H1 Tags – What Are They & Why Should You Use Them for SEO?

You probably have wondered many times what is an H1 and also how many should be on a website page. Well, many marketers believe that H1s are underestimated because they have a high potential for on-page search engine optimization. 

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Let’s think about a page as an outlined document. The process of outlining a webpage is almost identical in approach even though H1 Tags are not a major ranking factor but can have an impact if they are used correctly. 

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The H1 tag represents the HTML header that is used to compose the main title of a webpage and can help indicate the primary topics to search engines and also to visitors. The H1 tag contains an opening “ <h1> tag, the title text, and also a closing </h1> tag”. H1 tags play an important role in on-page SEO and represent a new method of optimizing information to be understood more easily by users and search engines. 

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Let’s think about how search engines read the source code of a website. The source code is the complex and confusing page that appears when something goes wrong with the Wi-fi or the computer. This page can communicate with the search engine and also detail everything that happens on the webpage being able to pinpoint the location of every word. So, this is where usually web developers design the website, including colors and the layout. 

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Each element of the website starting from its structure to its style sheet is deeply fixed in the code and the content of the site like article text is integrated with this code. All of the marketers who have to opportunity and want to understand how engine search optimization can be improved should consider learning about the source code page. 

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H1 represents an HTML header tag that can indicate the primary subject on a webpage and has the goal of drawing the user’s attention because it stands out due to its larger font size than normal text style. Another reason is that H1 can be appealing to most users and this can have an important impact on the user experience and the overall H1 SEO strategy. 

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Due to its highest grading level, H1 represents the major HTML header on a webpage because it shows more easily what that blog post is about. As a response, the majority of search engines like Google can make this tag have more weight besides other HTML headings such as H1, and also improve the overall ranking if it’s used correctly. 

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For H1 SEO is not yet confirmed that the H1 tag is really a ranking factor but it can still have a positive impact. Let’s review some of the reasons why H1 is important for search engine optimization:

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1. H1 can support search engines to have a better understanding of the content. 

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Most search engines are looking at the H1 of the page and learn more about that page along with its content, and the more descriptive the H1 in the website the better. Also, search engines like Google rely on HTML tags to crawl and index web pages. So, in this case, the H1 will send signals to the search engine about the content and what if it represents the main topic of the page. 

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These actions contribute to the process where search engines determine the relevance score of a page according to specific search criteria and queries. The H1 must contain certain keywords to match the search query to strengthen the changes for the webpage to rank higher. 

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2. H1 Can Improve the User Experience 

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H1 can enhance the UX (user experience) because it allows the users and readers about what that page is about within seconds. After all, most of the sites choose to display the H1 as the largest one on the page. It’s crucial to improve the UX because it seems that Google is ranking higher for those websites that are always improving their user experience. 

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It’s easy for all users to just look at a heading and understand quickly the structure of the article. Here, the H1 plays the role of a headline that provides users a glance before reading the actual article. Keep in mind that the H1 must have a clear and descriptive title to make sure that users can identify faster if they found the perfect article for their needs. This way, every website will have an improved version that can keep its visitors and readers engaged and also interested to further reduce the bounce rate. 
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3. It can increase the search engine crawling and indexing efficiency. 

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When a search engine is crawling a website the first thing that it looks for is the heading, especially the H1 tag to have an overview of the content relevance and hierarchy, and it’s better to have a H1 tag that is placed correctly to help crawlers prioritize all of the information. 

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Also, the search engine bots are using these tags to navigate smoothly through a webpage, and in this case, a clear H1 can guarantee that the core message can be understood and easily registered. 

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4. Keyword optimization 

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Probably the most important use of the H1 tag is that every website can do search engine optimization on the primary keywords. Search engines are more focused on the words that are included in the H1, and it’s best to include targeted keywords to increase page relevance. 

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Keep in mind that it’s important to avoid using too many keywords, and H1 must be optimized to reflect the content of the article for example. 

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5.  Sets the content for the overall page content 

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The H1 tag has the role of setting the theme of the page and helps also the users and search engines understand the content. It’s important to summarize the page topic in one succinct heading to offer the rest of the content on the page. 

