Simply put, headings help search engines and users navigate and understand your content. As such, they show readers the important subjects and provide a logical structure. In this article, we’ll look at how you can use headings to improve your content.
Why use Headings?
Headings let readers know what’s coming next. This helps the reader understand the text. They’re also useful as signposts for visitors so they can find a particular place in the content again. They should be informative and focused on the content. Sometimes it’s ok to have a bit of fun too. For instance, using puns can be effective, just don’t go overboard.
Improved SEO
Essentially, using headings doesn’t directly affect your SEO. But by making your text easier to read, you’ll be improving your reader experience and in turn, indirectly achieving better SEO. They also present an excellent opportunity to include your key phrases in a big way. Keep it natural though and don’t overdo it. It’s very easy to over-optimise.
So, always put your reader first. Use them to make the text clearer and well signposted. If your reader can understand it better, then so can the search engines.
How Headings work in HTML
WordPress caters for different ‘levels’ of headings. Heading 1 is the largest, at important, followed by Heading 2, 3, 4 etc. As the number descends, so does its importance. These are converted to HTML Heading tags. Such as H1, H2, H3 etc. From an SEO perspective, Google recognises these tags and uses them to understand the text ranking and structure. So, always start with H1 heading and go down from there. There should also only be one H1 heading per page or post. However, there can be multiple H2, H3, etc. headings.
Headings with Benefits
So, headings improve your reader’s experience. They help with understanding your content, they improve essential structure, and they may even improve your SEO. Finally, they definitely increase the chances of a visitor reading your complete article.
