Use of H1 tags for Google SEO please explain.

[born2run]

Hi,

I have come across quite a few recommendations advocating use of H1 tags in the articles.

I run a news site. I need help on how to implement H1 tags for seo purposes.

Can anyone please explain how to implement h1 tags on your website for google seo? Thanks a lot in advance as always!

[TheMadScientist]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

^ This

:: wondering if search engines are clever enough to figure out something like
/directory/ index page >> starts with h1
/directory/subdir/ index page >> starts with h2
/directory/subdir/subtwo/ index page >> starts with h3
et cetera ::

It's likely structural hierarchy would be determined by links, while on-page hierarchy would be determined by headings/prominence, so the HN a page starts with should not make a difference in how a page is "scored" within the overall structure of a site -- Hope I said what I'm thinking so it makes sense anywhere besides in my head, lol.

[born2run]

Thanks guys, one thing I want to add is that all my pages have multiple <h2> tags.

Does the search bot pickup the first and second <h2> tags only? Should I make the first occurrence of <h2> tag the title of the article?

[lucy24]

For any value of x:
If a page has a single <hx> there will normally be more than one <h(x+1)>. And then for each <h(x+1)> there should be more than one <h(x+2)>. The exact number is flexible-- but if you've got a single <hx> and thirty-five <h(x+1)> you should probably have another look at your organization. Same if each <hx> is consistently only followed by a single <h(x+1)>.

If your highest header on a given page is <hx> there shouldn't be more than one of it. If they're genuinely parallel, why not add an <h(x-1)> as your umbrella title.

[born2run]

So if I make h2 the tag for the title the other heading tags must be h3 and h4 but not h2?

[TheMadScientist]

I think you really need to spend some time looking at the examples I gave and reading the docs to get an understanding of how they should be used, because heading numbers indicate "what is part of something" (subsection) and/or "what is another 'main topic' on the page" (section on the same level as the preceding section), so there's no "cut and dry" answer -- It all depends on the page and what you're trying to communicate.

See the Apples and Oranges example I coded above or below and you'll notice I used an <h1> and two <h2> to communicate what I was saying to a SE correctly.

If there was a specific type of apple mentioned, those would be <h3>s

---

<h1>Apples and Oranges</h1>
<p>We love fruit.</p>

<h2>All About Apples</h2>
<p>Info about apples generally here.</p>

<h3>Red Delicious</h3>
<p>Info about red delicious apples here.</p>

<h3>Golden Delicious</h3>
<p>Info about golden delicious apples here.</p>

<h3>Granny Smith</h3>
<p>Info about granny smith apples here.</p>

<h2>All About Oranges</h2>
<p>Info about oranges here.</p>

---

If the page also contained info about Nuts and Berries, the following is a correct way to code it -- Notice I'm using 2 <h1>s, 4 <h2>s, and 3 <h3>s.

---

<h1>Apples and Oranges</h1>
<p>We love fruit.</p>

<h2>All About Apples</h2>
<p>Info about apples generally here.</p>

<h3>Red Delicious</h3>
<p>Info about red delicious apples here.</p>

<h3>Golden Delicious</h3>
<p>Info about golden delicious apples here.</p>

<h3>Granny Smith</h3>
<p>Info about granny smith apples here.</p>

<h2>All About Oranges</h2>
<p>Info about oranges here.</p>

<h1>Nuts and Berries</h1>

<h2>All About Nuts</h2>
<p>Info about nuts here.</p>

<h2>All About Berries</h2>
<p>Info about berries here.</p>

[born2run]

My pages use h2 for title and then other headings ( like more news) also use h2

[TheMadScientist]

This is something you really need to understand for yourself, because no one can answer your question accurately without seeing and knowing your site, except for a "lucky dart toss", because the answer is: It depends.

If you use an <h2> for the main topic, and "more news" is a subsection of the main topic, then it should be an <h3>.

If you use an <h2> for the main topic, and "more news" is another main topic for the page, then it should be an <h2> also.

If you use an <h2> for the main topic, and "more news" is additional tangentially related information to the main topic, then it should be within an <aside> element and can have any <hn> you would like.

There is no set answer to this question, so best to take the time to really understand the HTML involved to communicate what you're trying to say to SEs yourself before you change anything.

[aakk9999]

Semantically it should be what TMS described above. On the other hand, one can never know what too many changes in this area can do to a site as a whole (in either positive or even more, negative direction).

Why not try to change handful of pages and replace h2 markup with h1 markup of h2 that you use as a main heading (what you refer to as title).

Before changing, make note of traffic and ranking for these pages.
See what happens afterwards (give it a few weeks) and then decide what to do with the rest.

[born2run]

Thanks a lot guys! I shall make h2 as my main topic and "More News" as h2 as well. I need to get this thing straightened out!

I appreciate all the kind advice given!

[born2run]

BTW does the sequence of tags matter?

