In a recent post, Semrush highlighted the importance of header tags for SEO. Headers and H1s aren’t just SEO fundamentals; they effectively organize content and make it easier for users to read. As very likely the simplest technical SEO solutions, headers are features you shouldn’t overlook; they’re not difficult to create and certainly easy for your web designer or developer to install. We’ll look closer at the article and provide our own take on its key points.
Here is an excerpt from the article:
How to Use Header Tags and H1 Tags for SEO
by Connor Lahey
Published by Semrush, May 31, 2021
“Headings don’t just make the content on a webpage better organized and easier to read. They are also critical to good technical SEO. This refers to the search engine optimization (SEO) steps you take to make your website easier for search engine bots to crawl and index webpages (basically “read” the pages and categorize them accordingly). If bots can’t crawl a page, they can’t rank it.
Don’t let the term “technical” scare you off. Technical SEO simply refers to practices that don’t have anything to do with the website’s actual content. Instead, it focuses on the website’s infrastructure — such as the use of different headings. Header tags are an easy way for you to improve any homepage’s technical SEO…
The H1 tag is considered the most important. Why? It’s essentially the page title. The H1 title tag is a critical ranking factor and is referred to by search engine bots to figure out what a page is about. It’s also usually the most visible content on the page for the reader, as H1-tagged content traditionally displays larger screens (although this is not a must)…
A thorough assessment of everything from headers to keyword usage is the first step in identifying areas needing improvement. You can then take steps to improve your SEO, making sure your website is attracting the organic traffic you want.”
Here is our view on the topic:
This article is actually a great piece that’s worthy of bookmarking if you’re involved in content creation and website design. SEO specialists are well-schooled in the use of headers, but even digital marketing pros may need to refer to header descriptions like those offered here to ensure that they’re using their headers appropriately.
The excerpt we chose spotlights the all-important H1 tag. It is an essential header you should be using to break up and organize your content. As the author says, it’s a critical ranking factor. If you don’t have H1s, the search engine crawlers are going to be miffed (and they’re ornery as it is).
The article goes on to demonstrate quite effectively and in detail how to use other header tags. For instance, your H2s should break up your content like chapters break up a book. Your H3s further break up content under H2s so that you can clarify or divide as needed.
The author also provides some further technical information that explains why these headers are necessary as part of your technical SEO. At Blue Interactive Agency, we feature SEO specialists and content developers who work daily with headers. If your business needs assistance creating SEO-friendly content for your website, we can help. Visit us to learn more about our digital marketing services.
