This article is a part of the series Becoming Successful Digitally by OCGnow’s Chief Operations Manager Joshua Lampright. To read the previous article in the series, visit The Importance of Online Reputation Monitoring. This is the final entry in the Becoming Successful Digitally posts.
So what are header tags H1, H2, and H3 really about?
You probably thought this to yourself at some point in time. The easy answer is that Google, Yahoo, Bing, and all other search engines are trying to make heads or tails of what is important to human readers. For us, it’s nice to see slightly larger text that denotes there is a big point that helps us to better understand what we are about to read.
Other times, it is used to bait or entice us to read more. I personally enjoy when a writer can both entice AND deliver something I chose to read that turns out to be enjoyable. Regardless of experience, although important, when it comes to search engines, the article needs to be clear enough for a bot to pull from.
H1 or Header 1
H1 should be reserved for titles that are more suitable for the name of a book. If you started reading a book, and halfway through there was a full page, high gloss cardboard backed page with the name of the book on it, you might end up confused. Same with webpages, we reserve the first thing you see for the Title (or H1) tag.
H2 or Header 2
In a book, the H2 would look like the title of a chapter. They are used to tell you something important, to indicate a transition in ideas, or allude to something bigger. They contribute to the main idea, rather than provide a whole new one.
H3 or Header 3 & Up
The H3 tag and beyond (H4, H5, H6…) denotes that the following text is less important than the previous headers, but still relevant to the topic at hand. This text would indicate footer notes or the commentary to a page of information.
So what are header tags you asked?
Each tag has a hierarchy of importance and should be used even when simply noting important ideas. This would be so search engines can record the keywords of your content. There is no need to pump out an unsightly list of keywords if you use the header tags correctly.
As always, if you find yourself biting off more than you can chew, OCGnow is ready to jump in to help take control of your online presence. Call or text us at (904) 600-3600, visit our website at OCGnow.com, Nashville’s premium full solutions company for Marketing, Creative Design, Print, Web Design, Analytics, Networking, PR, and Crisis Management.