That is, can a h3 tag come before h2 tag and still h2 gets more priority? Please advise

[TheMadScientist]

Yes and yes -- I think it's easiest to think of the different <hn>s as more like levels, so:

- <h1>Level One</h1>
-- <h2>Level Two of the Preceding H1</h2>
--- <h3>Level Two of the Preceding H2</h3>

- <h1>Another Level One</h1>
-- <h2>Level Two of the Preceding H1</h2>
-- <h2>Another Level Two of the Preceding H1</h2>
--- <h3>Level Two of the Preceding H2</h3>
--- <h3>Another Level Two of the Preceding H2</h3>
-- <h2>A Third Level Two of the Preceding H1</h2>

- <h1>A Third Level One</h1>

And so on...

I'll say what I mean and quit editing someday -- lol

[born2run]

So I could have a h3 before h2 in my html code, and still h2 gets priority in the serps?

[lucy24]

It's not about "before" and "after". It's about hierarchy. Do you remember in school learning how to do outlines? It was probably taught in one lesson and you forgot it a week later.

I. Stuff
 A. Secondary stuff
  1. Tertiary stuff
  2. Other tertiary stuff
 B. More secondary stuff
 C. Still more secondary stuff
  1. Tertiary stuff about I.C.
  2. More tertiary stuff about I.C.
II. Additional stuff
 A. Secondary stuff about II
{blah,blah}
III. Still more stuff
 A. Secondary stuff about III.
  1. Tertiary stuff about III.A.

... et cetera. That's what your different heading levels mean.

[born2run]

Sorry I don't understand.

Is a sequence of numbers necessary or the first line could be h3 and next line (the topic) could be h2 ? Would the serps give more priority to h2 title? Thanks!

[born2run]

Very sorry I didn't understand yet. Could anyone please give me a yes/no answer regarding h3 first then h2 in my html code?

[tangor]

Reality is that most web pages are TOO SHORT to have NEED for more than ONE H1 per page, and rarely need more than TWO H2. If you do, then your page may not be structured correctly and reduces opportunities for ad space.

PAGE
h1 Blue Widget
h2 Care and feeding
h2 Marketing
h3 Local
h3 Global

NEW PAGE
h1 Red Widget
h2 Care and feeding
h2 Marketing
h3 Local
h3 Global

Rinse and repeat

Another way to think about this hierarchy is:

h1: title or topic to be presented
h2: something REALLY important about h1
h3: a clarification or specification regarding previous h2

For an ecommerce site that would be (example)

h1 Yellow Widgets
h2 Product Specs
h2 Warranty or Return
h2 Shipping
h3 Local Pickup
h3 Mailing
h4 Ground
h4 Air
h2 Checkout

A higher numbered hx tag refers to the previous lower numbered hx.

Never use an hx tag for FORMATTING purposes!

[RedBar]

This is what you need to comprehend:

[w3.org...]

[glakes]

I think for a while Google has been really good at determining what a page's main topic is about. On sites I've spruced up with H tags, I've noticed no improvement in Google whatsoever. Bing/Yahoo on the other hand seem more reliant on H tags and using those tags will help in their search engines.

[tangor]

This is what you need to comprehend:

Introducing hgroup and section merely complicates the OP's question.

Is a sequence of numbers necessary or the first line could be h3 and next line (the topic) could be h2 ? Would the serps give more priority to h2 title? Thanks!

These days Google gives no weight to hx tags whatsoever. Decorate with hx all you like. Bing, however, does still credit value to properly structured documents. I believe Yandex does, too.

I suppose one might ask why

LESS (h3)
comes before
MORE (h2)
and there's no
ALL (h1)
on the page.

ALL: Title/Topic (h1)
MORE: is something important about Title/Topic (h2)
LESS: is about clarification of MORE as regards Title/Topic (h3)

If you include OTHER document partitioning then you can have ARTICLE, SECTION, HGROUP, etc... but those are not usually 300 to 500 word pages. More like 5,000 to 100,000 words.

[TheMadScientist]

Introducing hgroup...

<hgroup> is no longer part of the standard/recommendation, and I didn't get into sectioning, but what RedBar linked (the documentation) is really what the OP needs to understand to get it right since everything is so situational.

[lucy24]

h3 first then h2

If the earliest h3 comes before the earliest h2, then what is that first h3 a subcategory of?

[born2run]

Thanks guys for all the tips! i am grateful

[born2run]

Hi guys based on your advice, I have made it so that there is only one h1 tag which is the title of the article (besides the <title> tag).

This has effected all the articles on my website.

Do you guys think I need to resubmit my site to Google Webmaster Tools (with indexing of links inside the page)?

Kindly advise.

[tangor]

How often does G index your site? Might not need to resubmit, depending on frequency of indexing.

[piatkow]

From my point of view using an h2 to style the primary heading is much the same as using a table for layout.

If you already know a bit of html its easier than learning the extra CSS required to do it properly, it might be fine now but it might bite you on the backside later.

[samwest]

Is the OP using a CMS? If so, don't use h1 in your content, the title is usually already set to h1 by the CMS. I actually seem to get better results just using BOLD text where I'd normally use h2 or h3.

When in doubt, right click and view the source searching for h1. You may find dupes.

[rvkumarweb]

We have to add <h1> tag for a website, it may helps to ranking for the target keyword. But make sure we need to make visible of <h1> tag not like noiframe.

Hope you understand.