Introduction

An optimized H1 tag is a fundamental part of On-Page SEO. Along with the URL and the SEO Title, it holds a lot of weight in Google’s eyes. As a result, we want to make sure that it helps our website be seen as much as possible.

But what is an H1 tag exactly? How do we optimize it? And how do we know if our H1 is actually helping rank our page?

In this article, we’re going to cover everything.

What Is an H1 Tag?

An H1 Tag is the biggest header size you can use on a page. Search engines treat it as the main heading of your article, and as such it should be used to introduce the topic of your article. 

When using headings, it is important to use them in the correct order. The H1 heading should be followed by H2 headings, which are used to divide the content into different sections. H3 headings can be used to further divide the content into subsections.

Why Are H1 Tags Important?

Search engines use headings to understand the structure of your content and determine the relevance of your article to a particular search query. This is especially true when it comes to the H1. Because it’s the largest tag, anything inside of it will hold more weight compared to any other sentences on the page. As a result, they’re central to On-Page SEO. 

Beyond that, here are 4 more reasons why optimizing your H1 tag is important:

1. They Help Search Engines Understand Your Content

When a search engine crawls a page, it looks for the H1 tag to determine what the page is about. If it’s missing or unclear, it can negatively impact your search engine rankings.

2. H1 Tags Improve User Experience

H1 tags also help improve the user experience by providing a clear and concise summary of the page’s content. It often gets written like a page title and users can tell if the page is relevant to their search by what it says. A well-written H1 can also help users navigate your website more easily.

3. They Can Improve Dwell Time

A clear and concise H1 tag that catches the reader’s interest will result in them staying on the page for longer. This increases dwell time, which results in a higher rated website.

4. They Help with Keyword Optimization

Because Search Engines like Google give H1 Tags more weight compared to the rest of your page, adding your target keyword can make it more relevant to that keyword. However, it’s important to use your target keyword naturally and not stuff it in.

In summary, H1 tags are an important element of on-page SEO. They help search engines understand your content, improve user experience, improve click-through rates, and can help with keyword optimization.

Adding an H1 Tag to Your Website

How to add an H1 tag On WordPress:

1. Click on the page or post where you want to add the H1 tag.
2. In the text editor, highlight the text that you want to use as your H1 tag.
3. Click on the “Paragraph” drop-down menu and select “Heading 1”, or “H1”.
4. Save your changes by hitting either publish or update depending on if the page is already live.

On Squarespace

1. Log in to your Squarespace account.
2. Click on the page where you want to add the H1 tag.
3. Click on the “Edit” button to open the page editor.
4. Highlight the text that you want to use as your H1 tag.
5. Click on the “Text” button in the toolbar and select “Heading 1”.
6. Save your changes and publish your page.

On Wix

1. Log in to your Wix account.
2. Click on the page where you want to add the H1 tag.
3. Click on the “Add” button in the left-hand menu and select “Text”.
4. Type in the text that you want to use as your H1 tag.
5. Highlight the text and click on the “Formatting” button in the toolbar.
6. Select “Heading 1” from the drop-down menu.
7. Save your changes and publish your page.

Adding an H1 tag to your website is a simple but important step in optimizing your website for search engines. By following these steps, you can easily add an H1 tag to your website on different platforms.

Tips for the Best H1 Tag

When it comes to creating an effective H1 tag, there are a few things to keep in mind. Here are some tips to help you create the best possible tag for your page:

Use Only One H1

Your page should have one and only one H1 tag. It should also be used to describe the main topic of your page. 

Using multiple H1 tags can confuse search engines and make it harder for them to understand the main focus of your page.  Don’t make this mistake. We have seen many websites at our agency use them for literally every header, not knowing that they’re hurting their page more than helping.

It Should Describe the Topic of Your Page

Your H1 tag should accurately describe the topic of your page. This will help both search engines and users understand what your page is about. Make sure your H1 tag is clear and concise.

The H1 Should Be Between 20 and 70 Characters

Anything between 20-70 characters is the ideal length for both search engines and users. Too short and you won’t get the full benefits of the H1 tag; too long and you won’t hook readers in.

Make it Stand Out

Your H1 should be visually distinct from the rest of your page content. This can be achieved by using a larger font size, bold text, or a different color. This will help users quickly identify the main topic of your page.

Create H1s That Provide a Good User Experience

Your H1 should provide a good user experience. This means that it should accurately describe the topic of your page and be easy to read and understand. A good H1 can help users quickly find the information they are looking for.

Use a Focused Long-Tail Keyword in Your H1

You should try to include a focused long-tail keyword. Most H1 tags are going to consist of a complete sentence, and you want to make sure that sentence contains one of your keywords. This will help search engines understand the main topic of your page and improve your page’s visibility in search results. Make sure your keyword is relevant to the content on your page.

Answer User Intent

Your H1should answer the user’s intent. This means that it should accurately describe the topic of your page and provide the information that the user is looking for. By answering the user’s intent, you can improve the user experience and increase the likelihood of the user staying on your page.

How to Audit Your H1 Tag Using Screaming Frog

When it comes to the H1 tag, it’s not enough to have one for your page. You also want to make sure that it’s showing up correctly with no issues. In this section, we will discuss how to audit it using Screaming Frog.

Screaming Frog is a powerful SEO tool for auditing websites. One of the things it can audit is your website’s H1 tags. Here are the steps you can follow to audit it using Screaming Frog:

1. Start by crawling your website using Screaming Frog’s SEO Spider tool.
2. Once the crawl is complete, click on the “H1” tab in the “Page Titles & Meta” section.
3. This will show you a list of all the H1 tags on your website, along with their status codes and character lengths.
4. Check to see if each page has a unique H1 tag that accurately describes the page’s content. If multiple pages have the same H1 tag, you should consider updating them to make them unique.
5. Make sure that each H1 tag is within the recommended character limit of 20-70 characters.
6. Make sure you only have one H1 tag per page.
7. If you find any issues with your H1 tags, make the necessary changes and recrawl your website to ensure that the issues have been resolved.

By following these steps, you can ensure that your website’s H1 tags are properly optimized for search engines. Remember, having properly optimized heading tags can help improve your website’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) and ultimately drive more traffic to your website.

Conclusion:

To summarize this article:

• An optimized H1 tag is one of the fundamentals of On-Page SEO
• You should only have one per page
• For best results, keep the length between 20-70 characters and try to contain a focused long-tail keyword that describes the topic of your page
• Answer User Intent with your H1 tag
• After publishing your page, audit it using Screaming Frog to ensure that everything is in order.

We hope you found this article helpful.

If you got something out of this, check out our SEO blog for more helpful tips.

Good luck with your rankings!