All articlesSEO / SEM Unsure how to use H1 and H2 for SEO? Here are all the key aspects + common mistakes to avoid Sam SmithEcommerce Consultant at Doofinder Be honest.Have you ever used an H tag to highlight part of the text on one of your pages?Weāre talking about theĀ āHeading 1ā, āHeading 2ā, āHeading 3āĀ (and so forth) tags that pop upĀ in your CMS editor.If you have, youāre not alone.Since each heading has a different size, a lot of people use them as a font styling tool allowing them to change the size and look of different parts of the text.But thatās a big mistake.These headings arenāt meant to be used as design tools since they actually play a key role in terms of your websiteās SEO.And thatās why in this post weāll tell you:How H1 and H2 are related to SEO.How to use them properly.Common mistakes that can have a negative impact on your websiteās positioning.So grab a pen and a piece of paper because an important lesson on SEO is about to begin. šTable of ContentsšĀ H1 and H2: what they are and how they relate to SEOā Ā Why itās so important to learn to use H tags for SEOšĀ Differences between the H1 and H2 tags: how to use them properlyā Ā 1. What the H1 tag is and how to use itā Ā 2. What the tag H2 is (and H3, H4ā¦) and how to use itā Ā 3. Keywords in the H2 and H3 tagsšĀ Common mistakes when using H tags that can be detrimental to your websiteās SEOā Ā 1. Using them as another design toolā Ā 2. Focusing on SEO and forgetting about usersā Ā 3. Bland headingsā Ā 4. Lengthy sectionsā Ā 5. Using the H1 asĀ titlešĀ Now you know all the potential of H1s and H2sšĀ H1 and H2: what they are and how they relate to SEOLetās start with the basics.Both H1 and H2, as well as the subsequent H3, H4, etc., are HTML tags.And what does that mean?It means theyāre part of the page code that tells Googleās crawler about the content of the page.These tags work as titles or headers of the page, which explains why theyāre also known as āHTML headersā.As mentioned above, theyāre shown in most CMS editors as āHeading 1ā, āHeading 2ā, etc.So far so good, but whatās this got to do exactly with SEO? Letās go over it.ā Ā Why itās so important to learn to use H tags for SEOThere are two main reasons:By using these tags (especially the H1 tag), youāre telling Google theĀ ranking keywordĀ for each of your pages. We go much more in depth on this topic inĀ this post on SEO writing.By splitting the page content (be it a post, a category or product card) into different headers, youāll make it easier for users and Googleās robot to understand all the information.The last point goes to show that using HTML headers properly is crucial if you want to improveĀ the user experience of your website, which isĀ an SEO-ranking factor itself.Letās see how.šĀ Differences between the H1 and H2 tags: how to use them properlyAlthough theyāre often grouped together, thereās actually a slight difference between the H1 tag and the others.Letās go over them.ā Ā 1. What the H1 tag is and how to use itThe H1 tag is the main title of every webpage. Hereās where you should include the keyword that youād like to rank alongside it.This tag is automatically assigned to the page title, so you donāt have to set it manually.Also note this important fact.Each page can only contain a single H1 tag.If you add more, Googleās crawler wonāt be able to correctly interpret the content hierarchy, which will result in worse positioning.Thereās not much mystery to it beyond that, so letās move on to the next point.ā Ā 2. What the tag H2 is (and H3, H4ā¦) and how to use itThese tags represent the different sections and subsections inside the text.You can use different tags for the same content and it must be you who assigns them manually with your editor.But, again, you need to do it properly.Ā You must respect the hierarchy.In other words, you canāt include an H4 inside an H2, just like you canāt add an H3 straight into the post if itās not included in the immediate higher level, an H2.Hereās an example to help you see it more clearly.Considering titles only, this is what the first half of this post would look like:[H1] Unsure how to use H1 and H2 for SEO?[H2] H1 and H2: what they are and how they relate to SEO.[H3] Why itās so important to learn to use H tags for SEO.[H2] Differences between the H1 and H2 tags: how to use them properly.[H3] What the H1 tag is and how to use it.[H3] What the other tags (H2, H3, H4ā¦) are and how to use them.[H3] Keywords in the H2 and H3 tags.Why is this so important?Once again, the Googlebot is to blame.If you donāt respect hierarchy on your posts (you wonāt usually go lower than H2 when structuring a category page) and wind up adding an H3 right after the H1, Googleās robot will raise an eyebrow (even if users donāt notice).And you know what that means in terms of SEO.