Proper use of Hx tags (h1, h2, h3)

Headings

All too often, we come across websites that don't utilize their page headings to make them optimal for SEO. This is a missed opportunity. By simply using and optimizing h1, h2, and h3 (headings), you can boost your page's ranking, significantly increasing your chances of being found in search engines.

Why are h1, h2, and h3 Important for SEO?

Header texts are a crucial SEO factor because they are used to communicate with search engines and tell what your website is about. Search engines consider header texts more important than the regular page text. They start with your h1 and work their way down to h2, h3, and so on. The header texts help make your page's content stand out more clearly.

It's essential to remember that you can't just throw any words into the headings. Utilizing the headings with (short tail and long tail – how in the world do I translate this?) When search engines go through your page, they pick up the headings and assess the keywords you use in the text as important.

Headers continue with h4, h5, and h6, but we'll only focus on the first three since these are the most important for SEO. Headers can't just be placed anywhere; they have specific positions on the page and must be used in a particular order for you to get the most out of them. Naturally, you start with h1.

The h1 title should contain your targeted keywords that describe the page title well and are relevant to the page's content. Maximum one per page.

The h2 title is a subtitle and should contain keywords similar to those in h1. Limit to a maximum of three per page if possible.

The h3 title is a further subtitle to h2, and it continues this way. You can think of them as a hierarchy based on importance, with the higher ones being more important than the lower ones.

Remember that it's also crucial that your headings are readable and grammatically correct. It's no use just stuffing full h1, h2, and h3 with keywords; in the worst case, Google may assume that you're trying to manipulate them, and Google will penalize you.

An easy rule of thumb (but not a definitive rule, only for simplicity) may be that on each page you should have 1 h1 tag, 2 h2 tags, and then optionally: 3 h3 tags, and so on.