What to do when multiple H1 tags are on the page
The use of multiple H1 tags has been debated within the search engine optimization (SEO) community for over 10 years. The rule of thumb has been a page may contain several h2, h3, h4, or other heading tags, but it should only have one h1 tag at any given time. This article will explain why that is and how to fix pages that have more than one h1 tag.
HTML elements used to designate the primary heading of a web page are called H1 tags or “top-level headers.” These tags are among the most important on-page SEO components since they provide information to search engines about the page’s subject matter.
When H1 heading tags are used to structure content it’s considered their most crucial function. When header tags are used the content of your website is interpreted by search engine crawlers in a far more accurate manner. The crawlers will also determine whether a heading is appropriate for a certain section or portion of a blog post that you have written.
Using H1 components to build a hierarchy in your page’s structure can also aid the reader in understanding the information that’s presented. In terms of search engine optimization (SEO) measures like bounce rate and dwell time, user engagement increases when a website is easy to use and information is easy to understand.
In addition, using headers is an SEO best practice because if you do not use appropriate heading tags, it will be difficult for you to rank better in search engine results for the keywords you prefer to use and are targeting.
Why you only want to use one H1 tag
The H1 tag is typically shown as the page’s primary heading in the browser’s default viewport. The majority of web pages up to 2014 were built using the HTML4 markup language. HTML5, a revised and expanded version of HTML4 developed by the World Wide Web Consortium, is currently in widespread use. When used with CSS, this new language may specifies the purpose and appearance of a website.
When HTML5 was originally released, there was some speculation among search engine optimizers as to whether or not it would affect the optimization value of headers. The shifts also sparked fresh discussion about whether or not employing multiple H1 tags negatively impacts a website’s search engine rankings.
The general concensus is the same as before. Using multiple H1 tags indicates poor content arrangement and can deemphasize keyword relationships with a page. Both of those things can negatively impact your SEO efforts.
The first step in correcting this problem is doing an audit of your website to identify which pages have multiple H1s. Using a tool like evisio makes this an automated process that is easy to manage.
Now it’s time to take a look at the pages on your list. Find each of the H1 headers and decide which one makes the most sense for the page depending on the topic and keywords that you’re targeting. You can decide to turn the other H1 headers into H2 or H3 headers if it makes sense or just remove them entirely.
That’s it. Update the page once the headers are adjusted, and it shouldn’t be an issue anymore.
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