ā Ā 3. Keywords in the H2 and H3 tagsThereās something else you must know.Earlier we told you it was important to include the main keyword in the H1, but what about the rest of tags?Weāll be using them to introduce secondary longtails.For example, imagine you want to position a post about how to fix a broken dishwasher and you want to add these keywords:Main keywords:Ā fix a broken dishwasher.Longtails:Ā how to know if a dishwasher can be fixed, dishwasher error messages.In this case, this is what the structure would look like:[H1] Do you know how to fix a broken dishwasher?[H2] Basic tools to fix a broken dishwasher.[H2] How to know if a dishwasher can be fixed.[H3] Most common dishwasher error messages.[H2] Need to contact the support team?If you have more H2 or H3 titles, they donāt need to contain the longtails (it may actually be counterproductive).šĀ Common mistakes when using H tags that can be detrimental to your websiteās SEOAs youāve seen, using these tags properly is not particularly complex.However, you must also know how NOT to use them.Here are some of the most typical mistakes concerning H tags.ā Ā 1. Using them as another design toolWe already mentioned this at the beginning, but itās so important that weād like to stress it.HTML headers arenāt meant to be web design tools.They are meant to give a sense of coherence and order to the text āĀ not to highlight part of the content.If you want to highlight a line in the text or resize a title, the best practice is to use a block quote for posts (such as the one weāve just used) or adjust the size at a code level.ā Ā 2. Focusing on SEO and forgetting about usersKeywords in post titles are important, of course.But try not to overdo it.Weāre sure youāve come across posts where the same keyword was forced into every single epigraph to the point that the content didnāt sound natural.For instance, going back to the dishwasher example from before, itād be something like this:[H1] How to fix a broken dishwasher.[H2] How to fix a broken dishwasher: tools.[H2] How to fix a broken dishwasher: hacks to know if it can be repaired.[H3] How to fix a broken dishwasher: common error messages.You get the idea, right?This doesnāt just make you look like a robot,Ā which makes users more likely to leave your site.On top of that, Google will spot it from a mile away.This practice is known as keyword stuffing and itās subject to penalization.More than anything, sounding natural should be the overarching goal.ā Ā 3. Bland headingsThis is closely related to the previous point.Headings can help with more than just organizing information; their main goal is to catch a userās attention.For example, imagine weād chosen āH1 and H2 for SEOā as this postās title.Would it have triggered you to even start reading?Chances are slim. šWorking on your SEO doesnāt mean you have to forget about flashy headings capable of catching peopleās attention.ā Ā 4. Lengthy sectionsThis is a lack-of-usage mistake, rather than simply a usage mistake.If you use Yoast SEO (a must-have plugin if you use WooCommerce), every now and then youāll see a warning popping up in the readability feature.Among others, it tells you when a section is too long.Bear in mind that reading from a screen is a tiresome activity. Thatās why itās soĀ important to lighten up your text and intertwine different H2s and H3sĀ (or even H4s) instead of letting it all out at once.To give you an idea, there shouldnāt be more than 300 words across different H tags.ā Ā 5. Using the H1 asĀ titleIn this previous post, we told you about the titleĀ and how important it is when it comes to getting more clicks in the search results.So whatās this got to do with HTML headers?Itās fairly simple.By default, most templates use the H1 text as page title. In fact, they donāt even allow you to modify them separately.And this poses a problem because, in general,Ā an H1 should have many more characters than a title allows forĀ in order to be appealing.All is not lost, however, as there are SEO plugins like Yoast that allow you to edit each of them individually.šĀ Now you know all the potential of H1s and H2sAnd you know the next step, right? šHead over to your eācommerce website and doubleācheck these tags in all the sections and posts to make sure youāre using them correctly.As youāll see, some of your pages will rank better in Google before you know it! FREE EBOOKS Increase your eCommerce sales by 20%The 10 largest eCommerce sites in the worldHow to start an online shop from scratch