Headings H1-H6

Headings are nested meta tags (numbered numerically) that structure a document by dividing content into subheadings and provide an understanding of the priority of the information presented for comfortable and intuitive navigation of users and crawlers on the page .

Don't confuse it with Header: a header is the top part of the menu.

H1 heading

H1 is the only and most important heading that reflects the essence of the content belonging to a specific page, therefore it is placed at the very beginning before the content: text and photographs.

It's considered one of the most important page elements for promoting a website to the top of search results. Its importance is comparable only to the Title and Description.

✅ Recommendations

1. ✅ Single: used only once per page.
2. ✅ Each URL must have its own unique Title. If a page doesn't have this tag, the entire structure of the article is lost.
3. ✅ This is not a Title, it should be different, distinct.
4. ✅ Ideally, the text should follow the title, although images are much more appealing. In this case, the Title and image description should be detailed, containing the words from the Title and visible to users when hovering over it.
5. ✅ H1 must contain the main keywords. The remaining subheadings (H2, H3, H4, and H5) contain secondary keywords or their synonyms.

🚫 Prohibited

1. 🚫 Put no title in the header or footer, only in the body
2. 🚫 Add words to the title that aren't in the content. → ✅ If H1 is "Buy gloves," then you need to add "gloves" and "price" to the content.
3. 🚫 The same H1 tags on different pages. → This confuses search engines—which URL will be shown for a specific query. 

H2 is the sections of the document.

H3 - subsections when nesting is important.

H4-H6 are less important and are useful if you want to mark up bulky content and add mid-level keywords to search results.

🚫 Incorrect use of H3-H6, simply for the purpose of using words in meta tags, leads to confusion for both users and search engines. Search engines attribute depth, specifically page structure, to the previous H.

✅ Each subsequent H

• visually should be smaller than the previous one - font size, cannot be set in H3 with H1 style
• takes over everything from the structure of the previous one
• must be related in the hierarchy directly to the H of the previous rank
• We arrange subheadings according to a tree structure

For example: doctors with full names (a field where famous names are important, and only for this reason can they be inserted into the meta tag), and the previous Heading was H2 Therapists, then in H3 under it you cannot include everyone: gynecologists, dentists, surgeons.

Technical Recommendations

✅ A small h or capital H in the code is considered uppercase according to HTML code standards.

✅ Code looks better when it's cleaner. I don't recommend adding font size, italics, bold, or centering. These settings are made by the programmer for all elements on the entire site: font type and size, hover colors, and open and untouched links. Setting these parameters in the root CSS will make the HTML code more beautiful. It's best to consider this during the layout stage.

• In Tilda, this function is located: My Sites → Store → Site Settings → Fonts and Colors
• In WordPress, in the theme: Appearance → Customize → Typography

✅ All H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, and H6 meta tags must be visible to the website's readers. Empty, hidden, or only visible in one version—mobile or desktop—is considered black hat SEO. I don't recommend cheating unless you want to fall under search engine filters.

HTML Heading Hierarchy

After the H1 comes the H2; there can be more than one. The number of H2s depends on the content. If you have a large list of product names, it's best to distribute them and add them to the H3 after you've placed all product categories in the H2. The H3 subheading is used only after the H2.

If we compare this entire system to a term paper, H1 is a generalized section/page title that reflects the article's content. These elements are similar to those in a thesis, where there is a hierarchy and logical nesting of headings.

🚫 You can't skip and fill any lower level (e.g., H5) unless there's a previous one (e.g., H4) before it. Using an H3 immediately after the main H1 is absurd from both the lecturer's and the search engine's perspective.

✅ H1 and H2 are important, while H3, H4, H5, and H6 are optional. But! 🚫 Don't mindlessly write them on abstract topics, like "services," if they're inappropriate or irrelevant to the semantics. Replace this word with a specific service: website creation, spa treatments, tire repair, wedding makeup, aquariums, pet food, solid wood kitchens, excavation work, etc.

✅ How many H elements are absolutely necessary for successful SEO? The number of H elements depends entirely on your content; it's impossible to give a precise figure. However! All the words that might be used to search for a page, specifically broad queries, should ideally be included in tags. For a short page, only the main title is required. Landing pages and long reads can have countless H2, H3, H4, H5, and H6 elements.

Official sources

Always look only at reliable literature provided by search engines themselves. Check infocygans, as their information is likely word-of-mouth, meaning it's unreliable and vague.

Tools - How to check

The most convenient way is to download Chrome extensions for viewing heading hierarchy. I recommend using both.