredible blog post..Google in 2012?
Anand Reply:
February 26th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Thanks for the explanation.
iCan't Internet Reply:
February 26th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
You are most welcome my friend
iCan’t Internet’s last incredible blog post..Google in 2012?
On this blog the H1 is the Logo and H2 is the title of the post. Mush like Erin.
Nice post. Fine tips.Thanks for sharing.
Something else about the h1 tag that’s not that widely known is that if your page has no title tag, if Google finds an h1 tag in the page, it will sometimes use that as the title in the SERPS snippets.
Ian Macfarlane’s last incredible blog post..Ask.com also supporting the new canonical tag
Got my answer about having more than 1 h1. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIn5qJKU8VM&feature=channel
Michael Martin Reply:
March 19th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Sweet I posted a similar question to Matt on H1s.
He didn’t say if multiple H1s dilute each’s value in the algo.
PS – I was born south of Boston in Somerset, Ma – what town are you in?
,Michael Martin
Google And Blog
Michael Martin’s last incredible blog post..3G Internet Access from Your G1 Android Phone To Your Laptop Without Root
Erin Reply:
March 20th, 2009 at 11:29 am
Right, so I need not freak that the web dev guys thought it was a good idea to pull in the logo with an h1. Phew.
I live in Stoughton and work in Wrentham. Other weird thing, I married into a Martin family! But no Somerset relatives.
Where are you now?
Michael Martin Reply:
March 20th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
I live in San Diego now, had to get away from the rain and snow.
Also I moved in the summer of 2004 just before the Red Sox won the World Series…so I don’t think I am allowed back
,Michael Martin
Google And Blog
Michael Martin’s last incredible blog post..3G Internet Access from Your G1 Android Phone To Your Laptop Without Root
i like it.))
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Lig tv izle’s last incredible blog post..Lig tv izle
thanks for this detailed explanation of H1 tag and its wise use in SEO.
Just a small question is that, Can I use Hyperlink on H1 tag to point it to my Home Page?
Is it recommended to use Hyperlinks on every H1 tag in my website pointing to Home Page?
Does this activity give my website good rank in google?
Erin Reply:
March 25th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
I think you should use your h1s for the unique title of your page.
kunjan Reply:
March 25th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
yeh that I am already doing it mate.
But I was thinking to give it a Link to my Home Page for every H1.
Is it ok?
Ann Smarty Reply:
March 25th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
No, like the post says, it is not the best idea to link out of the page within h1 tags
Ann Smarty’s last incredible blog post..Search Cloudlet Adds Twitter Tag Clouds
kunjan Reply:
March 25th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Ok. Thanks alott Ann.
That will really help me out.
A good list and very helpful. I always make sure my H1′s have the most important keywords in and are short and concise. Thanks for the information.
After the whole boondoggle thing maybe ppl wills top using h1s
You’re the master Ann…thanks
Another very important piece of the integrating the H1 tag is to use CSS to style the H1 appropriately within your pages.
You could even “mask” it into your content.
,Michael Martin
nice SEO tip thanks for sharing.
nice article, thanks
Using H2 and H3 tags are also important. also i dont see more than 1 H! taf per page being a problem?
Thanks for sharing these awesome tips about ‘s
Always great advice!
Hi!
I don’t really understand Points 6 and 7. Could sbdy explain with an example please? :S
Thanks a lot in advance!
thanks for information…
H 1 + H2 +H3 page tage is good in optimal mywebsite
My point. I agree in theory, but without any evidence it will be hard for me to get web dev to make a change. So, do you have any “proof”?