It’s a constant struggle to be noticed in this ever expanding internet landscape. The practice of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) provides the brightest beacon for our robot friends. In that effort, headings are crucial elements. No matter what advances may come, information hierarchy will remain.

Get the most out of your headlines.

H4-h6 are all but discarded as insignificant. Constrain your headings to the highest levels: h1,h2, and h3. Larger emphasis is placed inside these magical tags, so make these words count. Spice your headings with only the most relevant keywords. A word of caution: overuse at your own risk. Too much repetition and these tags will work against your ranking.

WordPress Users: Your blog title is your H1. The H2 is a post title, and H3 is a heading within a post. Tip: On single pages, turn post titles into H1.

The Context

The H1 tag. Quickly describe who you are and what you do. Use one H1 tag near the top of the page. Max 5–7 words. Mirror your title tag with prime keywords. Avoid overuse. It’ll only weaken the impact.

The Content

The H2 tag. Get more specific. If you sell widgets, what sort of widgets? It’s time to do some research and embed the words people use to find your site. Google analytics is a great place to start researching your most popular keywords.

The Callouts

The H3 tag. From all accounts, H3 tags do little to improve ranking, and are mainly used to divide sub sections, helping readers digest information quicker. Better reading reduces bounce rate, and encourages return visits.