Are H1, H2, H3 tags REQUIRED for SEO?

  • Hi all,

    Still learning so much about the wonderful world of WP and trying to understand how to use my headers for my home page.

    I had an SEO audit done and got a recommendation to add H1, H2 and H3 tags on my pages. It sounded really important.

    So two questions:

    1. I wanted a really minimalist home page – https://doodlenoodle.com As you can see I only have a video and a CTA button to enter for more info. I guess I could put some additional verbiage on the page, but I think the way my theme works is any text I put in the Home page body section puts the text ABOVE the video, and that’s not really what I want from a design perspective.
    2. I actually can’t see anywhere in my dashboard how I actually designate text as H1, H2, etc. How exactly do I do that?

    Thanks!! Eric

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

  • Hello Eric.

    First of all you have to answer the question: Do I want another people would be able to find my site via search engines, like Google, or I’m gonna give direct link only people I know?

    The second case allows you to ignore CEO rules but the first one does not.

    So, it’s up to you to decide whether you make your site searchable or not.
    Without relevant headings and CEO optimized text there is no chance anyone finds your shiny site with pics and videos.

    Andrew Nevins

    (@anevins)

    WCLDN 2018 Contributor | Volunteer support

    Search engine optimisation is an effect of good content on an accessible platform. You cannot achieve SEO on its own.

    It comes down to understanding what heading levels are for.
    Heading levels are there to semantically convey the relationships of content on the page to people who cannot see the page. This could be conveyed through an assitive technology like a screen reader.

    For example, a visual user can see that a sidebar relates to the main content because it is positioned that way. Someone with visual impairments may not be able to see the position and so they rely on the heading level structure to convey that to them:

    
<h1> Main content example heading </h1>
...
<h2> Sidebar content example heading </h2>
...

    When heading levels ascend in order, it is expected content beneath those headings relate to one another. In this example, content of the sidebar conveys its relationship to the main content.

    So, choose your headings based on your content.
    I’m afraid to say that SEO tools are not that clever and cannot decide this for you.

    Thread Starter EricGiauque

    (@ericgiauque)

    Thanks for your responses

    I guess my follow up questions are this:

    1. Am I going to have to make a choice between the look and feel of the front page of the site and any H1, H2 tags?
    2. Can I accomplish the same SEO value with proper title tags and meta description.
    3. I can see how the Header of a article or blog post may be an H1, but what about a page?

    Thanks again

    Andrew Nevins

    (@anevins)

    WCLDN 2018 Contributor | Volunteer support

    1. Am I going to have to make a choice between the look and feel of the front page of the site and any H1, H2 tags?

    Probably, but the look and feel of your website can always be customised. When you get to that stage and if you need help, feel free to open a new thread about that.

    2. Can I accomplish the same SEO value with proper title tags and meta description.

    That’s something you ought to ask in a search engine forum like Google Groups.

    3. I can see how the Header of a article or blog post may be an H1, but what about a page?

    The title of the page may be the H1 too, but it will make more sense when you have a specific page in mind.

    • This reply was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by Andrew Nevins.
Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
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