Generally speaking, H1-H6 tags are a component of website SEO optimization. They are parts of the page code that are recognizable to Google and other search engines and, if used correctly, can significantly improve your website's ranking.
These tags are directly related to the text content and are very important for every copywriter who strives to provide quality, usable and meaningful texts to know some basic things about them. In this article, we will not deal with the specific activities of SEO specialists, but will pay attention specifically to the facts that are important and applicable in the work of copywriters. Here is everything about the H1-H6 tags that you must know if you are involved in creating text content.
What are H1-H6 tags?
- H is an abbreviation for Heading, that is, title. Any relatively experienced copywriter can even intuitively understand that the title and subtitles are a key factor, without which the text does not have a proper structure and is difficult to digest for the site visitor. The new thing here is that, in addition to visitors, the lack of structure in the text makes it difficult to read even by search engine bots themselves. That is why a “wall of text” without clearly systematized titles and subtitles not only repels customers - it pushes the entire website to a lower ranking, making it sometimes undiscoverable.
- There is a hierarchy in the H1-H6 tags. And while extracting the subheadings and integrating them into the page code is not the copywriter's job, it is definitely his job to create the foundation - the logical structure that SEO specialists will subsequently navigate. To this end, the copywriter should know that it is good to create content with clearly defined chapters, topics, titles and subheadings that lead logically one to another. The most important tag – H1 – indicates the overall topic of the text as clearly as possible. Each subsequent tag from H2 to H6 depends on both the length of the text and whether its content has subheadings.
- H1-H6 tags should be tied to relevant keywords. There are a huge number of free and paid tools on the Internet that allow us to peek into Google statistics and understand what users are searching for. In the optimal case, an SEO specialist defines the most meaningful keywords to use, and the copywriter integrates them into the text in the best way. Anything outside of this formula – both the writing SEO specialist and the copywriter analyzing Google searches, are prerequisites for an unsatisfactory final result.
Practical guidelines for copywriters regarding H1-H6 the tags
Every copywriter knows that writing content is not a purely creative process. It must be considered in light of a number of complex factors – who is reading the text, what is the purpose of the text, what do we want the reader to do or feel, etc. Adding SEO to copywriting is an additional responsibility, requiring adherence to a certain keyword density and a certain text structure. Here is what you should try to integrate into your writing to be a good basis for meaningful placement of H1-H6 tags in your text:
- Structure your text – the most important things first. Tags do not have the same weight in front of search engines, or in other words: the lower the tag number, the more relevant it is in a search. So always try to start with the most important things and gradually work your way down to the less important details.
- The title and subheadings should include a relevant keyword. It is even better if they start with it. However, be careful not to overuse and oversaturate the text with certain words and phrases, because this is also penalized by search engine algorithms.
- The title and subtitles should not be too long. There is no hard and fast rule for their length, but it is considered that around 60 characters is a length that is comfortably readable for site visitors.
- Titles and subheadings should be equally understandable for users and search engines. Finding this balance is not always easy. Combining keywords and beautiful language requires attention, practice, imagination and even talent. Good search engine rankings become meaningless if customers cannot understand what the site is about. And vice versa – great content also becomes meaningless if there is no way to reach it. Therefore, it is important to make a reasonable compromise on both paragraphs that will give the desired result – a good text, with a good ranking.
To achieve optimal results, it is especially important to have collaboration between people with different competencies working on the same project. The exchange of information, experience, ideas, knowledge and skills between copywriters, SEO experts, marketers and digital experts is an absolute prerequisite for success. The lack of such communication simultaneously renders the work of everyone in the chain meaningless and dooms their common project to failure.
