Headings are an essential part of any successful blog. You can use them to give context about the content, draw attention to a specific point, and make it easier for your readers to navigate around your site. Heading tags also add clarity in search engine optimization, which helps you get more traffic., I published a lot of blog entries. I’ve been posting at least three posts each week here at Quick Sprout for the last year. It was much more during certain weeks, with many postings every day. If you’ve been following my blogs for a while, you’ll know that everything I write is long-form material, much like the one you’re reading right now. This indicates that it is between 1.800 and 3,000 words long. I’m not churning out 500-word articles to get my name out there. I’ve written extensively on content marketing, website optimization, conversions, SEO, and other relevant issues throughout the years. But now, I’d like to share with you an innocuous SEO tip that may dramatically boost the performance of your content. I’m talking about heading tags. Some of you may know more about them than others. I’m sure some of you utilize them in your articles, whether or not you understand how important they are for SEO. I use header tags in every article I write, including this one you’re reading right now. As we go on, you’ll see them throughout the piece. I’ll make a point of bringing them up so you understand what I’m talking about. So follow along with this article to know how heading tags might help you enhance your text.
What is the definition of a heading tag?
Let’s make sure we’re all on the same page before we go any farther. I’ve used two heading tags so far in this guide:
- The title at the top of the page is designated as H1 (How to Use Heading Tags to Get More Search Engine Traffic)
- This subsection’s heading tag is H2 (What is a heading tag?)
There will be a few more sprinkled throughout the guide.
By definition, they are HTML tags that define a website’s headers. Let me explain that term even further for you. The language used to construct pages on websites is HTML (hypertext markup language). Tags are pieces of code that inform a web browser how to display material on a page. H1-H6 are the six different forms of heading tags. Each tag may be graded in order of importance from most important to least important, as indicated by the size.
These tags may be added to your material before it is published. WordPress is the platform we utilize at Quick Sprout. However, I don’t usually write my posts on that platform. Instead, I use Google Docs to write long-form articles because it is more user-friendly. You’ll find those header choices in the menu bar whether you’re creating material in Docs, Microsoft Word, or another platform. Here’s how it appears in Google Docs:
It’s a straightforward process. After you’ve added H3 tags to your content, the possibilities for H4 and higher will display. If you’re working in WordPress directly, this is how the titles appear.
It’s as easy as it gets once again. By looking at the source code of a page, you can see whether the headers have been appropriately applied to your content. To view the HTML code in WordPress, switch from the visual editor to the text editor. Even after a published page, you may access the source code.
The many headers have been highlighted above. I’m sure you’re accustomed to seeing this kind of information (especially on Quick Sprout). You could assume the typeface is bigger simply by looking at it. The main text is 11 points, the title is 20 points, and the subheader is 16 points. While this may be true, it is not that straightforward. Changing the font size alone does not constitute a heading tag. You’ll see what I mean if you look at the page’s source code. To see the source code of any web page, right-click on it. You can do it right now with what you’re reading. Then click “see page source,” which will take you to the source code. This is what the Beginners Guide to Online Marketing looks like.
It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack in the source code to find those h tags. So make good use of “command + f.” Then look for h1, h2, h3, and so on… To make everything clear, I marked out the tags. H1 tags were used for the title, and H3 tags were used for the first subheader on the page, as you can see.
Heading tags have SEO importance.
Let’s look at how heading tags relate to SEO now. By the way, I used a different heading tag (above) for this part. For a long time, SEO professionals have been debating how important heading tags are for search engine optimization. Although heading tags can’t be compared to domain authority or backlinks, they play a role in your search results. They’re beneficial because they make it simpler for search engines to comprehend and interpret your content. It will be tough for bots to understand what your website is about if you merely have large walls of text with no subheaders. This may also be likened to the general structure of your website. The heading tags describe the significance of themes on the page, much as your homepage and top-level content have a hierarchy that makes it simple for crawlers to index pages. If you don’t use headers, you depend on search engines to accept all of your material at face value, which won’t improve your search ranking. Google employs H tags to analyze the structure of content on a website, according to John Mueller, a senior webmaster trends analyst at Google. As a result, they contribute to SEO. Furthermore, data from the Hook Agency reveals some of the most crucial on-page SEO variables.
Your header tags are linked to two of the top 10 criteria. I’ve also discovered several excellent case studies on the internet to back up this assertion. One of my favorites, done by Search Eccentric, is seen here. Motorcars Ltd is the subject of the research. They’ve been there for over 40 years, but they failed to rank their keywords in search engines in the digital age. Following an examination of the website, it became evident that much could be improved. The addition of H1 and H2 tags to the webpage was one of the changes they made. The goal was to increase exposure and make the material more SEO-friendly; straightforward. Examine the outcomes of this strategy. The modifications had a significant influence on their search results.
