SEO Blog
How to use Header Tags Correctly
One of the most common issues I find when auditing a website for the first time is the misuse of header tags. People tend to use them so that text is formatted a certain, rather than to effectively divide and layout content. Let’s take a look at common mistakes and how to properly use header tags on your website for for more effect search engine optimisation.
What Are Header Tags?
Website header tags are used to structure your page by breaking long sections of text into smaller, more readable sections. They help users navigate and help search engines identify the topic of a page. You can also add them to aid further navigation of your page by using anchor links and a navigation section so that users can easily find and get to the part of the content they’re interested in. Remember, good search engine optimisation is all about good user experience.
Header tags for SEO
There are several levels of header tags, but the most important for SEO are H1, H2 and H3. On this page ‘How to use Header Tags‘ is H1 and ‘What are Header Tags?‘ is H2.
Heading 1 (H1) – every page should have one and only one H1. This is the title of your page and is a brief summary of what a user will find there.
Heading 2 (H2) – This breaks up your content into its main sections. You don’t have to have H2s, especially for low-content pages, but having two or three ensures your text is more easily scannable and makes sure users aren’t presented with a wall of text.
Heading 3 (H3) – If your H2 sections are still quite long, consider breaking them down into further sub-headings using H3’s. This aids further with readability and structure.
How to use (and not use) header tags
DO use them in the proper hierarchy. H3 goes under H2, goes under H1.
DON’T use them as a way of formatting text to look a certain way. Use the font settings (or speak to your developer) if you need to
change the way a section of text looks without making it a header.
DO use keywords in your headers where they make sense
DON’T overuse keywords or use grammatically questionable phrases
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