In the quest to improve your website and your SEO, there are many different small steps that you can take. One of them is the usage of formatting and attribute tags, which help give your content more meaning and relevance than it would otherwise. A powerful example of this is the H1 headline formatting tag, which is used to highlight the title or headline of a particular page.
When used on a website, the H1 tag is used to show the headline or title of a page. At first it was nothing more than a formatting tag, helping to distinguish a title or headline visually. However, like many other formatting tags it also carries an implied importance because of the emphasis that is placed on it.
When you emphasize a particular word or phrase on a website, you are highlighting its importance visually to the reader. But the code used to make that emphasis is important because it tells the search engines of your intended emphasis, and therefore the relevance of the highlighted text.
The headline is of course the most important piece of your content page. It tells people exactly what they are going to find on any particular page. Because of this importance, it can be extremely powerful for your SEO purposes.
Consider that if a certain piece of text is highlighted as the single most important element of your page, then it is a fantastic chance to include you most important keywords or phrases for a particular page. If you include the most important keyword for each page of your website in the included H1 tag, then you are saying that the most important thing on those pages is the keyword itself.
Therefore you are giving yourself a huge boost in the search engines, as you highly associate all of your pages with the specific keywords you are targeting for them. It’s a quick, easy and efficient way to further gain an edge in the world of SEO, and it’s another use of formatting tags for SEO purposes.
As with most areas of SEO there have been some debates about the importance of the H1 tag. Some people have completed reports or individual examinations and have concluded that the H1 title tag adds little real value to your rankings.
But at this time that has not been proven, and the search engines have not said as such. Therefore you have to assume that the H1 tag is still in usage, and most people do report that they see significant gains when using this strategy effectively. You always have to remember however that with SEO, nothing is guaranteed and you always have to be ready to change your strategies.
By using the H1 headline tag on a webpage, you showcase and differentiate your title visually from everything else. This visual change conducted with the H1 tag signals an added relevancy to anything within the tag. Therefore, it’s a fantastic place for your keywords and can help you rise through the search engines.
Take a look at SEO expert Nick Halmonds’ website. To find more useful information on online marketing. Check it out at search engine marketing services at rank fast.
Nick, i definitely agree with you on usage. there have not been definite 'yes' or 'no' answers on h1 tags, so i will continue to use it. Thanks for sharing!