The correct organization of a website and its usability depend on the correct use of the H1 H2 H3 tagsor the set of HTML elements used to structure and prioritize the content of a website.
But these labels aren’t just used to provide a better user experience. They also help from an SEO ranking perspective, because search engines will better understand the structure of the web, which can help improve your position in search results.
By reading this article you will learn how to use H1, H2 and H3 tags and why they are important for the structure and On Page SEO of a web page.
What are H1 H2 H3 tags?
H1 H2 H3 tags are HTML elements that are used for the purpose of structuring and prioritizing the content of a website.
Each of these tags has its own level of importance, which is determined by the number: the lower it is, the more important it is.
Therefore, the H1 tag is more relevant than the H2 tag and so on.
When using these headers you must follow a sequential order. That is, after H1 (post title) there must be an H2 (each of the main sections), and after that an H3 (subsections).
I personally recommend not going beyond H4, with some exceptions. Too many subsections can cause the user to lose.
What are the H1 H2 H3 tags for and why is it essential to use them correctly?
The main purpose of these HTML tags is divide web content into sections of greater or lesser importance.
The first tag, H1, should be used for the main title and H2 and H3 for subheadings and subsections.
But why are they important?
1. They improve the user experience
If the web content is structured appropriately, it makes it easier to read. Thus, it improves the user experience.
2. They favor your organic positioning
Also, H1 H2 H3 helps bots better understand web content, which is better from an SEO point of view:
- Google and other search engines use H tags to understand the structure and content of the web. Therefore, it is important to use them to help search engines understand what the web is about.
- Headings are a great opportunity to include target field keywords and semantics.
- You can aspire to appear in Featured Snippets, as the first outstanding result. Check out this example that combines an H2 with a list of benefits.
3. Facilitates web accessibility
In the same vein as the user experience, the H1 H2 H3 headings improve the reading of the content and make it easier for people with visual, hearing or cognitive impairments to understand the text. For example, if you have labels, screen reader users will be able to navigate through the text more easily.
What is the H1 label?
The most important of the H tags is H1, which is used to indicate the main title of a web page or entry. It is therefore the main header and, if applied to text, will be the largest and most prominent on the page.
How is the H1 tag used?
To use the H1 tag correctly, I recommend the following:
- You must use it exclusively for the main title of the page or post.
- Use only one H1 tag to avoid confusion.
- It should appear at the beginning of the page content. This will make it easier for both users and search engines to see.
- Keywords that help improve rankings should appear in this tag.
- It doesn’t have to match the title or the SEO title, which is the title that appears in the SERPs. To make you understand the difference between the tag and the SEO title, I’ll give you an example:
This is the SEO title of my On Page SEO article that appears in search results.
And this is the blog post title itself, which is the H1 header.
As you see, they are different. In fact, the SEO title must not exceed 60 characters. In H1 you can extend a little more, around 70 characters.
What is the H2 label?
The H2 tag is used for indicate a subtitle or secondary title relevant to the page content and divide the web content into small sections.
It should only be used for this purpose, not as a style tag to enlarge text.
How do you use the H2 tag?
I give you a series of tips so that you can make the most of the H2 tag:
- Use it only to split content into subtitles.
- H2 tags come after H1 and are less important than H1, but mark the main structure or skeleton of the text.
- You can use them to make text easier to read by dividing the content into smaller sections.
- In your H2 you’ll want to incorporate your objective and semantically related keywords.
What is the H3 label?
The H3 tag is used for mark a subtitle or tertiary titlewhich will be less important than the H2 on which it depends.
Simply put, H3 is a minor header section which is used to further subdivide the content of a page.
How do you use the H3 tag?
These are good practices for using H3:
- They are used to identify subtitles of less importance than those appearing in the H2. In fact, they depend on it.
- They go after H2.
- Their use is not mandatory, they are only used when it is necessary to break the content into a smaller section.
What are H4 H5 H6… tags?
The labels H4 H5 H6 and so on are used for indicate minor subtitles on a web page.
These tags are subtitles and are used to further divide the content of a page into sections of decreasing importance.
By using these tags effectively, you can organize the content of a page into clear, easy-to-read sections, helping to improve usability, accessibility, and search engine optimization.
Naturally, these tags must be used consistently and following a hierarchy of headings and subheadings. But as I said before, too many subsections can already get confusing and lose their original functionality.
Extensions to see the H1 H2 H3 labels of your garments or competitors
There are extensions in Chrome that will show you how an article is tagged:
- If the post or page is yours, it will allow you to review the structure and correct a misplaced label that you missed. An H2 which is an H3, for example.
- You will also be able to “spy on the competition” and see how the top SERP URLs are structured.
Besides HTML tags, you can also see other fields, such as SEO title, meta description, extension, etc.
Ahrefs
Although the Ahrefs extension has other noteworthy features, as you can see, the structure followed by the article is perfectly displayed.
META SEO in 1 click
With SEO META in 1 click you can also see the hierarchy of the articles or pages that interest you for free.
Sure, there are many other extensions with which you can see these HTML headers, but with one of these two that I’m telling you, you can handle them perfectly.
Conclusion
The H1 H2 H3 tags are important to facilitate the understanding of a web page for the user and for search engines, as they help to organize and structure its contents in a logical and coherent way.
The correct use of these HTML tags will have an impact on the experience provided to the user, who will be able to better understand the content, while serving to improve the positioning of a website, because you also make it easier for the user to understand. great search engine. .
Do you use H1 H2 H3 tags correctly on your website?
I read you in the comments.
