Tag H1 in HTML is the title of a site’s web page. It should be placed at the top so that it is the first visible sentence and should have a different formatting from the other tags (H2,H3…) on the page.

Let’s find out what we are talking about when we refer to HTML header tags, what importance the H1 tag has for a site’s search engine ranking, and how to format it so that it is functional and usable for users.

Continue reading the Dear Web article to find out more.

Header tags, H1 throughH6
In Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML), used by web pages in browsers, there are Tags that serve as headings within a web page.

Similar to the headings that can be used in a Word document, each web page can have several Tags that allow the text to be divided into paragraphs, each of which will have a heading with different formatting (larger or bold font size).

The moment you set a sentence as Title 1 in the WordPress editor, the code will be added in the HTML source:

< h1 >My encoded title< /h1 >.

This code allows the browser, which has recognized it, to format the phrase included in the Tags differently than the rest of the text.

Similarly, when it comes to H2 and H3 and so on, the codes added to the HTML will be:

< h2 >My encoded subtitle< /h2 >.

< h3 >Another encoded subtitle< /h3 >

Thus, we can conclude that HTML Header Tags are HTML codes needed to indicate to the search engine the phrases that serve as titles and subtitles.

What is an H1 tag?
At the top of the web page and clearly visible, there is the H1 Tag, the first heading tag.

Since it is the main title of the article, generally the H1 Tag has different formatting than H2 which are the main paragraphs and H3, the sub paragraphs.

Let’s see what are the differences, from an SEO perspective, between the Title tag and the H1 tag, so that we can understand the importance of knowing how to handle them.

What is the difference between the H1 tag and the Title tag
The Title Tag is one of the main tags for SEO optimization. Let’s see how it differs from the H1 tag:

• the Title Tag is the header visible in the snippet present in the Google SERP after a search;
• the meta title appears only in the header of the page and in the title bar of the browser;
• the H1 Tag is visible to users only if they browse the specific web page,
• the title tag is critical for crawlers to immediately understand the content of the web page.

For on-page SEO, it turns out that Title Tag optimization is more important than H1 Tag optimization; however, to achieve excellent results, it is important to take care of the optimization of both tags.

The Importance of H1 Tags in SEO
Search engines, in order to satisfy user demands, need to know the content of the web pages they analyze.

To speed this up, information from a number of sources is analyzed, including the Title Tag and the H1 Tag.

Search engine spiders, through the HTML code, read the phrases included in the header tags. The H1 Tag contains information about the content of the web page and is, therefore, the one that is of most importance to the spiders.

In fact, it is necessary that keywords are present within the H1 Tag so that search engines are able to correctly rank the page based on the content covered.

From an SEO perspective, using good Tags is also important because it enhances the user’s browsing experience. Already with a glance at the paragraph titles, the user understands the content of the page and determines whether the information provided is what he or she needs.

How to optimize the H1 Tag
Although the H1 Tag may differ from the Title Tag, in CMS systems (WordPress, Magento…) these coincide.

While this is not an SEO mistake, it is preferable to create different content for the meta title and the H1 tag: in fact, in Tag Title, as we have seen, it is shown in the Google SERP and, therefore, it is necessary that it contains more descriptive text while the H1 header must be a simpler and more immediate text.

Setting the H1 tag and page title tag different from each other
As we have already seen, most CMS systems require that the Title Tag and the H1 Tag must coincide.

To avoid using the same content for the H1 Tag and Title Tag (even in CMS systems), you can change the HTML code or, in the case of WordPress, make use of the Yoast SEO plugin.

In this case, after installation, an area will appear under each page where you can edit the Tag Title of the page.

The keywords to be included in the H tags
After determining what the keywords are for the article, make sure to include them in both the Title tag and the header tags.

In case you decide to use different content for the Title Tag and the H1 Tag, you can decide to put the main keyword in one tag and a related keyword in the other.

Make sure, however, that you do not use the keyword in all header tags or you will run the risk of running into keyword stuffing.

Proceed with an analysis of the keywords you want to use so you can determine which Header Tags are most useful to put them in.

Avoid very long headings
Create short but descriptive sentences to use for your titles. Adjust to the guidelines for title tag formation and do not exceed 65 characters.

If you need more space to describe the content of a particular paragraph, follow the header with bold text where you can include some other necessary information.

Is the H tag visible to users?
Some themes provided by WordPress that have the H1 tag in the HTML of the page, make it not visible to users through CSS rules.

But peR get good results in terms of SEO, it is necessary to choose a theme that makes it clearly visible in H1 tag in the page.

Access, then, the source of the page via selecting the View Source option, and look for the H1 Tag in the code: at this point make the letters larger so that they are differentiated from the text by the subheadings on the page.

Use headings in a hierarchical manner.
To get good results in terms of SEO, use headings in a hierarchical way, starting with Tag H1, then Tag H2, etc…

Using another kind of order can confuse search engines and provide users with confusing content.

Therefore, place the H1 Tag at the beginning of the HTML code and then following, respecting the order, all the other Header Tags.

Always remember that there should only be one H1 Tag per page!

Tags and Search Intent
Always keep in mind the search intent of users and create an H1 Tag that is consistent. In fact, since it is the first piece of content visible, if it does not meet the search intent, the user will abandon the page before reading the content. Losing users not only hurts site traffic, but also causes negative results from an SEO perspective.

This behavior is known as pogo-sticking and negatively affects the site’s search engine ranking if it occurs over an extended period of time.

Therefore, be sure to create H1 tags that are consistent with user expectations.

Examples of optimized H1 tags
Let’s look together at some examples of optimized H1 tags:

1. Optimized H1 tags for users and longer Title tags to include more long-tail keywords.

2. In the Title Tag, the keywords you want to rank for are included, and in the H1 Tag, a message is inserted that apparently does not have ranking as an objective.
3. The same content is used in the H1 Tag and the Title Tag.

Optimize the H2, H3, H4, H5 and H6 tags.
All the rules we have seen for good SEO optimization of the H1 Tag apply to all types of header tags. However, for these Header Tags remember that:

• Tags H2 and H3 are the subheadings of the pages;
• H4, H5, H6 are for notes or insights of the subheadings.

To use Header Tags properly make sure to:

• use Header Tags when it is not convenient to use other Tags such as bold or italics;
• use Header Tags to make it easier to navigate the page and understand the text;
• do not use all Header Tags if it is not necessary.

How to improve a website’s SEO
Many factors contribute to good SEO optimization. In addition to optimized H1 Tags, follow these tips to achieve successful on-site SEO:

• make it easy for search engine crawlers to analyze your site;
• ensure that useful URLs for SEO are contained in the CMS;
• optimize quality content with SEO Copywriting techniques;
• put into practice effective link building internal to the site so that the user can learn about all the content you propose;
• practice link earning editorial links from other sites.

Everything you need to know about tag heading
Good Tag Heading optimization is critical for site ranking. Through it, spiders are able to identify the most important content on a page.

Heading Tag optimization is one of the few SEO factors over which we have real control.

To figure out which H1 tags on your site are in need of optimization you can enlist the help of specific tools such as, for example, Screaming Frog. This tool can analyze your site and show you the H1s that need to be optimized, the duplicate ones, or the multiple ones.