After the heading tags were inserted, the organization held the top ranking place for two of its chosen keywords. For five of their top keywords, they were in the top three. They soared hundreds of homes in the rankings, as you can see from the graph. However, all of this cannot be traced only to the header tags. They also addressed several navigation difficulties and eliminated dead links. However, heading tags played a critical part in their success.
What effect do heading tags have on the user experience?
In addition to the SEO advantages of heading tags, using them on your website will enhance the user experience. As a consequence, you’ll see an increase in site traffic, more return visits, and individuals staying on your site for more extended periods. This has the added benefit of increasing SEO value. What are the advantages of using heading tags on your website? To begin with, it just makes your material more structured and cleaner. A whopping 43% of respondents admit to skimming blog content. In addition, by using headers, you may make your material easier to look at. Take, for example, the current post you’re reading. Assume you were previously familiar with heading tags before beginning to read. You may not believe that reading the first portion is vital. Because the labels are visible, it would be pretty simple for you to miss them. However, removing all heading tags from the post would result in a massive wall of text that would be impossible to read. Here’s an illustration of what I’m talking about.
This information is not scannable, and it is just a portion of a larger document in the same format. Let’s look at another example, this time utilizing Conversion XL’s header tags.
This is considerably simpler to scan and more pleasing to the eye. Is it feasible to get the same effect by increasing the font size and boldness? Sure, but why wouldn’t you use header tags to profit from SEO advantages as well? I double-checked the source code whether you ask if these are heading tags or simply bigger font.
As you can see, they utilized H2s and H3s for this portion of the post. In addition, the title was given an H1 tag, which isn’t visible in this snapshot.
Best practices for heading tags
I’ll go through some of the recommended practices to follow now that you know why you need heading tags on your website. First, each of the best practices on my list will have its heading title. Then, as you read on, you’ll see what I’m talking about.
Use just one H1 tag per page.
The title should be retained for H1 tags. Your post’s title should automatically become an H1 by default. However, you may double-check this by looking at the page source code and using the text editor. If that isn’t the case, you may always add it yourself. The H1 tag is the most crucial, according to this theory. Adding more than one will not only make your material less aesthetically attractive, but it may also cause crawlers to get confused while indexing it.
In headers, use natural terms.
You should always include keywords in your headers if at all feasible. It’s a frequent myth, though, that every heading tag must be crammed with keywords. That isn’t the case. Like all of your other material, the writing should be natural and readable. It would be fantastic if you could get some keywords in there. If this isn’t the case, don’t attempt to push it. Google is a beautiful place to look for keywords to include in your headers. Go to the bottom of the page and seek queries similar to yours. For example, assume you’re writing a blog article on yoga’s health advantages. This is how those connected searches appear.
These keywords might be used as H2 or H3 headings in your article. For example, you wouldn’t write “yoga benefits Wikipedia” in one of your headings since that isn’t natural or logical. However, topics such as yoga advantages for males, morning yoga benefits, and how to optimize yoga benefits would all be relevant.
Make liberal use of heading tags.
Some may advise you to utilize heading tags sparingly. However, I believe this is a common misunderstanding. I’m not suggesting you use them every other line, but feel free to do so. For example, if a post specifies three, use three. If the recipe says for ten or twenty, use ten or twenty. The more heading tags you may utilize, the longer your article will be.
Here’s another quote from Google’s John Mueller. You may use, according to him, any heading tags as you wish, according to climate myself, to just one H1 label. Use as many as you need for H2, H3, and so on. In most circumstances, I don’t think going beyond H3 or H4 is required. Aside from SEO, I believe that’s too complicated for the reader. Instead, think of various methods to structure your material. For example, instead of going all the way to H6, you could always use bold or italics to accentuate something.
Conclusion
Heading tags are a modest yet effective SEO technique. They not only make it simpler for search engine crawlers to see key material on your page, but they also make it easier for website users to consume it. Therefore, I strongly advise you to use header tags in your material. I use them all the time, as you can see from my blog. As a result, consider this page as a guide for using header tags and adhering to standard practices.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you use heading tags for SEO?
A: Headings are hyperlinks that jump to a different article, which can help SEO for your website.
Are heading tags important for SEO?
A: Headings are essential for SEO. They help break up the content on your website into smaller, more manageable chunks of information that are easier to read and digest.
What is the purpose of using heading tags?
A: There is no specific purpose. They are used to identify different types of content, such as media (images, videos), questions and answers, etc.