Why Heading Hierarchy Matters for SEO
Google uses heading tags as structural signals to understand your page's topic and content relationships. A broken hierarchy doesn't just confuse crawlers — it hurts rankings and accessibility.
One H1, Always
Every page should have exactly one <h1>. It's your primary topic signal. Multiple H1s split authority and confuse Google about your page's main subject.
Never Skip Levels
Going from <h2> directly to <h4> breaks semantic structure. Google and screen readers both rely on this nesting — skips signal lazy or broken markup.
Empty Headings Kill Rankings
An empty <h2></h2> is a wasted signal and a crawl budget leak. They tell Google there's structure but no content — a red flag for thin pages.
Headings ≠ Styling
Never use <h3> just to make text bigger. Use CSS for styling. Heading tags are semantic signals — misusing them misleads crawlers and hurts page clarity.
H1 Should Match Title Tag
Your H1 and <title> don't have to be identical, but they should be closely aligned. Major mismatch signals inconsistency and can dilute topical relevance.
Keyword Balance
Stuffing the same phrase into every heading is a spam signal. Headings should reflect genuine content sections — vary naturally and use semantic synonyms.