Heading tags describe the structure of a page: what it is about, and how its sections relate. Search engines use them to understand the page's organisation and subject. Using them to control text size instead breaks that structure and tells engines something the page does not mean.
What they are for
Headings are an outline. The main heading states the subject, subheadings state the sections, and levels below that state subsections. Read in isolation, they should give someone the shape of the page.
That is the same thing search engines take from them: an indication of what the page covers and how it is organised. On a long page, headings are how an engine identifies which section answers a specific question, which matters increasingly as answers are extracted from parts of pages rather than whole ones.
They are also how screen reader users navigate, jumping between headings to find the relevant section. The structural version and the accessible version are the same version.
The hierarchy
| Level | Use |
|---|---|
| H1 | The subject of the page. One per page. |
| H2 | The main sections. Most pages need several. |
| H3 | Subsections within an H2. |
| H4 and below | Rarely needed on a small business page. |
The rule that matters is not skipping levels. An H2 followed by an H4 implies a missing section, which produces an outline that does not make sense.
The one H1 question
Modern engines handle multiple H1s without difficulty, so this is no longer the technical error it was once described as.
It remains good practice for a different reason: a page with three H1s has three subjects, which usually means the page has not decided what it is about. The discipline of one H1 forces that decision, and a page with a clear single subject performs better than one covering three.
So the rule is worth keeping, as a writing discipline rather than a technical requirement.
The mistake that causes most problems
Using heading tags for appearance.
A paragraph made into an H3 because it should look bigger, or a heading made into a plain paragraph with large text because the H2 style was too big, both break the outline. The first inserts a section that does not exist; the second removes one that does.
The fix is that size is a styling decision and heading level is a structural one. If an H2 looks wrong, change how H2s are styled rather than using a different tag.
This is worth checking on any site built in a page builder, where the styling controls and the semantic controls are frequently the same dropdown.
Words in headings
Headings carry more weight than body text, which leads people to stuff terms into them.
The useful version is simply describing the section accurately, using the words a customer would. If a section covers what a service costs, the heading should say so, and it will naturally contain the relevant terms because that is what the section is about.
What does not work is repeating the target phrase in every heading, which reads badly and produces an outline that does not describe the page. The test is whether the headings read as a sensible list on their own.
Common structural faults
- No H1 at all, which happens when the logo occupies the top of the template and the page title is styled as an H2.
- The logo marked as the H1 on every page, so every page claims the same subject.
- Sidebar and footer headings marked at the same level as the main content, which puts unrelated items into the outline.
- Levels skipped, producing an outline with gaps.
- Headings used as captions under images.
- Empty heading tags left by a builder for spacing.
Checking your own pages
Two quick methods.
Read only the headings, in order, and ask whether they describe the page. If they read as a sensible outline, the structure is right. If they include the phrase from your navigation, a sidebar title, and a caption, they do not.
Alternatively, any browser's developer tools or a free accessibility extension will list the heading structure of a page, which shows skipped levels and missing H1s directly rather than by inspection.
This is worth doing once across your main pages after a build or a redesign, since heading structure is exactly the kind of thing a template gets wrong consistently, and fixing it once fixes it everywhere. The related habit of writing headings that say something is covered in writing for people who skim.
Frequently asked questions
What do heading tags do for SEO?
They describe the structure and subject of a page, which is how search engines understand its organisation and identify which section answers a specific question.
Can a page have more than one H1?
Technically yes, and modern engines handle it. It remains worth keeping to one as a writing discipline, since a page with three H1s usually has not decided what it is about.
What is the most common heading mistake?
Using heading tags to control text size. A paragraph made into an H3 to look bigger inserts a section that does not exist, and the outline stops describing the page.
Should I put keywords in headings?
Describe the section accurately using the words customers use, and the relevant terms appear naturally. Repeating a target phrase in every heading reads badly and breaks the outline.
Can I skip heading levels?
Avoid it. An H2 followed by an H4 implies a missing section, which produces an outline that does not make sense to engines or to screen reader users navigating by heading.
How do I check my heading structure?
Read only the headings in order and ask whether they describe the page. Browser developer tools or a free accessibility extension will also list the structure directly.
West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.
Site built in a page builder with headings chosen for size?
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