A H1 tag is the HTML element that indicates the primary topic of the webpage to users and search engines.
Using H1 tags properly can improve webpage structure and SEO, while informing users about the content.
HTML header tags (H1 to H6) form a hierarchy and structure content on a page.
The H1 tag defines the most important heading while also making it the most visually obvious.
When you think of an H1 tag – Think the first and main heading on the page.
What Will I Learn?
H1 tags are important for SEO because they help search engines understand the main topic of a page.
Search engines use H1 tags as the first signal of what kinds of search queries the page could answer.
That means that H1 tags strongly influence which keywords the page ranks for and how high it ranks.
But that’s not all…
A well-written H1 tag can improve the user experience of your site.
This leads to higher engagement on the page and increases the click-thru rate from the search results.
Because user engagement is an indirect Google ranking factor – Getting more clicks and engagement on your page can lead to higher rankings.
The article below is the first example of an H1 tag:
Does green tea help weight loss?
The H1 is the main title of the blog post and clearly tells the reader what the page is about.
It also includes the main keyword so search engines understand the page topic.
The second example of an H1 tag is an online store page:
Loose Leaf Green Tea.
With the context of the online store and the h1 heading, readers know that the page they are on will contain loose leaf green tea products.
The website is also trying to rank this page for the target keyword “loose leaf green tea”.
Here is a list of best practices for H1 tags in SEO.
Google’s John Mueller has suggested in the past that it’s ok to have multiple H1 tags.
But independent testing shows that pages with just one H1 tag rank better.
Add only one H1 heading to each page, followed by sub-headlines (h2 to h6). This will ensure that users and search engines know what the page is about – without getting confused.
Your H1 heading should include the target keyword you want to rank for.
You want to add the keyword towards the front of your H1.
This is one of the biggest on-page SEO factors that signal to Google what your main topic is about.
Remember:
You don’t want your keyword to look unnatural in your H1.
This is where you need to use your SEO copywriting skills to make the H1 flow while still incorporating an exact match of your target keyword.
Every page should have its own unique H1.
The H1 is the first indicator Google uses to understand your page’s topic. The last you want is Google getting confused about which page to rank because two pages have the same H1.
About 60% of all SEO traffic comes from mobile devices. That means that your H1 should display and read well on mobile devices.
Always double-check that the H1 looks good on your phone before publishing.
Does your H1 tell the reader what content they will find on the page?
Your website visitors will decide whether to scroll and read the rest of your page content based on your H1 alone.
It must read well and give visitors a taste of what they can expect on the page.
There are no specific limits on how many characters your H1 tag should be.
The length of your H1 tag should primarily depend on:
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