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If a page has a clear H1 tag, it makes it so much easier for search engines to match the content with relevant search queries and also improves the chances of ranking higher in search results.

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It’s suggested to use one H1 tag per page. H2 tags can be used to divide the content into sections to make it easier for users to browse. The H2 tag represents the perfect place to include additional mentions of the primary keyword with other related terms generated by a keyword suggestion tool. 

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If you need ideas for your H2 tags it’s recommended to also see the “People Also Ask” box in the search results. Here, search engines such as Google are collecting data from various questions that people ask and are related to your keyword. This represents a great way to see insights about what Google targets to answer for its users. 

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Your content must provide answers to these questions to increase the chances of placement in People Also Ask but also could make your page more enhancing for potential readers. 

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Let’s review some of the best practices that anyone can follow to improve their H1 SEO and the overall quality of H1 tags. 

1. Stick to One H1 tag per Page. 

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It’s important to use just one H1 to create a hierarchy and also give your page a logical and clear structure. This way, it is easier for readers to browse and understand faster what that page is about. 

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Keep in mind that H1 is just for the headline and it covers the main topic. After that, the H2 represents the important subheading. The H3 is for the subheadings that support those and the list could continue. 

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So, it’s fundamental to understand that one H1 tag is more than enough to reveal the main topic, 

2. Be sure that the important pages have an H1 tag.

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Because the H1 tag represents the most important header HTML and every page must have one. 

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So, which pages are the most important? That’s for you to decide, but a good starting point should start with every page where you want to rank on search engines such as Google.

3. Always consider including the target keywords. 

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Besides the title tag, search engines such as Google will scan content like your H1 to decide if the search is relevant or not. 

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So, in simple words, a page that has an H1 tag and that mentions a search term has more chances to rank in a higher position for a query compared to a page that has an H1 without the search term. 

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4. Try to maintain the H1 tags under 60 characters. 

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Keep in mind that the clearer you make your H1 tag writing the better. This applies to all header HTML not just the H1 tag. The perfect range to keep the H1 tag is between 50 and 60 characters, similar to the title tags. 

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But why it is so important? Because many CMS platforms are using the same writing for the H1 and the title tag. Another reason is that search engines such as Google are switching in some cases the title tags with the H1 tags. 

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Even if it’s not a special limit for the H1 length the best advice is to keep it under 60 characters. 

5. Try to match the H1 tags with the title tag for those article pages. 

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It’s usually a common H1 SEO mistake to confuse the title tag in the “head” section of the code with H1 tags. This is happening because both title tags include de description of what a page is about. 

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But here the main difference is about where they will appear in the search engine results page. 

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The title tag shows up at the top of the browser tab and is likely to also show up on SERPs (search engine results pages) but besides that, they are not visible on the webpage. 

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H1 tags represent the header HTML that users usually notice on the page in the largest text size. This H1 will not appear on SERPs in those cases where they are different from the title tag. 

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But here most search engines, as well as Google, are recommending matching these two to prevent the case when an incorrect article title will show up. 

6. Consider optimizing the H1 to fulfill the search intent. 

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The search intent represents the most important goal that a user has when searching for something. In this case, the H1 tag must be easy to read and also understandable to satisfy every user’s intent. 

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So, the overall content must give users what they want. Search engines like Google have this as a main goal for their search queries. 

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To be able to see the search intent for a random keyword all you have to do is type it into the search bar and later analyze what comes up. 

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If the search intent for that keyword is just informational, include that keyword in your informational articles to rank higher in search results. But always make sure to write the H1 to satisfy that informational search intent.

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In conclusion, the H1 tags play an important role in SEO and user experience because it is the primary heading on a webpage. The H1 tag helps many search engines understand the content and also improves the crawling and indexing to enhance the visibility of those relevant keywords.  

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From the user's perspective, the H1 offers clarity and helps them to identify very quickly the main topic of the page. 

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It’s important to follow the best practices such as using a single and descriptive H1 per page, and naturally incorporating keywords while maintaining proper content hierarchy to improve the performance of the website on search engines. 

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Make sure to prioritize H1 tags as a key component of your on-page optimization strategy to boost your site’s rankings and user engagement.

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